• Queen Hadassa (Esther) would be played by Drew Barrymoore,
  
• King Ahasuerus would be played by Patrick Stewart,
  
• Haman would be played by Alan Rickman,
  
• Mordicai would be played by Sean Connery, and
  
• Queen Vashti would be played by Sandra Bullock.

This is the story that only God can write. I mean... Here's King Ahasuerus he's got the BIGGEST kingdom. He's in most respects "King of the World." Very sad... he's a push-over. We first see this when at his big "party" he calls his wife(Queen Vashti) so that he can show her off to all of his drunk friends, she refuses. And then... his "wise" men convince him to banish her because all the women in the kingdom will rebel against their husbands. So he does!!!
Next thing that happens, he gets lonely, and he sets out some people to gather the most "beautiful virgins." See it was a large Beauty pageant... but instead of being crowned "Miss Persia," the winner would be crowned Queen.

Then there's Hadassa, that is, Esther. "The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordicai took her as his own daughter." Mordicai was her cousin. He tells her that she can't tell anyone she is a Jew.
When the king sent out those beauty scouts, one of them saw Esther, and she was among the "beautiful virgins" to be taken and given a year full of beauty-treatments, and then be presented to the king. So she went into the king and he chose her above ALL the other women. Imagine that.. there must have been thousands (his kingdom was HUGE remember?), and yet, she was the one chosen as queen.
Well... she's queen, and the King throws her a big party, nicely named, "The Feast of Esther."

In comes Mordicai. He's just sitting one day at the gate, and he overhears two guys, Bigthan and Teresh, planning to kill the king. Mordicai told Queen Esther, and she told the king. Then Bigthan and Teresh get caught, and all is well.

Enter Haman, the kings right hand so-to-speak. He's arrogant, and a total idiot. He wants everyone in the kingdom to bow as he passes by (who does this guy think he is, the king or something?), but this one guy, Mordicai, refuses. And he gets all hot in the head, runs home and pouts to wifey-poo.

During one of the king's big banquet (he had a lot of those) Haman goes and asks if he can pas this decree (he explains it, but I'll explain it later), the kings like.. "sure whatever.. use the money.. take my ring." (See real push-over!) So Haman writes up this decree:

Destroy, kill, annihilate all the Jews,
both young and old,
little children and women,
in ONE DAY!
The Thirteenth Day of the Twelth month
that is, Adar
To plunder their posessions.

So Mordicai found out what happened, and he went and told Esther through Hathach, a eunuch appointed by the king for Queen Esther, and Mordicai instructed Esther to go to the king. Esther's reply: "All the king's servant and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but on law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."
Mordicai's reply: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Fews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Esther's reply: "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; niether eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."

So Esther put on her royal robes, and stood in the inner court of the kings palace.. while the king sat on his royal throne. So when the king saw Queen Esther standing there, she found favor in his sight (she was beautiful, and he was like *in the words of Max Lucado* "a-hubba-hubba"), so he extended the golden scepter. So Esther walked forward and touched the tip of the golden scepter. WOW! Imagine... the whole room must have gone silent. All the servants must have stopped to watch as Esther entered, eyes went to the king... "What is he going to do?" and then.. he lowers the scepter... she walks up and touches it.
So the king asks what Esther wants, and he explains that if she asked up to half of the kingdom, he'd willingly give it to her. And what does she do? "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."
The people there must have litterally been blown away... she risks death by coming in... and all she asks for is for him to come to her little party?
So he agrees, and calls for Haman to come right away.

So they go to the banquet.. and the king suspects something. "What do you really want Queen Esther." Just come to another Banquet, you and Haman, tomorrow, and I'll tell you then."

After the banquet, Haman's head is swelled even larger than it was before, and he goes home and boasts to all his household. Only, there was one damper on his jubilous celebration... Mordicai. He hated him.. this Jew who refused to bow to him as he walked by.. this Jew, the scum of the earth. He met him on his way home.. I'm sure Mordicai felt proud as he refused to bow, and Haman just felt more angry.
But Haman got home, called for all his family and friends and said, "Nana-nana-boo-boo. The Queen picked me, she didn't pick you." (okay he probably didn't say that, but man was his head huge) He says that he and the king were the only ones invited to this exclusive banquet, and he gets to go again the next day. But then he tells them about Mordicai... and so this is what his wife, Zerish, suggests:

"Let a gallows be made, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordicai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet."

Well.. that night the king had insomnia, he couldn't sleep. He decided to do some royal reading. He was reading along, and was looking over the plot that Mordicai discovered, and searches, but can't find anywhere the reward that he received. He asked a servant who was there, "Nothing has been done for him."
The king calls in whoever was in the court. Well, Haman had just entered there to suggest hanging Mordicai. So Haman was called to advise the king. So the king says, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Haman with his big ego was like.. "Hey, who else could he mean, but me?" So he told the king to take the royal robe and place it on the man, and let him ride the royal horse down the main street, as someone shouts out, "This is what the king does to those he delights to honor." The king was like, okay let's do it, do everything you've said to...... Mordicai. Oh poor Haman, crushed. He has to go out and shout "This is what the king does to those who he delights to honor" while he leads Mordicai around on the horse.

After Haman had done that, he went home, with his head covered, mourning. And he once again cried to wifey-poo. He was humiliated. So he told all his friends, all his family what happened, and Zeresh (full of wisdom and everything, says that if he's a Jew, there's no defeating him. Talk about kicking a guy while he's down.

Anyway, Haman goes to that banquet that Queen Esther prepared, and once again the king asks Esther what she wants. Moment of truth.

Then Esther the queen answered and said, "If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

So the king stormed out, he was REALLY mad. Well.. Haman came to the Queen, and pleaded for his life, 'cause he knew the king was mad. By the time the king got in there... Haman was on the bed that Esther was on. The king got mad, they covered Haman's face.

In comes a servant anouncing to Haman that the gallows he had built is now finished, this same gallows he built to hang Mordicai with. And the king said, "Hang him on it."

Mordicai took Haman's place as advisor to the king, and was appointed over the house of Haman.

So Esther, with tears, pleaded to the king to counteract the decree against the Jews.

The king talks, and explains what happened, says write a decree yourselves, as you please, in the king's name, use my ring, make it official.

So by this decree the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect themselves. The Jews rejoiced, and the people decided they wouldn't even try to touch the Jews. There were some who did.. and the Jews got them. The overpowered them.

The king asked Esther if she wanted anything else.. she said.. let the Jews do tomorrow what they did today (fight their enemies), and the king said okay. Well.. they did, and the day after that they had a feast.

And Mordicai kept getting richer, and greater, and more feared.

How does this apply to the HERE AND NOW?
Well, we are given examples.

Esther risked her life by going in to see the king. How many of us would be willing to do that? Well first off she was a little hesitant. Her cousin, Mordecai, then said, "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (4:14)
What a thought eh? No where do I see where it mentions whether or not Esther wanted to be there. Yeah, I know. What girl wouldn't want to be queen, and be waited upon, right? But what if she was miserable? She was probably afraid. She was probably wondering, "what if anyone finds out that I'm a Jew?"
You know though, each of us are throw into different circumstances, we have little choice sometimes, but think, God put you where you are, for the greater good! (remember Joseph? Genesis 37-50 also see Romans 8:28)

Now I know this question has been posed a lot in the past year, after various school shootings, but I ask you, how many of us would be willing to die for our faith?
You know, there may even be a few of us here who may have that chance.

Mordecai did not back down to Haman, he stood firm. That's what we as Christians need to do. We need to daily make the choice, and say, "today I will stand for Christ! Today I will not back down under persecutions! Today, I will 'be all that I can be'! No one can silence me, no one can stop me, I will stand!" You know, maybe one day a few of us will actually face the choice, to give up our lives for Christ. But I believe it must start in that daily stand, daily picking up our crosses and following Christ.
There is a song that seems to fit so perfectly with what I'm saying. I don't remember all the words, just the chorus. It's sung by Clay Crosse, Bob Carlise, and I can't remember the other guy's name.
The words are:

I will follow Christ
I will run the race
 fight the good fight
   standing on my faith
I will wear the name of Jesus
I will give Him all my life
 and for me no matter what the sacrifice
I will follow Christ!