For Such A Time As This - Esther 3 - 4

[Music] there was a 15 year old boy not my boy but a 15 year old boy came running into the house and found his mom in bed upstairs and he asked if she was sick or something and you know he was concerned she says well you know what as a matter of fact i don't feel too well and the son replied well well don't worry about dinner mom i'll be happy to carry you down to the stove mothers it's tough right it reminds me of that card that was sent from a six-year-old to his mom and says says dear mom here are two aspirins happy mother's day you know sometimes it's like that being a mom is is tough uh the challenges some days you have days where it's overwhelming other days maybe it's going really really good whether you're a mom or a parent or just a single person you're gonna face life's challenges and we have to remember this that god has placed you where you are at in the situations you are in to use you for his glory you may not always understand it you may be saying why it doesn't make sense these financial issues these health issues these marriage complications these family dynamics and everything within you almost is saying well why god why have you put me here if the lord could whisper to you today he's saying i put you in there to use your life for my glory will you cooperate with me and that's what somewhat of what we find that god can use us even in those situations that seem so out of control overwhelming don't make sense whatever it may be and esther reminds us of that as we see god elevate her to this place to have an incredible really global impact and today we're going to look at the plot to destroy the jews in chapter three and the person to save the jews in chapter four as we sum it up so let's start in chapter three verse one after these things king ahasuras that's king xerxes promoted haman the son of ham uh what the son of hamadatha not a word you say every day the agagite and advanced him and set his seed above all the princes who were with him and all the king's servants who were with the king within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to haman for so the king had commanded concerning him but mordecai would not bow or pay homage you know let's pray first lord as we dive into your word we recognize the power of your word we recognize your holy spirit to work within our hearts use this we pray in jesus name amen we're introduced to haman haman is the super villain of this book we call him haman the horrible might as well and it's noted there in in verse one that he is an agagite and why is that important well king agag was king of the amalekites the enemies of the jews he becomes a type of the fleshly desires and back in first samuel chapter 15 king saul of israel was told by the prophet samuel from the lord you need to destroy the amalekites king saul went out to battle and he decided we'll destroy all the amalekites but we're going to keep king aeg i mean what can one man do in the end of his life king saw saul's life it was an amalekite who put him to death and here we are generations later and we see that one who is from the descendants of that king agag is now set on going to destroy all of the jews here's my point deal with sin while it is small today because in time it will cause great havoc and harm to you and your family we think oh i got it under control it's no big deal it's it's my little secret thing here and there no deal with it what does the bible say crucify the the flesh with its passions and lust deal with it don't give the enemy a foothold to rip you off because it's going to be greater than what you ever anticipate and that's what we see played out here haman becomes like he's like a hitler type he's a type of the antichrist he's promoted to this place of power by the king and he wants to eventually annihilate all the jews people are bowing down to him as a sign of respect all except one guy verse 2 tells us mordecai would not bow or pay homage to him now why would uncle morty not do this in the bible at times people would would would bow down in respect to an authority abraham did that we find moses did that for his father-in-law we find people did that before king david so why wouldn't mordecai bow just simply in respect of course the bible says don't bow in worship but why not just in respect i mean and this wasn't just like the curtsy bow this was uh you know you get down on all fours haman chose not to bow maybe it's just kind of a head nod maybe it was like a see you later maybe a wink i don't know but he said i'm not going to bow why maybe it had to do with the background of this man haman it was an amalekite the sworn enemies of the jews and he says i cannot respect that it's a line i will not cross and he stands there we're going to find that haman is quite a prejudiced man a prideful man he is an angry man look at verse 3. then the king's servants who were with in the king's gate said to mordecai why do you transgress the king's command now it happened when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them that they told haman to see whether mordecai's words would stand for mordecai had told them that he was a jew and when haman saw that mordecai did not bow or pay homage to him haman was filled with wrath but he disdained to laying hands on mordecai alone for they had told him of the people of mordecai instead haman sought to destroy all the jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of ahasaras the people of mordecai listen when you stand in integrity we see four things happening here these things happen when you stand for your integrity number one people around you are gonna notice and ask questions and that's what happened in verse three why do you transgress the king's commands maybe your co-workers say how come you're not laughing around with the boss's dirty jokes your neighbors are saying how come you don't you don't party like us what's wrong with you and the bible says those are your opportunities to tell others about the impact of christ in your life listen to first peter chapter three but even if you should suffer for what is right you are blessed do not fear their threats do not be frightened but in your hearts revere christ as lord always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect those co-workers really didn't appreciate it man you too good for us what's wrong with you morty what's going on he says i'm not even going to listen to them it says in verse 4. this was just a line he wasn't willing to cross so one people around you will notice and ask questions two when you stand in your integrity word eventually gets out it says there in verse 4 they told it to haman the fact and the reason behind it he's a jew that's why he's not bowing and it became a bigger issue for them it became this question can people not bow and get away with it what is going to happen here and note it as you stand in your integrity expect that it may blow up even bigger than you even intentionally or had or expected you know it's that baker chooses not to do the wedding cake for the gay couple and ends up now in the supreme court it's the the the parent who says i'm going to teach my kids the things of the word of god and are ridiculed by all the neighbors the church that says hey i'm gonna i'm gonna be open even though there's a pandemic going because people need hope and they now make the national news and are being fined by the government when you stand in integrity expect some kickback it's going to get noticed which brings us to the third one when you stand in integrity verse 5 people sometimes get mad and there was haman he was filled with rage the sermons the servants asked questions and they poked him haman just loses it he turns into the hulk he's throwing things around i'm sure at home he can't believe this it didn't matter that all the rest of the people were bowing this one guy got underneath his skin let me remind you of this mordecai's name means little man here is the big man on campus that can't stand that the little teeny man won't bow to him and so what happens pride gets hurt and it takes pride takes the little things and makes some big things and really makes you the prideful one very small and little it has this terrible effect but the heart is revealed of haman that he it's not just hatred for this one man it's hatred for all of his people the jews the fourth thing that they find out when you when you stand in your integrity is that others you may love may pay the price and that we see this rage going out through all the jews a global genocide there's said that there's been up to 60 million jews imagine your one decision stirring up the pot to affect 60 million others because they're connected to you yet that's exactly what happens in the reality of life we're connected to jesus christ we are connected to him and he said you're going to face persecution if they persecuted me they're going to persecute you it's part of a part of walking with the lord so mordecai is standing in integrity haman is fusing with ra fuming with rage i want to sum up verses 7 to 15 because i want to get into chapter four what heyman does is he casts lots and it's kind of like casting sticks or dice and leaving it up to chance to to find a good day an omen type of day that the the fate would bless is what they did and he picks this day and then he approaches the king with his kill the jews operation his reason he tells the king is these guys don't obey your laws they they don't obey your laws and so why let them live he says king i'm even going to offer you up to 375 tons of silver to fund it in today's value that's 206 million dollars to destroy all these jews where would he get that kind of money probably from the jews he destroyed taking all their possessions and stuff and so the king says in verse 11 he basically says keep your money uh go ahead with your plan he's probably oblivious to what's going on thinking oh it's just some rubble rousers and some rebels deal with them do what you want you're the prime minister not knowing what it was that it was taken so it was put in the law books and then it was emailed or whatever they had in the day out to everybody in the land all 127 provinces all over the world that on this particular certain day they were to kill every man woman and child who was a jew that people were to rise up and those who rose up and destroyed the jews could take their property too as an incentive i mean talk about a satanic work followed by greed and yet what's crazy or to to note here is that all through history the jews have been on the chopping block haven't they pharaoh haman hitler they've all tried to destroy the jews and you know what's amazing they haven't god has protected the jewish people pharaoh was drowned in the sea haman well he gets hanged on a tree sorry spoiler alert hitler well he's gone and his funny mustache too but the jews still live today because when you're fighting against god's people god's covenant people you can't win no matter what happens there will always be this flavor of anti-semitism all through the world till the day that christ comes but god's promises stand they stand and that's what we stand on as well so in the end in verse 15 the king and haman sat down to drink but the city of shushan which is the capital was perplexed so it means that they they fell into confusion why why are they you know the king is celebrating he probably is oblivious to what's happening haman knows exactly what's happening and they're just having a little drink and the city is going what in the world's going on why is this edict out there i mean i just had dinner last night at morty's house and and it was great and his family's so loving and and now they're my enemies you're telling me i'm to destroy them this doesn't make sense something stinks speaking of mom's day you have those mom-isms right my mom had them you know they went like um mind your p's and q's you remember that one you know i'm the mom that's why well one of the mom-isms that my mom used was something's rotten in denmark did you ever use that mom any of your moms used that one or is my mom okay okay and i was a kid going i don't even know what denmark is you know what rotten smells like i had to look it up it comes from a play actually shakespeare's hamlet play but one of the it was it was it was talking about a king who in his bad choices and his moral decay would affect the whole city i mean mom was a poet she didn't know it pulling out shakespeare these people are like something stinks in persia and i can't figure it out the king the people something's not right and so here we are chapter four verse one when mordecai learned that all had half all that had happened he tore his clothes put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the midst of the city he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and he went as far as the front of the king's gate for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth and in every province where the king's command and decree arrived there was great mourning among the jews with fasting weeping and wailing and many lay in sackcloth and ashes so the response to this sin is noted the people are mourning the clothes are torn the ashes are on their head there's weeping and wailing mordecai's involved in this they could all be destroyed and it brings up the question how do you and i respond when sinful laws come into pass against christians how do you and i respond mom how do you respond when those evil things come attacking against your own kids well note these four things even in these verses number one they wept they wept and it needs to hit our heart it needs to sink down deep what's happening mordecai wept both privately and publicly as he's kind of in front of the king's gate think about a white house weeping out front of the gate for these things happening it affected him there's weeping number two there's a welcome that they're gathered with other jews he's kind of like you got your mom's group or your little network of friends and these things are happening for your kids and you're all in the same boat and you're crying out to the lord number three they remembered you have to remember this remember that god is always in control because it's what keeps your heart from being overwhelmed and falling into despair you see it was mordecai and we can fast forward a little bit in chapter 4 verse 14 who tells esther if you keep quiet deliverance will arise by some other place that's hope that's looking further than the person to the lord that god will come through god will deliver his people his promises will stand and we have to remember that truth that we don't forget in the tears today that god is already in the tomorrow that when the tears fall down our eyes got to be looking up because the lord is still in control and the fourth thing in those difficult times is to pray now what's fascinating is in these three verses they did not pray why there's no mention of prayer there's weeping there's sackcloth there's ashes there's mourning why didn't they pray because spiritually the jews in persia were not in the right place with god at this time so you have emotional responses you even have physical change but there's no spiritual exercise to say we got to seek the lord on this it's just the state of where they were at but the reality is pray for your families moms pray for them as they face these things when you're in a dark time and you think man this is the end of us it is over it is done note that god is still working he's not finished you just can't see what's happening verse 4 he says so esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her and the queen was deeply distressed and then she sent garments and clothed mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him but he would not accept them the nestor called hathak one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her and she gave him a command concerning mordecai to learn what and why this was so a thok went out to mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate and mordecai told him all that had happened to him and the sum of money that haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the jews he also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction which was given at shushan that he might show it to esther and explain it to her and that he might command her to go into the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people so athak returned and told esther the words of mordecai it really appears as though esther didn't know what was going on she didn't know what was taking place she really lived in isolation in those women's quarters she somehow gets word that her uncle morty is out there in sackcloth and ashes and so she says hey send him a new suit he says no way tell her what's going on and she finally gets word but the reality is is that there's times we don't understand the depth of affliction that others are going through and sometimes like esther we can just say oh i'll just give him a new suit you know here's another toy kid you'll be fine whatever it might be and there's points we have to consider as christians that we need to understand people's pains that they're going through don't isolate yourself from them understand the problems and the pains and then seek to find out a little deeper how god may use you to minister to them and that's what she did in verse verse 10 she sends esther spoke to athak and gave him a command for mordecai and said all the king's servants and all 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 one 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 in to go to the king these 30 days and so they told mordecai esther's words so mordecai says hey look this is the law and place and it's coming after all the jews could you go talk to the king uh and see if he can change things or or new law or whatever it might be and she says hey i know the laws of the land here i've been in the courts i know that to to just to force my way in is a possible death sentence i mean talk about some bad marriage dynamics he hasn't seen her in 30 days he says hey you know if i you only come when i call you and if you don't come or you come uninvited i'm going to kill you this is how it was back then so esther's a little fearful of these things about to take place and i would say this that it's not that she didn't care about her people she just couldn't see a way at the time for things to happen and we too look at the impossibility of our situations and say i just don't see how it could happen for my family for my issues for these things i don't see a way it's really a death to my dreams and visions but know this that god loves to work in impossible situations we know the end of this story she doesn't she's living it out verse 13 mordecai lays out this ultimatum for esther he says the mordecai told them to answer esther 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 at this time relief and deliverance will arise for the jews from another place but you and your father's house will perish yet who knows whether you have come to this kingdom for such a time as this so it's clear ultimatum says you're not you're no exception to the rule you are a jew you're not safe in your golden palace your position doesn't mean you're an exemption this will face the same end but then he says in verse 14 you have a choice in the matter you can keep quiet and die like the rest of us or you can rise up and do something about it this may be the very reason esther that you are queen think about her background we've talked about it before she's living in exile she lost her parents she was adopted in by her cousin she gets thrown into this beauty pageant with 400 other gals and winds now she's queen with all the pressures of the whole world on her and mordecai says maybe god put you there maybe this whole thing's not by mistake god put you there for such a time it's right now to stand in the gap proverbs chapter 24 says this about leaders it says to rescue those being led away to death hold back those staggering towards the slaughter if you say but we knew nothing about this does not he who weigh the heart perceive it does not he who guard your life know it will he not repay everyone according to what they have done you see with roles comes the responsibility you know that as a mom as a dad as whatever it is that god has you in there are those responsibilities sometimes so overwhelming sometimes you don't know exactly how to respond to them but listen you don't always see what god has planned for your life and what you're looking at is saying why is this happening in my life this way why here why now when all you're saying is the why so often we can't understand it until he chooses to reveal it and let me just tell you this moms you have been put in that position for such a time as this to be that godly influence in your family to take down that workload and you may think it's overwhelming to stand strong in biblical convictions to be the caregiver to make the sacrifices listen for such a time as this you may look at yourself and say i'm unqualified i can't do this it doesn't make sense to me but god says yes i've chosen you for this rise up walk by faith be courageous and do what i've called you to do and you'll see my glory displayed in your life be like an esther stand in the gap where you need to stand in the gap and watch god work and dads you've been put in a place for such a time as this as you head out to your workplace and you're thinking man i hate my boss i hate my co-workers i hate the people driving around me and you just get all stinky and crunchy about life you have to realize that god has put you in that place well i don't like it that's god's assignment for you he's called you to be faithful in that difficult challenging job and dealing with those crazy people to be the man of god to teach your kids the right way to be that example for god you have been put there with all your fears and with all your inadequacies and with all the the things that you're struggling with you surrender it to the lord say god give me the courage you've assigned me this and i want to see your glory displayed through my life in this situation singles you have been called for such a time as this i don't like being single i want to be married listen you've been called for a season it's it's a monumental season that you can show the world what purity really is like and what serving jesus is like and you can go all in for the lord and make a difference in this world in that season in your life god has said this is not a bad mark this is a good momentous season for you make a difference walk in grace student you have been called by god for such a time as this and you're at that last month and you are dying because you just want to go out and change the world and god says you're not done you've got a few more years but it's boring i don't like it it's no fun god says you're not finished in this moment be faithful to what i put in front of you and walk with me in in faith and encourage and you will see me use your life even in the midst of all that crud and junk that you're dealing with as well see here's the reality wherever you are and whatever you are facing with know that god will use you there greatly if you're willing to cooperate with him possibly even using you in ways that you never even thought esther didn't say man when i get to be queen i'm going to force my way into the king's court show him whose boss she's shaking in her boots this is way bigger than i ever thought god i didn't want this i didn't need this you threw me into this but help me god and see the danger that we face as christians as believers as people itself is this when our eyes are always on another position or situation to be in we never say lord use me right here right now we never get to see that because we're always saying man if i only could be married man if i only could have another job man if i only had a different spouse if i only did this and we're always looking at all these other things and never realizing that god said no for such a time as this right now you are in this place what are you going to do lord i want to cooperate with you because i just want to see your glory expressed through my life in the pain and the tears in the issue whatever it may be for such a time as this some of you need to write that highlighted in your bible because you know that time that you're in right now you know what your heart wants to do but can you see the hand of god he's orchestrated he's called you he told jeremiah before you even born i knew you and i drained the days for you before he was even born he knew what he wanted to do well that's jeremiah no it's your life too he told paul when he apprehended him on the road to damascus he told him i've called you to be a light to the gentiles and you're also going to suffer paul i don't like that but that was part of the calling god's called each of us in such a way so mordecai tells esther her opportunity what does she do verse 15 then esther told them to reply to mordecai go gather all the jews who are present in shushan this capital city and fast for me either eat nor drink for three days nights 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 mordecai went his way and did according to all that esther had commanded him she did two things she calls for a three-day fast from all the jews in the capital city again no prayer is mentioned it's just a fasting and it's it's a reflection of the state of these jews i would tell you that when you are faced with serious decisions spend some time praying and fasting when you're faced with those radical moves in life when you are faced with boy do i take on this student debt when you are faced with things that are going to affect you for years to come there is a moment to pause and to pray and seek the lord god what do we do with this and not just think ah no big deal because you like me have kicked ourselves in the rear time and time again saying oh why did i make that stupid decision and now i gotta deal with this debt or whatever it is for 10 years you know all that stuff oh if only would have prayed i would have heard the lord say abby content you're fine you know i did so having those times to do that and even in extreme measures i mean their life is on the line you imagine an edict the white house spends it out and says hey yeah all christians now just kill them all places be packed you're saying man really in maine the city or the state of maine uh there's a calvary chapel there calvary chapel bancor maine a pastor there's a guy by name of uh ken graves and during this during this pandemic they chose to have a peaceful protest and to stay open to bring hope to people while the governor of the state was shutting everything down and the governor actually came against them in a lawsuit and this whole situation is now this week in the supreme court to be made a decision on may 13th i was watching a video last week and he was asking for prayer he was asking for a time of prayer and fasting not only for his church and his state but for christians across the nation why so it's not about hey should we be open and we just want to stick it to the man it's the reality of can the government tell you you cannot be open because of environmental concerns or ecological concerns or whatever it might be that they would just say we can control you and they said no and so the prayer is to pray and fast even through this week that there would be a decision made that would be beneficial to protect those freedoms and rights for christians across the land to say we need hope and i can tell you this by by personal experience after we kind of closed down for eight weeks i saw it not only on your faces but hearing from others the desperation in difficult times people need a place to say i need to be there hearing from god his word with god's people because it gives me hope the church is a dispenser of hope because the church points people to jesus the hope of the world the light of the world and so we're blessed to live in a state where our governor has made churches essential but those places that it's not boy lord bear up those christians in the difficulty they're facing lord may you change our land so she calls for a fast and then she declares this forward move she says i'm going to lay it all on the line i'm going to go into the king she counts the cause she says i'm going to do what's right even if it cost me my life hey listen if i may get your attention before god gets a whole people to move in a direction he always gets one person to say i'm fully committed to you god whatever the cost may be are you that one person you can say lord for my family i want to be that one person lord for for my church i want to be that one person my community my neighborhood to live is christ to die his gain lord i am all in for you do what you want through my life for your glory no matter the cost you see there is a point of where spiritually we got to stop lollygagging our way we got to realize gang we are in a battlefield not a not a playground there's no place for just half-hearted christianity we gotta go all in for the lord you realize that the enemy is there seeking whom he may devour first peter chapter five he's like a lion roaring seeking whom he may devour you know what his roar does it instills fear and paralyzes christians from standing strong in faith and saying lord my eyes are on you i'm still pressing forward the enemy like a lion just roars to instill fear in the hearts to keep christians from standing strong in whatever it is like a python he comes around and he just wraps around and starts to squeeze squeeze out the life and the joy and the peace and everything just becomes just stressed out life it's time to bring jesus into the picture and say hey he kicked the teeth out of that lion he can roar all he wants he's not getting a hold of my heart and he takes that constrictor out of the picture and says hey live and he breathes life into what's starting to die in your heart say lord it's i want to be like esther i want to rise up and be real and count the cost because lord you need to be exalted in the lives of my people my family my church my community so in closing what what is your for such a time as this is it your marriage your work your your situations that you're facing in life hey be real with the lord and just tell them god this is where my heart is these are the fears i have and the doubts and the frustrations but fill me with your holy spirit give me the courage and the faith to press forward i want to trust you and i'll tell you what god undergirds his plan for your life he hasn't said you figure it out and if you need me i'll be around the corner he will always undergird he equips where he calls and if he's called you to something know he's going to equip you in hindsight you'll see it it's maybe a little hard to go through but know that god has never left you he's never abandoned you just as he never abandoned his people who were in persia at this time when he told them go back to jerusalem they had settled in they had settled down this was home the lord still loved him through this in the midst of this difficult thing and it all goes back to the cross why do we have such a loving god for us why does he do such great things because the cross of christ he's paid the price for us that we might be free you

Channel: Calvary Chapel North Phoenix

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Id: d27UPQvAGfA

Length: 35min 20sec (2120 seconds)

Published: Sun May 09 2021