“Love Must Exceed Your Message” by Alan Smith

Esther 5:6-7: During the wine course the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want, and I will give it to you, even if it is half of the kingdom!” Esther replied, “My request, my deepest wish, is that if Your Majesty loves me and wants to grant my request, that you come again with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I shall prepare for you. And tomorrow I will explain what this is all about.”

Do you remember the story in the Bible about Esther? This is such an incredible story about how “love” exceeded the message. King Ahasuerus’ love for Esther exceeded the message of Esther, and Esther’s love for her people exceeded the message of Haman. You may wonder how this applies to your life. Well, have you ever had a word or a message for someone? You know, a message that you just knew the person needed: a message that would change his/her life? Even though your zeal and determination were real, the message which you delivered only caused the opposite of what was intended? Could it be that the message lacked the element of love that it needed to be received? In the story of King Ahasuerus and Esther, love was the factor which saved the lives of many. So let’s explore further, which came first: the love or the message?

It is very obvious in the story of Esther that love was the driving force that preceded the message. But what if the message had come first; would it then have been received? Probably not. True love for someone is like a bank account from which a message must make a withdrawal. In this story a beautiful woman, named Esther, was a Jew who found herself in the king’s court as his wife and his queen. Esther found favor in the heart of the king. Her beauty and humility won his attention and his heart. However, a man in the king’s court, named Haman, was very prideful and wanted attention and power for himself. It truly was a very sad thing for a man to allow his life’s passions to be so selfishly motivated, but so it was with Haman. He was willing to kill, steal, and destroy so his selfish desires could be satisfied.

Esther’s stepfather, named Mordecai, was hated by Haman because Mordecai would not bow down to him. For this reason Haman persuaded the king to let him kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. Queen Esther was of Jewish decent, but no one in the king’s court knew this except Mordecai. Esther loved her people very much, and she could not bear the sentence that Haman had decreed upon them. She knew she must petition the king on behalf of the Jewish people. Let’s read what happened.

Esther 5:1-2: Three days later Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court just beyond the royal hall of the palace, where the king was sitting upon his royal throne. And when he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her, holding out the golden scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched its tip.

Esther is a type of us, the church. We, like Esther, are to enter into the inner court of the King, Jesus, and make a request. We have been clothed with royal robes that have been provided for us by the King Himself. Esther did nothing in her preparation to meet the king, other than receive what the king had already provided for her. She then boldly entered into the inner court and spoke as follows:

Esther 5:4: “If it please Your Majesty, I want you and Haman to come to a banquet I have prepared for you today.”

In this scripture we see that Esther was always considerate of the king and assumed nothing. Her request was that of love first and then the message. There was such a great love in the heart of the king for Esther. His love far exceeded any message she could give him. He knew that no matter what the request was he would give all that he had for her. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus loves you and me so much that He has given all that He has for us. He has given His life and His kingdom too. Now, let’s read what the king said to Esther.

Esther 5:6: During the wine course the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want, and I will give it to you, even if it is half of the kingdom!”

The king’s love for Esther was unbelievable and so is God’s love for you and me. God’s love exceeded His own message. God’s message required for man to live a perfect life. After the fall of man in the garden, the perfect life was an impossible dream. God’s love for His creation far exceeded His own message of perfection. Because God’s love exceeded His own message, He sent His Son to live the perfect life for us. When we receive His love, the message that He required is fulfilled. There is nothing that you have done or nothing more that you can do to be received by the King. Just accept His invitation of love to come unto Him. He has already completed perfection through His Son. Just receive His love this day. He really does care about you.