TITLE: FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
SCRIPTURE: ESTHER 4:14
On Wednesday nights during the Bible Study Hour, we have been conducting a Case Study on the Book of Esther. If you have not participated with us during this exciting series, you have been missing a tremendous treat – We are having a joyous time filled with learning and laughter. We have just concluded the first six chapters with four chapters remaining.
At the end of our Bible Study we will set a date to have dinner in Fellowship Hall and watch the movie entitled “ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING” dinner and have some Popcorn and Iced Tea and Fellowship –
• If you have not seen the movie - One Night with the King is a historical epic film that was released in 2006, here in the United States
• The movie is based on the novel Hadassah: One Night with the King by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen
• The movie - One Night with the King is a dramatization of the Biblical account of Esther, who risked her life by approaching the King of Persia to request that he save the Jewish people
• The movie was produced by Matt and Laurie Crouch
• It was ninth on the list of highest-grossing motion pictures during the week it was released
• The film received a 2007 CAMIE Award
• We invite the whole Church family to come out to experience this ‘Movie Night’ stay tuned for details
The challenge Esther received is found in this text we have read in support of this morning’s message. It may very well be the challenge that our Savior has for you at this point in your life.
• Why are you positioned where you are?
• Why do you work where you work?
• Why do you live where you live?
• Why do you go to School where you go to School?
• Why do you go to Church where you go to Church?
• You do what you do because God has assigned you there - and here – “FOR SUCH AT TIME AS THIS”
Every now and then, we find ourselves at a moment in time that might be called a “Pivot Point” in history.
• In Sports we call it the time for a big play - the time when the game is on the line
• In the Military, it’s “D-Day” – the battle that will win or lose the war
• In Business, it’s the sale that will put you over the top and into the black for the fiscal year
Why are you here in this moment in time?
• Many we grew up with are no longer here
• Those we went to School with, some have gone on to glory
• Relatives much younger than we have been sleeping in the grave
• Yet, here we are at a Pivotal Point in history for our Nation and our Church
• Why are we still here?
• What has God equipped us to do for this season?
In this text this morning we get a glimpse as to the turning point in Esther’s life. The challenge Esther received is found in ESTHER 4:14 and it may very well be the challenge that our Savior has for you at this point in your life. “WHO KNOWS BUT THAT YOU HAVE COME TO YOUR POSITION IN LIFE FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?” In other words, God has placed you where you are, not just to enjoy the benefits of life in Ardmore of America, but to –
• Build His Kingdom
• To Help His People
• To Fulfill His Purposes
Can I tell you this morning just in case you don’t realize - God created you for a divine appointment
• A unique role to fulfill in your life - just like Esther!
• There is something you can do for God that no one else can do
• A God-given niche only you can fill
Don’t think for a moment, “well, Pastor, I have already fulfilled that assignment years ago.”
• If your assignment were over, you would not still be in the land of the living
• If your assignment has been fulfilled you would have made your transition
• Sometimes we have the tendency to think, “Well let the young ones do the work now”
• You are still here – FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
I don’t know what you think of when I say the words “key player in God’s plan” – you probably think of someone in Vocational Ministry - but I hope you will start to think of the man or woman in the mirror -- You are also a “Key Player in God’s Plan.”
• Of all His millions of children, you are the one God has positioned to rescue the people around you
• Of all those sitting in the Congregation this morning, God has positioned you to grow this Church
• Of all the people in City of Ardmore, God has positioned you to be a living witness to Grow His Kingdom
My brothers and sisters, WE HAVE COME TO THIS PLACE FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. God’s planning is never random; His purpose for you and your life were set in place before you were born. We’re reminded in EPHESIANS 1:4 “ACCORDING AS HE HATH CHOSEN US IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HIM IN LOVE.”
• God created you for such a time as this, and He has a plan for you
• If you know what His plan is for your life, celebrate it and share it with others
• You Are here, right now for a Purpose
• A God ordained Purpose
--Sis. Jones celebrating 85 years – Same God that has been waking you up for 31,045 days
--Many of you celebrated 70 years on this earth – Same God that has been waking you up for 25,567 days
--Some of you are 60 years old – Same God that has been waking you up for 21,915 days
--Same God that has been waking you up day after day, still has a purpose and plan for your life and it’s about Kingdom Building
Esther had to also find her God ordained purpose. In the year - 538 BC, the Jews who were exiled in Persia were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple. But many exiles were reluctant to leave the relative security of Persia.
• The Persian Empire was huge, and the capital city was Susa
• It was located on the current borders between Iraq and Iran -- which was inhabited by thousands of Jews
• It is against this backdrop, the story of Esther unfolds
The Persian King decreed that he wanted a new Queen. So a search began. All the beautiful young girls in the Empire were eligible to be the new queen.
• Now, Esther was a poor, Jewish orphan
• Her Uncle, Mordecai, had become her adopted father
• He raised her well
• And Esther was chosen
• She was named the new Queen because of her extraordinary beauty
• But also because of her Grace
• The King genuinely loved Esther, and would do anything for her
• But he had not learned that his new Queen was a Jew!
Meanwhile, the King’s top assistant, an evil, ego-maniac named HAMAN, plotted to murder every Jewish man, woman and child in all of Persia. Esther’s Uncle MORDECAI, the Jew who raised Esther, had refused to bow down to Haman one particular day on the steps of the King’s Court. So, this power-mad leader, Haman, manipulated the king to make a royal decree to have the Jews annihilated.
• At stake were the lives of thousands and thousands of God’s people
• God’s people are in distress
• A day was set for them to die
• They lived with the threat of death
When Uncle Mordecai who raised Esther like a daughter overheard a plan to eliminate the Jewish people he went to Esther for help. Esther was faced with a life altering decision.
• If she went to the king to plead for mercy she faced death for entering his court without a summons
• This would also reveal her Jewish identity, ensuring her death if the planned genocide wasn’t stopped
• If she chose to be silent her cousin and all the Jews in Persia would die
• Mordecai recognized the gravity of Queen Esther’s decision and spoke to her with wisdom
Mordecai tells Queen Esther -- “DON’T THINK FOR A MOMENT THAT BECAUSE YOU’RE IN THE PALACE YOU WILL ESCAPE WHEN ALL OTHER JEWS ARE KILLED. IF YOU KEEP QUIET AT A TIME LIKE THIS, DELIVERANCE AND RELIEF FOR THE JEWS WILL ARISE FROM SOME OTHER PLACE, BUT YOU AND YOUR RELATIVES WILL DIE. WHO KNOWS IF PERHAPS YOU WERE MADE QUEEN FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?”
Esther chose to risk it all. She pleaded for mercy on behalf of her people and the king complied.
• But what if the outcome were different?
• What if the king had executed Esther and the Jews?
• There was no guarantee her life would be spared or her efforts fruitful
• Esther weighed the heavy cost and deemed the risk worthy
She knew in her heart God was calling her, she took action. She told Mordecai to have her people begin FASTING on her behalf. Esther knew if she was going to fulfill her divine appointment, she couldn’t do it relying on her own resources or clever schemes. Through prayer and fasting, she relied on God’s thoughts to be her thoughts. She asked for God’s wisdom and power for her every move.
This has to go down as one of the most incredible “Pivot Points of History.” Mordecai says, “If you do nothing, don’t think you will escape death. You’ll be found out as a Jew and you will die.”
• God’s hands aren’t tied
• He will use someone else to save His people
• But think how great it would be for God to use you
• Could it be that this explains why you were chosen to be Queen, my dear Esther—For Such A Time As This—For This Very Moment?”
Part of the mysterious and divine working of God is we don’t know how and when the purposes of our lives will be manifested.
• When I don’t want to demand rights we should already possess
• When I’m tired of listening to intolerance and hatred
• When I feel powerless as part of a system I disagree with
• I am compelled to remember this: today could be the day
• My influence could be the spark that catalyzes change, from the smallest remark to the boldest act of kindness
I cannot believe Esther’s life was an isolated story. This theme of standing up for righteousness is threaded throughout all of human history.
• What if Dr. Martin Luther King had not Stood up for Social Change?
• What if Rosa Parks had not Sat Down?
• What if Colin Kaepernick had not Taken a Knee?
• What if Moses never Stood Before Pharaoh?
• What if David never Faced Goliath?
• What if Queen Esther never Walked into the Kings Court?
Can I tell you this morning you are here FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. We are told in HOSEA 4:6 “MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE…” People all around us are dying for the truth. That’s why we are here – to bring life where there is death!
• Today, we see the threat of Death to Family
• We see the threat of Death to Morality
• We see the threat of Death to Eternity
• Wherever there is a people of God there are enemies of God
• You are where you are for such a time as this because God’s people are in distress!
God challenges our values. What is most important to you? In order for us to fulfill our divine appointment in such a time as this, we must be willing to let go of the selfishness.
• We’ve got to let go of our need to be in Control
• We’ve got to let go of our telling God when it is convenient in our schedules to serve Him
• We’ve got to sacrifice our Time - Talent - Treasure
• God is looking for a Sacrificial Heart
• What does God see when He sees your Heart?
Oftentimes we are not willing to make the Sacrifice – FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. When God challenges us to make a real difference not for ourselves but make a difference in the lives of those around us we are first reluctant like Queen Esther. When she received word that all the Jews would be destroyed, she was reluctant at first to do anything. Her Uncle had to remind her –
• I realize you are the new Queen
• You are Dressed in the finest of material
• Don’t shop at Walmart now shopping on RODEO DRIVE
• You have a Gold Crown on your Head instead of a Baseball Cap
• You are Eating the Best Food available
• Able to Travel and see things you never dreamed you would see
• Have the Best Perfumes from “Bed, Bath & Beyond”
• Let me remind you, just in case you have forgotten you have come from - you are still a Jew
• If we die, you are going to die with us
We are the same way when God challenges us to move to the next level –
• Wait until after we Retire
• Wait until after the Next Promotion
• Wait until after we are done Raising the Children
• Wait until after the Mortgage is Paid Off
• God wants us when we have the energy
• Now we are Old
• Now we Tired
• Now Arthritis has set in
• Now we want to be in bed by 7:30 instead of midnight
• Now we can’t hardly see during the day, let alone see at night
But there is still work for us to do. It’s no accident that you are at ‘First Church’ at this time in history. Like He did with Esther, God is challenging you this way, “WHO KNOWS BUT THAT YOU WERE PLACED HERE FOR JUST SUCH A TIME AS THIS?”
• The whole course of your life has led to this very point
• God knew that you would be interested enough in the things of God that you’d be a part of ‘First Church’ at this time - excited, we hope, about where your church is going
• God has appointed you for such a time as this
• We need you
• God wants you to accomplish His work of redemption through the ministry of this church
• As we prepare to Celebrate 130 years of this Church serving this Community
• It is up to us to Position the Church for the next 130 Years
--The only way we are going to make it is if every member and attender at ‘First Church’ says, “OK
--That’s it
--Count me in
--I’m in the race
--I will do the mundane stuff with the rest of my life, but count me in
--I want to be part of something bigger than myself
--I want to do something that will last for all eternity
--God knows everything about you and sees you as His masterpiece, and will never give up on creating you to be everything He created you to be
--So, give permission to God to take control of your life
--If you don’t know Jesus, He’s here
--He loves you
--He died to pay the penalty for your sins
--He rose again
--If you haven’t already, ask Jesus to come into your life right now
--FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
