Justice At Last—Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, August 24, 2025

Justice At Last ReCreate Church | Michael Shockley | August 24, 2025 Esther Series, Part 7: Esther 7

----------

EPISODE SUMMARY

Ever wonder why justice seems delayed while evil appears to prosper? Through the climactic chapter of Esther's story, Michael Shockley reveals how God's justice works - even when it seems absent. From childhood candy theft to global injustices, we all wrestle with why bad things happen to good people and why the guilty seem to escape consequences. But in Esther chapter 7, we witness the ultimate reversal as Queen Esther finally reveals Haman's genocidal plot at the second royal banquet. Watch as the master manipulator becomes terrified, accidentally breaks Persian law by falling near the queen, and ends up executed on the very gallows he built for Mordecai. Through humor, personal stories, and biblical insight, discover how our sense of justice actually reflects God's character and why we can trust that evil may run its mouth, but God's justice will have the last word.

Core Message: Evil may run its mouth, but God's Justice has the last word.

----------

KEY TOPICS COVERED The Universal Desire for Justice

- Childhood experiences with unfairness and sibling candy theft

- Road rage when bad drivers don't get caught by police

- The deeper pain when serious injustices go unpunished

- How our anger at injustice reflects God's image in us

- Why justice feels delayed in a microwave culture when God uses the "Crock Pot"

Esther's Strategic Timing

- The Persian custom of multiple banquets for major requests

- Why Esther delayed her request through two separate meals

- The power of three days of fasting and prayer for divine guidance

- Building up to the revelation rather than making immediate accusations

- How dedicated prayer changes situations and people

The Second Banquet Revelation

- The "banquet of wine" as the traditional time for big requests

- The king's repeated offer: "up to half the kingdom" as generous hyperbole

- Esther's careful approach: "give me my life and the lives of my people"

- Her wisdom in mentioning the king's financial loss from genocide

- The perfect timing after the king remembered Mordecai's loyalty

The Great Unmasking

- The king's rage at learning someone threatened his queen

- Haman's shock at discovering Esther was Jewish

- "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!"

- The terror of the master schemer when his plot is exposed

- How the trusted advisor's betrayal felt like a personal attack

Divine Providence in Action

- The king's strategic exit to process the shocking news

- Haman's desperate pleading that led to breaking Persian law

- Falling on the queen's couch while no man could approach within seven steps

- The king's return at the perfect moment to misinterpret the scene

- How apparent coincidences reveal God's orchestration

Poetic Justice Fulfilled

- The servant's reminder about the 75-foot gallows built for Mordecai

- The irony of Haman being executed on his own construction

- How the enemy literally constructed his own destruction

- The public nature of his humiliation and death

- God writing a story of justice no human author could script

The Challenge of Living Justly

- Micah 6:8: "do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God"

- How we demand justice from others while avoiding personal responsibility

- The call to live with integrity even when it costs us

- Speaking truth and refusing to participate in wrongdoing

- Trusting God's timing when justice seems delayed

----------

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"Evil may run its mouth, but God's Justice has the last word."

"Your ability to recognize injustice and your anger with injustice come from the incredible truth that you were created in the image of a Just God."

"We want microwave answers, when God might be using the Crock Pot."

"What looks like a coincidence is providence."

"The enemy constructed his own destruction. The Unseen Hand of God wrote a story of justice no human author could script."

"Just because we can't see justice, it doesn't mean justice isn't on the way."

"The Justice of God may move slowly, it may be hidden, but when it arrives, it is undeniable and irresistible."

"Don't forget that even injustice will eventually play into God's Plans."

----------

BIBLICAL FOUNDATION

- Primary Text: Esther 7:1-6

- Key Verse: "And Esther said, 'The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!'" (Esther 7:6)

- Supporting Verse: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

- Theme: Divine justice working through human circumstances

-