Saying Yes To God Part 3 Series

Esther: Saying Yes to God

Chapter 4

It has been said that behind every great man is a great woman, some have said behind every great man is a surprised mother in law.

King Xerxes threw a party prior to his invasion of Greece. The Queen Vashti did not attend as ordered. It cost her the throne and later her life. It cost Xerxes victory over Greece. It brought Esther to the throne. For such a time as this.

What time was it?

1. It was a time of selfishness.

a. Xerxes and his court thought only of themselves.

b. It was a time of sin and debauchery

c. To quote one preacher, sin was in the saddle.

2. It was a time when wicked men ruled

a. When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

b. Haman was wicked to the core.

c. It was a time of identity crisis.

Identity Crisis is when one is unsure of themselves. In my generation we used the term “finding myself.” Throughout history there were people who were persecuted, enslaved, and stripped of their rights as human beings because of faith, race, lifestyle or economic status among other things. Have we ever been in a situation where identifying who we are resulted in problems. Have we ever compromised so that who we really are is unknown because of the trouble it might bring us? Haman’s edict makes this an issue for the Jews. This was not the only time in their history, pre WW2 many Jews changed their names to hide their identity to save their lives..

For such a time as this.

Time for Esther to come out of hiding.

1. She had hid her true identity for almost 5 years.

2. She could rise to the occasion and save her people

3. She could continue to hide and save herself.

4. This is now Esther’s dilemma.

For such a time as this:

1. She became Queen

2. She could influence the King

3. If she did not act, relief/deliverance will come from another source.

4. If we, who are called by HIS NAME do not act, deliverance will come from another place, and we will be in danger of losing our salvation.

5. If not us, then who, who will go for GOD?

Esther’s Identity Crisis

1. She faces probable death at the King’s order if she follows Mordecai’s request

2. She faces certain death if she does not.

3. She asks the people to pray for her

4. We need to pray for each other daily for the same reason, they may be in a position to save someone.

Up to now she has been passive, controlled by her circumstances. Now comes her defining moment. She is now going to take responsibility for God in her life, she is going to identify with God’s people. Leland Ryken said; “Esther is initially a beautiful young woman with a weak character, now she is transformed into a person with heroic moral stature and political skill.”

Esther and Joel are interlinked here. The phrase “with fasting , weeping and wailing” is found here and in Joel 2:12-14. The idea is to return to the LORD. Even now the people realize they have left the LORD, not the other way around. They want to return to the LORD because of the edict, God will use whatever methods he needs to bring HIS people back to him.

What will it take to bring this country back to HIM?

Prayer, Fasting, weeping and wailing. WE need to take the position of Nehemiah and accept the blame ourselves and for our forefathers who have taken us from being a godly nation. We are here, for such a time as this, to pray for our nation and rise up to be counted, boldly proclaiming WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE and we will not stand idly by and let others take away our Christian Heritage or our dependence on GOD.

For such a time as this.