Leaving a legacy and making an impact
Selected verses from Esther
Introduction-
If you would turn to the book of Esther- it is between Nehemiah and Job. I want to talk this morning about leaving a legacy and making an impact in people’s lives.
Can you believe it! The first Sunday of 2020! I just feel Barbara Walters ought to say and “this is 2020”
For some of us, we were just worrying about Y2K, worrying if the computers would shut down and cause all kinds of turmoil, and now we are moving toward a new decade. I don’t know about you, but I am ready and willing to see what God has for us in 2020.
I am ready to shake off those things that have hindered me, my family, my church, my country.
I have to be truthful and say that I am a little scared but I don’t want that to stop me from receiving whatever that is.
I want what God is offering!
I want change, and I want it to begin in me! And through me!
I don’t want to look to anyone else, or blame anyone one else- I want the Lord to do something new!
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 tells us that there is a time for everything-
A time to plant and a time to uproot
A time to gather and a time to scatter.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to morn and a time to dance.
A time to tear down and a time to build.
A time to heal.
This is the best resolution you could ever make. Amen.
Whatever needs to happen Lord let it be.
Whatever you want from me, may I give it to you.
There has been so many people that have shaped my life over the years. Some of them I have never personally met but one day on the other side of glory I will.
Those people who according to Hebrews chapter 12 are my cloud of witnesses waiting for me to arrive home.
There are people who mentor you and there are those we should be mentoring.
Those People who make or have made an impact in your life and those whom God has placed in your path so you can make an impact in their lives.
What legacy are you going to leave behind once the Lord brings you home?
I believe before we can disciple others, we have to be a disciple of the Lord- As the Lord has invested in us, we are to invest in others.
We cannot take anything to heaven with us, but we can send things up before we go.
I believe that we must be intentional on allowing the Lord to disciple us and all that is involved in that process and I believe as believers, we have a responsibility to disciple and invest in other people lives.
We are not saved to strictly move from earth to heaven. We are to make an impact and share in the responsibility of evangelizing those around us.
Turn to the book of Esther. I want to show you what a legacy looks like and what taking advantage of where the Lord has you to make an impact.
Background-
King Xerxes had a queen who disrespected him in front of all his leaders. He felt that if he did nothing about it, more women would do that and he was advised to cast her out of the kingdom and take her crown. He was told to look for a new queen from his large kingdom. All the eligible virgins were invited to come to the king for a beauty pageant. The main characters are king Xerxes, his dethroned queen Vishti, Mordecai, his cousin Hadassah, also known as Esther, and the king’s henchmen Haman. Esther was coached into participating by her cousin Mordacai. He also told her not to let the king know that she was Jewish. Esther found favor with the king and was appointed queen after some drama. Mordecai standing outside the gate one day heard that there was going to be an assassination of the king and warned the king through Esther. The king wanted to honor Mordecai and he asked Haman how he would honor a hero. Haman thought that the one the king was talking about him so he told the king should parade the hero through the city on a beautiful horse and have everyone bow down to him as second in command. So the king brings Mordecai in and tells Haman these are the things to do for Mordecai. You can imagine the rage that was in Haman as he was having to do for someone else what he thought they should be doing for him. Haman not only wanted to kill Mordecai, but wanted to kill all the Jews. He deceives the king into making crazy decrees that would accomplish the task. Mordecai finds out the plot and goes to prayer- this is where we pick it up in the text.
Esther 4:1-8 Read from Bible
Leaving a legacy is to get involved in people’s lives.
Mordecai could have said nothing- “I do not want to get involved”- if he would not have gotten involved, he would have never found out that the whole Jewish race was threatened by Haman.
Mordecai was willing to share his blessings and his resources for a cause that was important to him.
Mordecai was a mentor and he allowed others to be his mentor.
Mordecai not only reflected on what was important, he responded to what was important. There are many people who believe in a cause, they just are not willing to get involved and take the risk or invest in the cause. They love it from a distance.
Mordecai pursued his passion and it became infectious to others so the plan with God’s help would come to pass.
Now let’s apply some of that to our lives-
God will not ask you to do something that He is not prepared to equip you to accomplish. What He calls us too, He will be involved in.
We are called at times to stand in the gap and allow God to use us.
If you are a disciple of Christ, you will be reaching out to others in some way. Being a follower of Christ means when Jesus looks back at you, you will be there.
You would be a follower of Christ
You would be a learner of Christ
Everywhere you go and everything you do becomes an opportunity to share what Christ has done.
Go- Action-
Follow me- obedience
Learn from me- model of Christ
Two challenges to leave a legacy like that
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and body, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Be holy, because I, the Lord your God is holy.
He has to be your God! Not just your buddy, your religion, not just one who you call on in time of need. He has to be your God!
He says to each of us- “You shall do these things”
American church is so concerned with being entertaining on a Sunday morning that we struggle with the mandate to “Go” and the mandate to “Follow” (Repeat)
Mordecai could not stay silent because to stay silent would be disobedient to his God.
On this side of the cross of Christ-
To be silent would be in conflict with Jesus words to us to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Luke 9:23
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus, and he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Mark 1:17
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Matthew 10:38
And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Luke 18:22
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
You want to leave a legacy that the Lord would approve of- it will be to follow Jesus as the model of your life and get involved in people lives and share the good news of the gospel-
That would be what I want on my tombstone-
“Follower of Jesus.”
Goodyear has a commercial out right now about determination, being focused- “The blimp does not show up for just anybody, so don’t be just anybody- be blimp worthy”
In prospective- you are a follower of Christ- be worthy of being a Christ follower.
Legacy- For such a time is this
Most of us see Esther as a book about doing the right thing.
A story of God taking care of his people even though Esther is a book where God is not mentioned one time.
It is a reflection of God without mentioning God. The events in Esther take place 500 years before Christ and the Jews were returning home after 70 years of captivity and God was going to use Mordecai and Esther to do something amazing!
Esther and Mordecai were in that position for such a time is this!
They were there to accomplish what was needed for the kingdom of God and God had selected them to be his vessels of accomplishing that. (If they would make themselves available)
Are you willing to be used right where you are at?
We are not to be silent
Out of the ashes comes redemption and the beauty of God.
Chuck Swindoll in his book “Esther,” wrote, “God’s presence is not as intriguing as his absence. His voice is not as eloquent as his silence. Who of us have not longed for a word from God, searched for a glimpse of his power, or yearned for the reassurance of his presence, only to feel that he seems absent from the moment, distant, preoccupied. Yet later, we realize how very present he was all along.”
Ever hear the term “Big doors swing on small hinges”- God can do great things with common people when they are doing these things in the power and anointing of God.
Keep your talents and gifts dusted off and ready to use but more importantly, make sure you are available for what the Lord wants to do through you in His power.
There is a time to speak up and a time to keep quiet- I am learning from the Lord when to do each.
Has God placed you where you are at for such a time as this? Maybe we should be praying about it.
How can I use my Christian influence here?
How can God be glorified?
What does God want me to say or not say?
Let me close this time with these thoughts-
God created you for a purpose- on purpose!
You are not an afterthought.
God has something for each one of us- individually and corporately.
You may be one step of faith away from a blessing to take you to a new level or be a part of someone’s life that takes them to the next level.
Maybe you are where you are at because God has a job for you to do or a project to finish.
He is placing that responsibility in your court- will you accept the task and allow God to work through you.
That is leaving a legacy that the Lord would put His approval on!
Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
The legacy you leave will depend on your wiliness to think different, to renew your mind so that having the mind of Christ is played out in your life while you are on this earth.
Perhaps if the old ways are not working, you’re ready to try something new
Perhaps in your life- that means working on your relationship with the Lord!
Perhaps through your life- I have tried and that has not worked for me- As a follower of Christ- you are to go tell and live out your life for Christ- maybe just make yourself available to people and be willing for the Lord to use you where you are at and asking God for His anointing to work through you.
We will see a harvest and we will see our lives move to the next level-
Everyone of us as believers of Christ is called to the caring of people’s souls- to take them from the flames.
Every Christian is called “to do the work of an evangelist.” 2 Timothy 4:5
We are not all called to preach, but we are all called to go in this world and reach the lost and leave a legacy that points people to Jesus!
No one on their death bed wants more money… they want time for the people that matter.
Prayer-
