Have you ever heard of the killer whale by the name of Shamu? Shamu is a killer whale that lives in SeaWorld in San Diego, USA. You may also know Shamu by his stage name, Willy. He acted in the movie Free Willy.
The biggest whale jumping in this picture is Shamu. “Shamu is one of the world's largest killer whales living in a zoological park”[ii] and weighs about 8-tons. Have you ever wondered how one trains an 8-ton killing machine? Well, I can tell you this… they never used a rolled up newspaper to smack him on the nose if he was naughty. If they did, they would possibly lose a limb, or even worse.
To train an 8-ton killing machine is a very delicate procedure it takes finesse. They encourage the whale to do something, and when it does, they praise him for it.
For example: Training to jump over a pole:
- When the whale swims under the pole, the trainers don’t pay a lot of attention to it. They almost ignore it. There is no encouragement.
- When the whale swims over the pole, the trainers spend a lot of time praising the animal for doing something right. There is a lot of encouragement.
- The next thing you know, the whale is leaping out of the water jumping over the pole, and enjoying it.
Well, the same principle applies to human beings.
Training us is also a very delicate procedure. We respond very well to encouragement and not so well to discouragement.
Today, we need to be encouraged more than ever. We are bombed with negativity (news, etc.). A psychologist put it this way; See if this describes you…
“Most adults are skilled at discouragement, having received more than their share. We have learned how to yell, threaten, nag, interrogate, criticize, reward, punish, and isolate when problems arise.”[iii]
Sadly, we fall into this definition. But the good news is, we don’t have to stay there. We can become encouragers.
Take movies for example: We LOVE movies where the underdog gets the ‘encouragement’ speech - it inspires us. Why? Because there is, something hardwired within us that causes us, and animals, to respond to encouragement. We want to be better; know we matter; know we are significant; We want to feel like we can do anything; We want to know we are not alone; We want to know that someone believes in us!
In short, like Shamu, we often need that outside voice of encouragement to boost us. And when we are encouraged, we can take on the world.
Today we are learning from the story of Esther and we’ll see what power there is in encouraging…
Context: Place: Palace of King Xerxes. These are the remains:
Geographic: Persian Capital City called Susa, Persian Empire - now known as Shush in SW Iran[iv].
Time: 486 BC
- Queen Vashti – who was the 1st Queen.
- Esther became queen in 480 BC.
Chapter 1:
One day the King was having a party (a banquette for the boys in the palace) when he sent a messenger to ask Queen Vashti (who was having a banquette for the girls) to join him with his guests. She said ‘no’. Her refusal was seen as blatant disobedience to the king’s command- this was a big ‘NO-NO’. This angered him and so she lost her title as queen.
After the King had calmed down, he was lonely and “queenless”. So His advisors advised Him to look for another queen. He liked the idea and they started their search all over the land for beautiful young virgins.
Chapter 2:
Now - This is where Esther comes into the story - A beautiful, young, Jewish girl, was one of the young girls chosen.
She was adopted and raised by her cousin, Mordecai, when her parents died.
In the king’s search for a new queen, Mordecai advised her not to mention she was a Jew. (So that all stays a secret for now.) Esther is chosen and as one of the potentials and is taken to the Palace. But before any girl was allow to see the King they had to have a beauty treatment.
Can anyone guess how long the treatment was? 12 months.
- 6 months = with oil and myrrh;
- 6 months = with perfumes and cosmetics.
So the day arrives for Esther to meet the King and he digs her - More than the other girls. So in Chapter 2, Esther becomes Queen.
One day, while Mordecai was sitting at the Kings gate, he overheard two guards planning to assassinate the king. Mordecai then tells Queen Esther who tells the King. After investigating, the king then hangs the two guards. This was recorded in the Palace journals.
Chapter 3:
Introduces a guy named Haman – 2nd command in Persia.
This guy was so full of himself that he made all people kneel down and pay respect to him as he walked past them. (Mr Vain song was his song). But Mordecai refused to do this. This infuriated Haman so much that he wanted to kill Mordecai and all the Jews in the Kingdom.
Can you remember who else is a Jew in this story? Yip, Queen Esther. (But this is still a secret.)
But Haman doesn’t know this – so he runs to the king saying telling the king, there are a breed of people in the kingdom that disobey the king’s laws. It is not the Kings interest to tolerate these people, so I’ll have them killed and give you 375 tons of silver for the royal treasury.
Because the king doesn’t know any better – he agrees to it. He signs up a document in all the languages of the provinces, stating that on a certain day, all the Jews will annihilated – young and old, woman and children and plunder their goods. Then they sat down and had a drink.
CHAPTER 4 Text: Esther 4
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.
3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
5 Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
6 So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate.
7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
9 Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,
11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai,
13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
Esther just found herself facing a crossroad (choice).
- Her first response was to protect herself, giving Mordecai an excuse for not taking any responsibility. In her mind, she was safely tucked away in the palace whilst, what was about to happen to the people wasn’t her concern.
- The second was to listen to her cousin, and do what was right – at the risk of her own life.
WOW! What a place to be.
Because Mordecai encouraged her, she was inspired to become something greater when the bar was raised (like the killer whales)… see what happens.
Chapter 5:
After those three days, she put on the royal robes and approached the King and he never killed her. (good sign) The king asked her what it is she wanted. She wants to throw a feast for the king and Haman. The king agrees and Haman gets all excited and brags to everyone that only He was invited along with the king.
At the feast, the king asks Esther, “What is it she wanted, I’ll even give you half my kingdom if you ask for it”. Esther replied, “if it pleases the king, I’d like you guys over for another feast tomorrow night again and then I will give you my answer”.
So the king and Haman leave. Haman gets home gets home and brags about the feast but is still irritated by Mordecai. So his wife tells him to build massive gallows to have Mordecai hanged. And so he does.
Chapter 6:
That same night the king cannot sleep so he reads the Palace journals. (Remember the journals) He reads how Mordecai uncovered an assassination plot. The king then asks his people, “What honour did Mordecai get?” The answer was, “nothing”.
The next day -Mr. Vain- Haman arrives and the king asks him, “What should he do for someone who must be honoured by the king?” Haman, the narcissist, thinks the king is talking about him – so he spins off this massive ceremony and parade.
The king agrees to this and tells Haman to do it for Mordecai. Can you imagine Haman’s face when the king said it was the guy who he hated the most.
Haman did what the king said and Mordecai was honoured.
Chapter 7: Is the second feast.
The king and Haman are with Esther and King asks Esther again what she wanted. Esther then tells the king that she is a Jew and that all the Jews are going to be killed by the person who even wants to kill the Honoured Mordecai.
The king gets irate and demands the name of this person. Esther says, “it is Haman”. So, The King has Haman hung on the gallows that were built for Mordecai.
- The rest of the chapters tell of the Jews liberation and the process of freedom.
Everything changed because one person simply giving words of encouragement.
How important is it to encourage others? Extremely! It could change the world. We witness this in Esther. Encouragement is powerful!
What does the Bible say about encouragement?
1 Thessalonians 5:11) Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Encouragement Changes the world!
For example: We know that William Wilberforce had slavery abolished. But did you know that John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, wrote letters continuously encouraging William not to give up? Wesley kept encouraging him and he kept of fighting. Slavery lost!
Christians need to be encouragers in this discouraging world! Why? Because we serve an encouraging God!
Did you know that God is an encourager? As He encouraged Esther, He wants to encourage us… Check what the Bible says to us… to name a few…
Matthew 5:13-14
- 13) "You are the salt of the earth”
- 14) "You are the light of the world”
Romans 8:16-17
- 16) “We are children of God”
- 17) “Heirs of God”
1 Corinthian 6:19 “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit”
This is written in the present tense! This is for you right now! So, that you may be encouraged. You have value, you matter, God believes in you so much that he chooses to place His Spirit within you!
Just like Esther had been placed in a specific time, specific place, specific context,… We have been placed right here, right NOW!
God wants to use us now to encourage people like he used Mordecai to encourage Esther.
HOW? Personal Exercise: Think about the people in your life. Family, Friends, acquaintances, strangers you meet along the way…
- Picture who on that list who needs to be encouraged right NOW, today?
- Think about what you need to do to encourage them…
- Do it today! Now!
You need to start with that person you just thought of.
Your time is NOW! To encourage people, especially in the ways of the Lord.
Every day, look for ways to encourage people. Serving the Kingdom of God by encouraging people will not cost you a thing. I encourage you to become the Mordecais of the 21st Century. Encourage at least one person a day. Start with your family.
Allow yourself to become an encourager like Jesus.
Remember: Encouragement Changes the World!
Works Cited
1-World Globes & Maps. (2012). www.worldmapsonline.com/persian_empire.htm. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from www.worldmapsonline.com: www.worldmapsonline.com/persian_empire.htm
Blanchard, K. (2002). Whale Done. New York: The Free Press.
Hodges, M. H. (2011). MESOPOTAMIAN ART. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from http://www.kingsacademy.com: http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/11_Western-Art/02_Mesopotamian/02_Mesopotamian.htm
Inter-Varsity Press. (1998). New Bible Commentary (21st edition ed.). Leicester, England: IVP.
[i] (1-World Globes & Maps, 2012)
[ii] (Blanchard, 2002)
[iii] http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0205-encouragement.html
[iv] (Inter-Varsity Press, 1998, p. 442)
