The Invisible Work of God
Series: Esther- For such a time as this
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 26th October 2025
Passage: Esther 1:1-2:18
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Good morning, everyone, and welcome to St. Paul's.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:03 We've not met you before.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 My name's Steve, the senior pastor here at St. Paul's.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:10 And this is a very important term for us here as a church.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:16 It's the end of Follow 25, if you're familiar with that.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:22 What Follow 25 has been for us is it's been our five-year ministry plan
00:00:22 --> 00:00:26 to see us grow in faith in Jesus Christ
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 and be transformed into the image of Jesus
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 from the inside out, both individually and corporately.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:38 Our plan has been to grow deeper and more confident in God,
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 particularly in a time and a place
00:00:42 --> 00:00:48 where the prevailing view of society towards the Christian faith
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 is anywhere between apathy through to hostility.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 And so this term, what we're doing is we're looking back
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 at what's happened in the last five years at the same time
00:01:01 --> 00:01:06 while we're planning to look forward and seeking God's will
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 for our future together and what he's calling us into.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:15 And so to help us to reflect on what's been and to inspire us
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 to look ahead with anticipation,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:23 we are going back two and a half thousand years in history
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 to the book of Esther in the Bible,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 which the first bits have just been read out to us.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 Now, at first glance, when you take a helicopter view
00:01:33 --> 00:01:37 of the book of Esther, it appears like it's one of those
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 kind of Cinderella stories of the Old Testament.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:48 It's the orphan girl who, you know, raised up and becomes,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 you know, queen of Persia.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 It's, you know, rags to riches kind of story.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:56 It's a heartwarming, you know, the poor girl gets good kind of thing.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:01 And yet the reality is the book of Esther is fundamentally
00:02:01 --> 00:02:02 so much more than that.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:10 In fact, the book is about how God saves his people
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16 from the brink of disaster, that he never abandons his people.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 Because what we're reading here in the book of Esther
00:02:19 --> 00:02:27 is one of the most perilous times in the history of God's people.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 They're in exile in a foreign land.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:39 They are a minority group ruled by a very powerful empire.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 And as we will see in the coming weeks,
00:02:42 --> 00:02:46 they are literally on the brink of extermination.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:54 And what this book shows us is it teaches how to follow God,
00:02:54 --> 00:03:00 how to trust him, and even how to expect big things of him
00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 when, even when the society around us,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 even when we're a minority group and society around us
00:03:07 --> 00:03:11 is morally, spiritually, and culturally indifferent
00:03:11 --> 00:03:15 or even hostile to the God whom we follow.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 So if you've got the St. Paul's app,
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 three points for today that we're going to look at
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 just in these sections just being read out.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:31 And the first point, God is working despite appearances.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:36 One of the oddest things about the book of Esther
00:03:36 --> 00:03:42 is that there is no mention of God in the book at all.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:43 At all.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 Not even once.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:55 It's not like the writer got to the end of it
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 and sent it off for publishing.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 It came back and re-read his.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:00 Went, oh my goodness.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 I forgot to mention God.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 You know, like I'm pretty confident it's not an oversight.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:12 I'm pretty confident that the writer here is making a point.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:16 And the point is, is that God is always at work.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 You see, whenever the God of Israel,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 if you look at the Old Testament,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 saw his people in trouble in the past,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 he comes through for them in extraordinary
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 and spectacular ways.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 And yet you get to the book of Esther
00:04:35 --> 00:04:39 and there's no mighty miracle.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 There's no vision.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 Not even a dream.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 It appears throughout the entire book
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 that God is absent.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 That God is totally silent.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 That God's not there.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:59 And yet, when you read through the book,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 what you discover is a whole heap of a string,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 if you like, of apparent consequences.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 You know, if those things had not happened,
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 God's people would have in fact been exterminated.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 And each one is connected to the other.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:24 You know, if Xerxes had not been a fool
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 and Xerxes had not got drunk
00:05:27 --> 00:05:32 and made a boast about his queen Vashti,
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 Vashti would have still been queen
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 if he had not got drunk.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 And yet Esther must be queen
00:05:42 --> 00:05:46 in order to save God's people.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:52 And what if there was no one
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 who was Jewish good enough
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 to be part of the harem?
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 What if Esther had not been pretty?
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 What if Esther was not chosen
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 to be part of the group?
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 What if the king had favoured
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 one of the other girls in the harem?
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 The whole narrative of Esther is
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 what if, what if, what if, what if,
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 what if, what if, what if?
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 All the way through.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 And all of them are ordinary,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 even flawed things,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 bad things.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 And by themselves,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 they don't appear to be significant at all.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 See, here's the point
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 that I think the writer is trying
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 to get across here.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:43 When we see the plagues
00:06:43 --> 00:06:44 in the book of Exodus,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 we say,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 there is God at work
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 saving his people.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 Praise God.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 When we see Xerxes drunk,
00:06:58 --> 00:06:58 we don't go,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 there is God at work
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 saving his people.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:08 And Esther is telling us,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 don't make the mistake
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 of overlooking the ordinary,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 even the sinful and the bad,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 about God bringing about his purposes.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 Don't make the mistake
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 of the materialist
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 who judges situations
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 based on what they can see
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 and feel
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 and can know firsthand.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 He may not be seen,
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 but God is at work
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 all the way through this book.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 His silence
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 is not his absence.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 His hiddenness
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 is not his abandonment.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 God is not obsessed
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 with appearances
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 the way that we are.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 He's working out his promises
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 even when it appears
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 that he's nowhere around.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 And there are things going on
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 in our lives right now.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 We could be looking
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 right at it,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 things that God is doing
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 that are so ordinary
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 and we're not either
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 not seeing it
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 or we're not embracing it.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:28 You see,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 even in all the ugliness
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 of Esther 1 and 2,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 and it is ugliness,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 there's hardly anything redeemable
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 in Esther chapters 1 and 2
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 at all.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 God is at work.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 He's using the flawed,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:44 the failed,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 and the questionable
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 people in this chapter
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 like Xerxes,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 all his noblemen,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:52 and Esther
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 to bring about his plans
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 and his purposes.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 God is at work
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 despite appearances.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 And that matters to us
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 because we live in a world
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 that is obsessed
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 with appearance.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 The book of Esther begins,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 if you've got it there,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 open up chapter 1.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 It begins by introducing us
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 to the great empire
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 of King Xerxes I,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 also known as Xerxes the Great,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 or the fourth king of kings
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 of the Achamanian Empire.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 Verse 1,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 this is what happened
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 during the time of Xerxes,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 the Xerxes who ruled
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 over 127 provinces,
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 stretching from India
00:09:42 --> 00:09:42 to Kush.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 Xerxes I,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:45 his reign
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 was from 486
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51 to 465 BC
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 when he was
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 assassinated
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 by the head
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 of his security.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 His empire
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 included
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 northwestern India,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:01 Pakistan,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:02 Afghanistan,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:03 Uzbekistan,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:04 Iran,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 Iraq,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:05 Armenian,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 Azerbaijan,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:06 Syria,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:07 Lebanon,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:08 Israel,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:08 Jordan,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:09 Turkey,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 northern Greece,
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 Egypt,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:11 Libya,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:12 Eritrea,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:13 Ethiopia,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 and Sudan.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 There is no one
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 at that time
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 more powerful
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 on the face
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 of the earth
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 than Xerxes I,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 and he knew it.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 He was not a humble man,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 and so he holds a party
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 to show the world
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 just how great he is
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 in case there was any confusion
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 about the matter.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 Verse 4 tells us
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 that it went on
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 for a full
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 180 days.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:47 He displayed
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 the vast wealth
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 of his kingdom
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 and the splendor
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 and the glory
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 of his majesty.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 In other words,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:04 he got all of his wealth
00:11:04 --> 00:11:08 out and he paraded it
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 like a ticker tape parade
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 in front of his friends
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 and it took six months
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 for the parade to end.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 And with an open bar,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 it's not surprising
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 he was drunk.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 See,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 the whole point here
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 is we are meant
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 to gaze
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 upon the greatness
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 of Xerxes,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 gaze wide open,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 eyed at his gold
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 and his silver
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 and his jewelry
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 and the sheer
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 accumulation
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 of his power
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 and his wealth
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 and his splendor
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 and his majesty,
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 and we are meant
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 to admire him.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 We are meant
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 to be envious
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 of him.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 He is the ancient
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 version
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 of a social media
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 influencer.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 I have
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 the enviable
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 life.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 Be like me.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 Everyone was meant
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 to want to be
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 Xerxes.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 That's the point.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:19 But Queen Vashti
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 knows the man.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:23 While Xerxes
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 is over here
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 for six months
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 doing his best
00:12:27 --> 00:12:27 to get the thumbs up
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 and the likes
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 and the little love hearts
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 as many as possible
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 amongst the crowd
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 that's gathered,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 Vashti is hosting
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 her own separate banquet
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 for the ladies.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 And Xerxes' party
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 gets a little
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 out of control,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 tends to happen
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 when the ladies
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 are not around.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 Verse 10,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 we see Xerxes
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 make too many trips
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 to the open bar
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 and he decides
00:12:53 --> 00:12:53 it's time
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 not just to show
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 off to everyone
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 that he's the wealthiest,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 most powerful man
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 in the world,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 but he also has
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 the best looking woman
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 in the world
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 that he has
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 as his queen.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 Verse 11,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 bring before me
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 Queen Vashti
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 wearing her royal crown
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 in order to display
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 her beauty
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 to the people
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 and the nobles
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 for she was lovely
00:13:18 --> 00:13:18 to look at.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 That's the point.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 Bring out my queen,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 put her on the end
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 of the parade
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 so all the guys
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 can drool at her too.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 He wasn't interested
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 in her friends,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 his friends meeting her.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:41 she was brought out
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 and paraded
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 amongst all
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 of his drunken
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 friends
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 so that she might
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 be admired
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 and people would go,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 Xerxes,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 lucky man.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 And for some,
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 if Vashti refuses
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 to come,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:05 it's an incredible
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 act of bravery
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 on her behalf
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 and defiance.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 You see,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 in a hierarchical shame
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 and honour culture,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 for an authority
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 like this
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 to be rejected
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 is not just
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 a personal affront,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 it's a cultural crisis.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 The king
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 was furious
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 at this.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 He's furious.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 But instead of getting
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 some marriage counselling,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 he holds a cabinet meeting
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 to work out
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 what now needs
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 to be done
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 with Vashti.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 It's a crisis.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 It's a cultural crisis.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 What do we do
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 with someone
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 who will not join
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 on the end
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 of the parade
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 for the sake
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 of appearance?
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 What do we do
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 with someone
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 who's not
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 going to join
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 with the culture?
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 And of course,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 the nobles
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 are concerned
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 because they've got
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 their wives
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 who Vashti
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 may inspire them
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 to do the same thing.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 I mean,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 anarchy will reign
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 in our homes.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 Vashti is banished
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 and the royal decree
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 went out
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 to the whole kingdom
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 so that
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 when everyone
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 heard it,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 verse 20,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 all the women
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 will respect
00:15:29 --> 00:15:29 their husbands
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 from the least
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 to the greatest.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 Chapter 2
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 begins with
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 Xerxes.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 It appears
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 that the
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 next day
00:15:41 --> 00:15:41 comes
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 the...
00:15:42 --> 00:15:47 he's kind of
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 waking up
00:15:48 --> 00:15:48 from his drunken
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 stupor
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and realises,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:50 oh my goodness,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 I've now
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 banished Vashti.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 I need to find
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 another trophy
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 wife.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 And the whole
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 kingdom is searched
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 for the best-looking
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 candidates.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 It's probably,
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 from what we could
00:16:03 --> 00:16:03 tell,
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 the first recorded
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 instance of an
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 international
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 beauty pageant,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 Miss Persia
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 Empire
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 for 80 BC.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 It's likely
00:16:15 --> 00:16:15 that there
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 as many
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 as 1
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 young women
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 were brought
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19 back to the
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 king's harem
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 to see
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 which one
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 will be
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 his favoured
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 one.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 They underwent
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 beauty treatments
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 and training
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 for a whole
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 year
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 just to get
00:16:32 --> 00:16:32 ready
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 for one night
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 with the
00:16:35 --> 00:16:35 king.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 That's it.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 One night
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 alone with
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39 Xerxes.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 Every single
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 thing in
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 that preparation
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 turned on
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 that one
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 night.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 And there
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 were only
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 one of four
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 possible outcomes.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 Xerxes,
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 you have your
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 night with
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 Xerxes,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 he sends you
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 back to
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 become a
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 permanent
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 concubine
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 but he never
00:17:01 --> 00:17:01 calls you
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 again.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 You see,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 after you've
00:17:05 --> 00:17:05 had that
00:17:05 --> 00:17:05 one night
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 with Xerxes,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 you don't go
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 back to your
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 family and
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 your friends.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 You are
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 forever his
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 concubine
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 and he may
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 never call
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 you again
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 which means
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 that you're
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 essentially
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 banished to
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 permanent
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 widowhood
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 around about
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 the age of
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 18 in that
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 sort of
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 vicinity
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 somewhere.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 Secondly,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 you become
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 a concubine
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 which he calls
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 for, you
00:17:27 --> 00:17:27 know,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 occasionally
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 for entertainment
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 when he feels
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 like it
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 and that'll
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 be for the
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 rest of
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 your life.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 Now,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 thirdly,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 you might
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 be one of
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 the one
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 or two,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:38 maybe three
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 chosen women
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 whom he
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 marries
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 and the
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 children that
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 you have
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 will become
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 royal heirs
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 with royal
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 benefits.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 But fourthly,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 if you are
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 the one he
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 most favours,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 you become
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 the queen.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 He marries
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 and you
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 become the
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 queen.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 And one
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 of the
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 girls who
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 was taken
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 was a
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 Jewish
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 orphan
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 named
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 Esther
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 who we
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 were just
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 introduced
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 to.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 And when
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 they took
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 her,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 her older
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 cousin
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 Mordecai
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 instructs
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 her
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 not to
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 say
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 anything
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 about
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 her Jewish
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 identity
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 or her
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 beliefs.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 Nothing.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 Don't mention
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 that.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 Hide that.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 and she
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 was the
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 one of
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 the great
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 harem,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 she was
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 the one
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 that Xerxes
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 favours over
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 everyone else
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 and he
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 marries her
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 and he
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 makes her
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 his queen.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 And so
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 this Jewish
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 orphan girl
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 becomes
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 the queen
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 of the
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 greatest
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 empire
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 on the
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 face of
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 the earth.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 This is
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 not a
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 Cinderella
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 story.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 Neither
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 is it
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 giving us
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 relationship
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 advice
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 in any
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 shape
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 or form.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 You see,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 what this
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 is telling
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 us,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 when you
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 stand back
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 and look
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 at it,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 in the
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 Persian culture,
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 the most
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 important thing
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 about a
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 man was
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 his wealth
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 and his
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 power.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 and the
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 most
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 important
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 thing
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 about a
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 woman
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 was her
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 sexual
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 and
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 physical
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 beauty.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 A man's
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 worth
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 was determined
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 by the
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 size of
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 his wallet
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 and a
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 woman's
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 worth
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 by the
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 size
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 of
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 her
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 dress.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 Can you
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 imagine
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 living in a
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 culture like
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 that?
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 It's
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 pretty
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 ugly.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 I mean,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 look at the
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 way the
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 women are
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 treated here.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 Look at the
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 pride and the
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 arrogance of
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 these blokes
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 here.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 But I
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 wonder,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 apart from
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 some superficial
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 differences,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 is the
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 world still
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 the same?
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 Is it
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 still the
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 same?
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 Our
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 society
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 says
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 externals,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 images,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 appearances
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 matter more
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 than
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 character.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 character.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 What you
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 have matters
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 more than
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 who you
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 are.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 Whether it
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 be beauty,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 talents,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 money,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 connections,
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 influence,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 they matter
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 much more
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 than your
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 character.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 We are
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 in our
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 society
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 today
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 under
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 constant
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 pressure
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 to undergo
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 beauty
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 treatments
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 on all
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 their
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 various
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 forms.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 Our
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 culture
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 says that
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 unless you
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 get these
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 credentials,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 this kind
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 of beauty,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 this kind
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 of money,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 this kind
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 of
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 resume,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 this kind
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 of
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 education,
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 these kinds
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 of
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 connections,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 in the
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 end you
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 don't truly
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 matter.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 And it
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 says it
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 different to
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 men and
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 women and
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 it says it
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 different depending
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 on your
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 culture and
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 your race
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 or your
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 class,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 but it's
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 basically saying
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 the same
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 thing.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 You need to
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 go through
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 your culture's
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 beauty
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 treatments,
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 you need
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 to perform,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 you need
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 to do
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 all this
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and maybe
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 once you
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 do you
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 will find
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 approval,
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 acceptance,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 admiration,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 you become
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 enviable.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 We live
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 in a world
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 of appearances
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 and performance.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 We live
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 in a world
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 that elevates
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 the trivial
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 on social
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 media.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 we have
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 entire
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 magazines
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 devoted
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 to the
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 antics
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 of soap
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 opera
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 stars.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 We
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 elevate
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 to hero
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 status
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 and pay
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 obscene
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 amounts of
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 money
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 to people
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 who run
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 around
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 hitting
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 little
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 balls.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 We live
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 in a
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 culture
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 that considers
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 the car
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 we drive
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 or the
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 tone
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 of our
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 skin,
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 the texture
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 of our
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 skin
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 as an
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 extension
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 of who
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 we are
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 and our
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 worth.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 We are
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 more impressed
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 by the
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 school someone
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 attends
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 than what
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 they learn
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 when they're
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 there.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 In other
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 words,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 we blow
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 it again
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 and again
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 and again
00:22:33 --> 00:22:38 just like
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 Xerxes.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 and just
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 like Esther
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 too,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 just like
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 Esther.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 You see,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 in these
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 first two
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 chapters,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 there's
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 nothing
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 redeemable
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 about her.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 She has
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 completely
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 sold out
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 her culture
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 and her
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 God.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 Esther
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 gets to
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 her pinnacle
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 to where
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 she is
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 as queen
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 by absolute
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 compliance
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 to the
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 culture.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 She does
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 what Mordecai
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 tells her
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 to do.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 She
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 listens to
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 the head
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 guy in
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 the harem
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 more than
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 any of the
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 other women
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 in the
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 harem.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 She did
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 everything
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 that she
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 has asked
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 of her.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 She
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 aims to
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 be the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 next
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 Vashti.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 She
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 is a
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 blank
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 page
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 on
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 which
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 these
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 men
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 write
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 what
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 they
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 want.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 She
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 kept her
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 identity,
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 her culture
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 and her
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 God
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 secret.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 She
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 turns her
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 back on
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 God's
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 law
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 when she
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 ultimately
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 goes and
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 has her
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 one night
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 with Xerxes.
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 she's
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 completely
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 sold out
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 and yet
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 the good
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 news of
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 this entire
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 book as
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 we will
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 see as
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 we go
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 through
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 that God
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 is not
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 yet finished
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 with her.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 We'll
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 see again
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 and again
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 God's
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 patience
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 with her,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 the way
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 that he
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 grows her
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 in invisible
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 ways through
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 circumstances,
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 again and
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 again and
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 again grows
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 her and
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 turns her
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37 into
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 something that
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 is truly
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 great,
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 someone who
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 is truly
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 great.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 And that
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 which brings
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 me to my
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 third point
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 is in
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 fact
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 God's
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 work,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 his
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 invisible
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 work
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 and
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 visible
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 work.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 His work
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 is in
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 fact to
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 make us
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 beautiful.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 And that
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 is the
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 good news
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 of the
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 message of
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 the Bible
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 is that
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 God is
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 not,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 this is the
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 great foundation
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 of the
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 Christian faith,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 God
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 does not
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 bless us,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 he does not
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 love us,
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 he does not
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 save us
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 because we
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 are beautiful,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 because we
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 are morally
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 good or
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 exemplary in
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 any way,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 he goes,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 ah,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 there's someone
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 worthy of my
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 love.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 The message of
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 the Bible is
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 that God
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 persistently
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 and consistently
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 gives his grace
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 to people who
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 don't ask for
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 it,
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 who don't
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 deserve it,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 and don't
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 appreciate it
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 when they're
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 being given
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 it.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 The good
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 news is that
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 God has not
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 given up on
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 us either.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 In 1
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 Samuel 16,
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 when
00:25:57 --> 00:26:01 Samuel's
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 looking for
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 a king
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 to replace
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 Saul,
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 God says,
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 man looks
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 at the
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 outward
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 appearance,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 but God
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 looks at
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 the heart.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 You see,
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 true beauty
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 is not
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 on the
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 outside.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 God is
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 the only
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 one who
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 does not
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 judge a
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 book by
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 its cover.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 How often
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 we say
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 that,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 don't you,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 you should
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 never judge
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 a book
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 by its
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 cover,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 and yet
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 we do
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 it every
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 single
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 moment,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 every
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 single
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 day.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 Every
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 culture
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 in one
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 way or
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 another
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 communicates
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 to its
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 members,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 we will
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 accept
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 you,
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 but you
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 must work
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 incredibly
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 hard and
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 make yourself
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 attractive to
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 us,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 to make
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 yourself
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 lovable,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 to make
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 yourself
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 approval
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 worthy,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 and then we
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 will approve
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 of you.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 And it is
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 exhausting,
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 exhausting,
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 it is
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 exhausting,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 and there
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 is only
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 one way
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 out,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 and that
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 is the
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 gospel of
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 Jesus
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 Christ.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 One of
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 the most
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 striking
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 images of
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 the Bible
00:27:21 --> 00:27:23 is its
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 declaration
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 that God
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 wants to
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 be your
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 spouse.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 He wants
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 you to
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 be his.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:38 see,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 what the
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 Bible does,
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 it betrays
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 God not
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 just as
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 the divine
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 creator and
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 the all-powerful
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 king over
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 everything and
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 rules everything
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 in the world,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 but a God who
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 is an all-loving
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 husband.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 What makes
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 that so
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 great is
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 it's not
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 about what
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 we do to
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 make ourselves
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 beautiful to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 him,
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 good for
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 him,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 worthy of
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 him,
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 Ephesians
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 5 puts
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 it like
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 this in
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 its
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 instructions
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 to
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 husbands how
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 to love
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 their wives,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 it says,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 husband,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 love your
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 wives just
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 as Christ
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 loved the
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 church,
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 his bride,
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21 and gave
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 himself up
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 for her to
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 make her
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 holy,
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 cleansing
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 her by
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 the washing
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 with water
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 through the
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 word and
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 to present
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 her to
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 himself as
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 a radiant
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 !
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 church without
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 stain or
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 wrinkle or
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 any other
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 blemish,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 but holy
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 and blameless.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:44 would it
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 surprise you
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 if I
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 said that
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 the whole
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 purpose,
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 the
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 trinitarian
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 God of
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 the Bible,
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 the whole
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 purpose of
00:28:51 --> 00:28:54 creation is
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 that he
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 would provide
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 a spouse
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 for his
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 son,
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 that God
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 the Father
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 would provide
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 a spouse
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 for his
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 son,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 whom his
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 son delights
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 in,
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 who is
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 blameless,
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 flawless,
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 whose heart
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 bursts when
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 he sees
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 her.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 The Bible
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 declares in
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 the New
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 Testament
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 that that
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 is his
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 church.
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 Esther was
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 accepted by
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 Xerxes because
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 she was
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 already
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 beautiful,
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 but Jesus
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 loves us
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 despite our
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 flaws and
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 our sin
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 and our
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 ugliness.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 He does it
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 to make us
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 beautiful.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 Esther had
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 to give her
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 life and
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 her freedom
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 up for the
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 king,
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 but
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 Jesus
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 Christ is
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 the only
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 king,
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 the only
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 spouse who
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 gives up
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 his life
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 and freedom
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 for us.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 He gives
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 up everything
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 for us,
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 not because
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 we are
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 lovely,
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 but in
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 order to
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 make us
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 lovely.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 And when
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 we understand
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 that,
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 when that
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 truth gets
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 driven down
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 into our
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 hearts,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 we have,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 I think,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 at least
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 three things,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 the three
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 things that we
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 need to
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 be free
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 from our
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 culture's
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 enslavement
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 to external
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 appearances
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 and be
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 made
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 truly
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 beautiful
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 and glorious
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 on the
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 inside.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 Firstly,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 what it
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 does,
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 what it
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 does is it
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 gives us a
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 definition of
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 what true
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 beauty actually
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 is.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 You see,
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 our culture's
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 definition of
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 beauty
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 beauty means
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 that we
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 cannot go
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 past a
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 mirror
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 without
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 noticing
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 ourselves.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 We are
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 obsessed with
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 appearances.
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 Who would
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 have imagined
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 that within
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 two years
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 of combining
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 products that
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 we'd have for
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 a very long
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 time,
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 a camera
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 and a
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 phone,
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 combining
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 those two
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 things,
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 within two
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 years of
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 combining
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 those two
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 things,
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 that dictionaries
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 in the world
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 had to be
00:31:09 --> 00:31:11 rewritten to
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 include the
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 word selfie,
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 a word that
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 didn't exist
00:31:17 --> 00:31:20 before 2002,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22 selfie.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 Millions of
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 selfies are
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 taken every
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 day.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 And when
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 we look at
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 Jesus instead
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 of ourselves,
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 we actually
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 see ultimate
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 beauty.
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 We see
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 infinite glory
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 and majesty
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 and splendor.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 And he
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 gave all of
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 that up for
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 us to
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 make us
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 beautiful.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 He left it
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 to one side.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 He became
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 human.
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 He went to
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 a cross.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 And the
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 book of
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 Isaiah says
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 that he had
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 no beauty
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 that we
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 would desire
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 him.
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 The one
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 of infinite
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 majesty
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 became
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 cosmically
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 unsightly
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 to make us
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 beautiful,
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 to make us
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 majestic
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 in such a
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 way,
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 so cosmic
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 unsightly
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 that his
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 father
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 turns his
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 face away
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 from him.
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 That is
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 true beauty.
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 Genuine
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 beauty is
00:32:33 --> 00:32:35 not self-obsession.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 It is
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 self-sacrifice.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 God
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 is
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 to make us
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 That is
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 why it
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 says at the
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 end of
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 Isaiah 53
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 about Jesus,
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 the one who
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 had no
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 beauty,
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 the suffering
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 servant of
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 humanity,
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 I will give
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 him a portion
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 among the
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 great,
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 and he
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 will divide
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 the spoils
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 with the
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 strong.
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 That's the
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 first thing.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 The second
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 thing we
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 get when
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 we understand
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 that Jesus
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 gives up
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 everything to
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 make us
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 beautiful is
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 a new
00:33:09 --> 00:33:11 experience of
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 our beauty
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 to him.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 Nat and
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 I, my
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 wife,
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 were married
00:33:19 --> 00:33:22 26 years,
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 eight months
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 and 27 days
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 ago today.
00:33:25 --> 00:33:28 It's not
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 anniversary
00:33:29 --> 00:33:29 per se.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 That's
00:33:31 --> 00:33:34 9
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 days,
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 not that
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 I'm
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 counting.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 Now,
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 I still
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 remember
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 that day,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 not far
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 from here,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 I still
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 remember the
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 day when
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 she appeared
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 at the
00:33:45 --> 00:33:47 door of
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 the church
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 and started
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 to walk
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 down the
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 aisle.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 She
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 looked
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 stunning.
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 She was
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 absolutely
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 stunning.
00:33:55 --> 00:33:55 Do you
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 know why?
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 Do you
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 know why?
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 Because an
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 awful lot of
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 money had
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 been spent
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 on a
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 fancy dress,
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 on hair
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 and makeup
00:34:06 --> 00:34:08 that she
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 had to get
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 woken up
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 early in
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 order for
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 that all
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 to be
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15 worked out.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 Now,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 bear with
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 me here.
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 I haven't
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 finished the
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 illustration
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 just yet.
00:34:22 --> 00:34:26 I think
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 Nat was
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 beautiful
00:34:27 --> 00:34:29 before all
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 of that
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 and in
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 fact,
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 I would
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 say so
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 much more
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 to me
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 now than
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 even
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 then.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 But it
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 is a
00:34:36 --> 00:34:38 fact that
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 makeup and
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 fancy clothes
00:34:40 --> 00:34:42 make most
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 of us,
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 pushes most
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 of us up
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 a notch
00:34:45 --> 00:34:47 in terms of
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 appearances.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:50 regardless of
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 what you
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 think of my
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 appearance right
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 now, you
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 should have
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 seen me when
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 I crawled out
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 of bed this
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 morning.
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 This
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 morning,
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 you don't
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 get my
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 when I first
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 wake up
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 look.
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 I've
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 used David
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 Beckham's
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 shower gel
00:35:10 --> 00:35:12 this morning.
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 Not literally
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 his shower gel,
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 but the
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 one that
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 promises you
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 you may
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 look like
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 him if
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 you use
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 the
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 shower gel.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 And also
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 a thing
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 called
00:35:23 --> 00:35:25 facial fuel
00:35:25 --> 00:35:28 which
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 promises to
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 be a
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 facial
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 recovery
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 accelerator.
00:35:32 --> 00:35:35 now the
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 irony of
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 that
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 particular
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 product
00:35:37 --> 00:35:40 is that
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 I didn't
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 even know,
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 I didn't
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 even buy
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 it, it
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 was just
00:35:42 --> 00:35:44 there on
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 the bench
00:35:44 --> 00:35:46 and it's
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 a men's
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 product.
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 And I'm
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 the only
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 man in
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 the house,
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 man in
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 the house,
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 so someone
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 has picked
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 this up.
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 And I'm
00:35:57 --> 00:35:57 working on the
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 assumption that
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 maybe I need
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 it.
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 So there
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 we go.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:02 recovery
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 accelerator.
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 We'll see
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 over the
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 course of
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 Esther whether
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 it's worked
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 or not.
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 Several of
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 the
00:36:17 --> 00:36:20 imperfections
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 and flaws
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 that I'm
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 self-conscious
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 of have been
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 hidden.
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 They've been
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 covered up.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 They've been
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 worked on.
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 See, when
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 Jesus uses
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 the metaphor
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 of us
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 being his
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 bride,
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 one of the
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 things that
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 he has in
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 mind is
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 that despite
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 all the
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 spiritual
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 flaws,
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 despite all
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 the failings,
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 despite all
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 the sin,
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 despite all
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 of my
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 lackluster and
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 apathy towards
00:36:48 --> 00:36:48 him,
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 that he has
00:36:50 --> 00:36:52 so clothed
00:36:52 --> 00:36:54 me with his
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 beauty, with
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 his righteousness,
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 righteousness,
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 that he has
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 so surrounded
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 me and
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 us with
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 his own
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 beauty that
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 he gave
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 us, that
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 he has so
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 cleansed me
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 of my
00:37:07 --> 00:37:09 sin, that
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 when he sees
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 me, when he
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 sees his
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 children, when
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 he looks upon
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 his church,
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 his heart
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 bursts,
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20 his heart
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 bursts with
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 delight,
00:37:23 --> 00:37:25 and to
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 the degree
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 that we
00:37:27 --> 00:37:27 know that
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 this is
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 true of
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 us, in
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 his eyes,
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 every single
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 moment, it
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 will free
00:37:34 --> 00:37:36 us from
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 our culture's
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 enslavement,
00:37:39 --> 00:37:39 telling us
00:37:39 --> 00:37:41 what we must
00:37:41 --> 00:37:41 look like,
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 what we must
00:37:42 --> 00:37:44 have, what we
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 must accomplish
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 in order to be
00:37:46 --> 00:37:46 accepted.
00:37:46 --> 00:37:49 accepted, in
00:37:49 --> 00:37:49 order to be
00:37:49 --> 00:37:51 loved, in
00:37:51 --> 00:37:52 order to be
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 approved of,
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 because in
00:37:55 --> 00:37:57 Jesus Christ, in
00:37:57 --> 00:37:59 the gospel, we
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 have the
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 approval of
00:38:01 --> 00:38:03 the only
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 praiseworthy
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 one.
00:38:05 --> 00:38:11 the third
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 thing we
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 get when we
00:38:12 --> 00:38:14 understand that
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 Jesus gives
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 up everything to
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 make us
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 beautiful in
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 his sight, is
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 a new
00:38:20 --> 00:38:22 understanding of
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 the ugly
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 things in
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 life.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 Those things
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 which we
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 might otherwise
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 cause us to
00:38:29 --> 00:38:29 question his
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 existence, or
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 his power, or
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 his willingness
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 to intervene,
00:38:33 --> 00:38:35 or even
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 his presence.
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 And
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 including the
00:38:39 --> 00:38:40 new understanding
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 of the ugly
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 things within
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 the church, which
00:38:43 --> 00:38:44 are difficult to
00:38:44 --> 00:38:44 navigate and
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 process.
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 There are
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 parts of the
00:38:48 --> 00:38:49 Bible that
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 talk about
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 suffering and
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51 hardship, refining
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 those who Jesus
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 loves.
00:38:54 --> 00:38:54 And the
00:38:54 --> 00:38:56 imagery is
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 always of
00:38:57 --> 00:38:58 gold being
00:38:58 --> 00:39:00 refined, and
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 the impurities
00:39:01 --> 00:39:02 being burned up
00:39:02 --> 00:39:02 in the
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 furnace.
00:39:03 --> 00:39:04 And once
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 we are
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 assured of
00:39:06 --> 00:39:06 God's love,
00:39:07 --> 00:39:07 I mean really
00:39:07 --> 00:39:08 assured of
00:39:08 --> 00:39:09 it, when we
00:39:09 --> 00:39:10 go through
00:39:10 --> 00:39:10 troubles and
00:39:10 --> 00:39:12 sufferings, it
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 actually purifies
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 us.
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15 It makes us
00:39:15 --> 00:39:16 more beautiful
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 down on the
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 inside.
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 You see, in
00:39:18 --> 00:39:20 Jesus, suffering
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 is not God
00:39:21 --> 00:39:23 abandoning us
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 in any sense.
00:39:25 --> 00:39:26 He uses the
00:39:26 --> 00:39:27 refining process
00:39:27 --> 00:39:28 to get rid of
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 the pride and
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 the foolishness
00:39:30 --> 00:39:31 of the fear.
00:39:32 --> 00:39:33 Bit by bit, he
00:39:33 --> 00:39:33 is making us
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 more beautiful
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 to him.
00:39:36 --> 00:39:37 And once we
00:39:37 --> 00:39:38 are assured of
00:39:38 --> 00:39:39 God's love,
00:39:40 --> 00:39:41 then we see the
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 hard times, the
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 ugly moments of
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 life as God's
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 spiritual beauty
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48 treatments.
00:39:50 --> 00:39:50 When we go
00:39:50 --> 00:39:50 through the
00:39:50 --> 00:39:52 hardships with
00:39:52 --> 00:39:54 absolute assurance
00:39:54 --> 00:39:55 that we are
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 already beautiful
00:39:56 --> 00:39:58 in God's
00:39:58 --> 00:40:00 sight, we
00:40:00 --> 00:40:00 start to become
00:40:00 --> 00:40:02 more beautiful
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 in our hearts,
00:40:03 --> 00:40:05 in our lives.
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07 Just like
00:40:07 --> 00:40:08 pressure creates
00:40:08 --> 00:40:08 a diamond.
00:40:09 --> 00:40:10 So God has
00:40:10 --> 00:40:10 not abandoned
00:40:10 --> 00:40:11 you in your
00:40:11 --> 00:40:11 troubles.
00:40:13 --> 00:40:14 He's at work,
00:40:14 --> 00:40:15 even if it's
00:40:15 --> 00:40:15 not obvious,
00:40:16 --> 00:40:17 he's at work
00:40:17 --> 00:40:19 leading you,
00:40:20 --> 00:40:20 holding you,
00:40:22 --> 00:40:23 refining you,
00:40:23 --> 00:40:25 and ultimately
00:40:25 --> 00:40:26 saving you.
00:40:27 --> 00:40:28 His invisibility
00:40:28 --> 00:40:30 is not his
00:40:30 --> 00:40:31 absence.
00:40:32 --> 00:40:33 So keep
00:40:33 --> 00:40:34 looking to
00:40:34 --> 00:40:34 what he's
00:40:34 --> 00:40:35 already done
00:40:35 --> 00:40:36 for you in
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37 Jesus to
00:40:37 --> 00:40:37 make you
00:40:37 --> 00:40:38 beautiful and
00:40:38 --> 00:40:38 acceptable to
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 him.
00:40:41 --> 00:40:42 It's a
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43 commitment to
00:40:43 --> 00:40:44 you that he
00:40:44 --> 00:40:45 intends on
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46 following through
00:40:46 --> 00:40:46 for all of
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47 eternity.
00:40:48 --> 00:40:49 Once he sets
00:40:49 --> 00:40:50 his heart on
00:40:50 --> 00:40:52 you, he will
00:40:52 --> 00:40:52 make you
00:40:52 --> 00:40:53 beautiful
00:40:53 --> 00:40:54 forever.
00:40:55 --> 00:40:56 Romans 8,
00:40:57 --> 00:40:58 we know that
00:40:58 --> 00:40:58 in all things
00:40:58 --> 00:40:59 God works for
00:40:59 --> 00:41:00 the good of
00:41:00 --> 00:41:00 those who
00:41:00 --> 00:41:01 love him,
00:41:01 --> 00:41:01 who have
00:41:01 --> 00:41:02 been called
00:41:02 --> 00:41:02 according to
00:41:02 --> 00:41:03 his purpose.
00:41:03 --> 00:41:04 For those
00:41:04 --> 00:41:04 God foreknew,
00:41:05 --> 00:41:06 he also
00:41:06 --> 00:41:06 predestined to
00:41:06 --> 00:41:07 be conformed to
00:41:07 --> 00:41:08 the image of
00:41:08 --> 00:41:08 his son.
00:41:10 --> 00:41:10 Those he
00:41:10 --> 00:41:11 predestined,
00:41:11 --> 00:41:11 he called.
00:41:12 --> 00:41:12 Those he
00:41:12 --> 00:41:12 called, he
00:41:12 --> 00:41:13 justifies.
00:41:14 --> 00:41:14 Those he
00:41:14 --> 00:41:16 justifies, he
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 glorifies.
00:41:17 --> 00:41:18 When he set
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 his heart to
00:41:19 --> 00:41:20 love you,
00:41:20 --> 00:41:21 the end of
00:41:21 --> 00:41:22 that is to
00:41:22 --> 00:41:22 make you
00:41:22 --> 00:41:23 beautiful.
00:41:23 --> 00:41:23 Thank you.