Esther 4 January 5, 2020 a.m.
Last Sunday morning, on December 29, 2019, a church in White Settlement, Texas came under fire. As we were just beginning our service here, a gunman walked into the West Freeway Church of Christ, and set down. He was being watched by several men because of his FAKE BEARD and WIG. After the service had begun, he stood up and pulled an 18” shotgun, loaded with 00 Buckshot and opened fire on two men. They both died at a local hospital.
But at the back of the sanctuary stood Jack Wilson. The head of the churches SECURITY TEAM. He is a License to Carry Instructor, an NRA instructor, and Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Instructor. He is also a former Reserve Sheriff Deputy.
Jack Wilson DREW his own gun and fired ONE SHOT into the head of this man who had came into that church to KILL PEOPLE.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this about Jack Wilson.
“He’s not just responsible for his actions, which ultimately saved the lives of maybe hundreds of people, but he’s also responsible for training hundreds in that church.”
This is what Jack Wilson himself had to say after the shooting.
“You train, but you hope you never have to go to that extreme, but if you do, your training will kick in, and that was evident yesterday.”
I’ve got a reason for going in to this. For YEARS Jack Wilson trained. Spent countless hours at the Firing Range. Taught thousands of hours of Handgun Training Courses. Shot THOUSANDS of ROUNDS of AMMO. And it seems he NEVER once … had to use his MARKSMANSHIP and TRAINING until December 29, 2019. But on that day he was ready. I believe God put him there for THIS TIME and THIS REASON. TO SAVE LIVES. He became an INSTRUMENT of God. God put him there for, “for such a time as this.”
Let’s go ahead and read Esther 4.
“When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
2 And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.
5 Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.
6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
11 All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.”
This morning I want to look at someone else who became an INSTRUMENT of God. SOMEONE GOD COULD USE!!!
Someone who was in the RIGHT PLACE at the RIGHT TIME.
Not a 70 year old grandpa like Jack Wilson. But a Beautiful Young Queen. Queen Esther.
And just as Jack Wilson was used by God to SAVE the lives of His people.
Queen Esther was also used by God to save His people.
And as we begin the year 2020, I want each of us to come to the place in our own lives to where we say “Whatever you want God, I will DO IT!!!”
I want each of us to come to a place of SURRENDER. A SURRENDER of our WANTS and DESIRES and let GOD have His way in our lives.
The last part of Verse 14 is a Key statement. “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
So before I get into this message let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother _____, would you lead us?
As we get into this message, there are some things that were NO DOUBT hard for Esther to live with. She was a Jewish girl whose mother and father had both died. She was an orphan. She had been taken into the home of her cousin, Mordecai. He was a good man who had raised Esther as his own daughter. And then ….. the CAPTIVITY.
I. The first thing I want to bring out here is Esther had to GO to a PLACE SHE DID NOT want to be.
She had been taken away captive from Jerusalem, her homeland, to Babylon. She had been forced to parade in front of different men so that they could see her beauty. I know things were different back then. But I just really feel like this was something that Esther despised. But yet she really had NO CHOICE.
And now because of her NATURAL BEAUTY, that God had given her, she was now Queen Esther.
But yet God had a REASON and a PURPOSE for where she was at. “For such a time as this” God had placed her where He wanted her to be. A PLACE where she could be used by Him to SAVE HIS PEOPLE.
Wicked Haman had DEVISED a plan to DESTROY the entire Nation of Judah. Let’s drop back to Chapter 3, Verses 8-10.
“And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.
9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.
10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.”
Human had put a BOUNTY on the heads of the Jewish people.
And folks, I don’t know ALL that is going on in your lives.
But I do know some of you all have faced GREAT SADNESS. Great Loss.
I know 2019 was NOT a GOOD YEAR for some of you all.
I know some you all may be ANGRY at different ones that have done you wrong. Let me tell you something. It’s NOT a SIN to be angry if you have a reason for it. And I know some of you all do.
Folks, I know some of you all are in a PLACE where you don’t WANT TO BE. PLAIN and SIMPLE.
You may be working at a JOB you really don’t like.
You may be having to deal with people who RUB you the WRONG WAY. It could be friends or relatives.
Maybe you’ve lost someone and now you’re alone and you DON’T want to be there.
ILLUS: I have a cousin who is just a few years older than me. She was married to the man of her dreams since they were both young. He was one of the PASTORS of the church they attended. They had a great life. Their three kids were married and doing well. They had several grandkids. Then one day she went out shopping. And when she came home, her husband of over 30 years, was laying there in the CHAIR. He had died of a MASSIVE HEART ATTACK.
And I keep track of her on FACEBOOK. She’s still in the same church. Still serving the Lord. But you know what, I think she’s in a place she doesn’t want to be. SHE’S ALONE.
And I probably wouldn’t tell her this but God may have her RIGHT WHERE SHE’S AT “for such a TIME as this.”
I don’t know what LIVES she will TOUCH that she wouldn’t have a few years ago, but EVERYTHING is different and GOD has a REASON for it.
Maybe you had it REALLY GOOD but then CIRCUMSTANCES came along and NOW you’re NOT where you want to be. God USES US in DIFFERENT WAYS. We become the HANDS and FEET of Christ. I believe GOD puts you and I in DIFFERENT PLACES and DIFFERENT SITUATIONS where we can be a LIGHT for Jesus.
He uses our NATURAL GOD GIVEN TALENTS in different ways.
We MUST REMEMBER that this LIFE that we’re living is just a TINY LITTLE SPECK of time when it comes to ETERNITY. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Yes, this LIFE can be hard. Especially when we find ourselves where we don’t want to be. But listen, God has a PURPOSE and a REASON for everything we go through.
II. Esther had to DO some things she didn’t WANT to do.
Look there at Verse 11. You did NOT go in to the King’s Inner Court unless he called you. When you did, without an INVITATION, you risked your very LIFE. IF, and I mean IF, he held out his Golden Sceptre you would live but if NOT, you would DIE!!!
Now Esther had not been called in to see the king. She would have to go in UNINVITED. She was going to have to do something she didn’t want to do.
It was a MATTER of LIFE or DEATH for her but also for her PEOPLE. So in Verse 15 and 16 she makes the decision to go in to the King. She asked for PRAYERS and FASTING. And she made the DECISION that no matter what, whether she LIVED or DIED, she WOULD DO what she was CALLED TO DO.
ILLUS: I’ve got to tell you all something. I’ve told you all before but I’m gonna tell you again. I NEVER wanted to be a PREACHER. I’ve got a cousin who would stand up and “PRAECH when he was 3 years old. He ALWAYS wanted to be a preacher and today he is a very successful preacher. But that wasn’t me. NOPE. I ran from God for several years.
God would convict me and I would say NO!!! I didn’t want to do it.
I’d feel guilty. I’d work harder at something else. I’d go to church. Never miss. But DEEP DOWN inside I was MISERABLE because GOD was calling me to do something I DID NOT want to do. But finally I came to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore and I let God have FULL CONTROL. I said “LORD, whatever you want me to do I’ll do it. If I get my head chopped off by some PIGMY’S over in AFRICA that’s OK. Whatever!!!”
And instead, I wound up right here at the Skiatook Free Will Baptist Church. And you guys are a whole let better than a TRIBE of PIGMY’S over in Africa. That’s for sure.
But folks there are times when God calls us to do THINGS we don’t want to do. WHY? So that HIS WILL can be done. I hope that SOMEHOW and SOMEWAY, something I have said or done here at this church has helped you. I hope that SOMEONE has come to KNOW CHRIST and become a CHILD of GOD because of SOMETHING the HOLY SPIRIT has led me to preach or say.
And LISTEN, there are some of you folks setting right here today who aren’t doing what GOD has called you to do. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what it is. BUT YOU DO don’t you? You know exactly who you are. And you don’t want to do what God has called you to do.
It’s TOO HARD.
It will mess up all of YOUR PLANS.
What will everyone think?
I GET IT. REALLY, I DO UNDERSTAND. I’VE BEEN THERE.
But if you want some relief, if you really want to FEEL GOD’S PEACE in your heart you gotta give in. Listen, God’s NOT gonna make you do what He wants you to do. But He can sure make you miserable. And listen, he’ll find somebody else but you’ll be the LOSER.
Esther had a choice but look what Verse 14 says,
“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed.”
Jack Wilson had a choice. He was at the back. He could have ran out of the building and been safe. And then some other person who had a weapon could have fired the shot that took that evil out. But others would have died in the meantime.
No, Esther was there for “Such a time as this.” Jack was there for, “Such a time as this” and there is a CALLING on your LIFE for “Such a time as this.”
Esther had to be in a place she didn’t want to be.
She had to do a thing she didn’t want to do.
III. But because of what she did, those that SHOULD have died … LIVED.
In the next Chapter, Chapter 5, Esther goes in to the King’s Inner Court and King Ahasuerus sees her. And he holds up the Golden Scepter to her. Her life is spared. She requests that the King and Haman come to a Banquet prepared for them in their honor. He and Haman agree to come.
In Chapter 6, King Ahasuerus realizes that Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, a Jew, had not been honored for saving his life in an assasination attempt. He then forces Haman to honor the very man he wanted to kill.
Then in Chapter 7, Haman’s wicked plan is revealed and he is hanged on the GALLOWS he had built for Mordecai.
In Chapter 8, King Ahasureus sends out a decree to all the Provinces of the land that the Jews could band together and defend themselves against ANY and ALL who would HURT THEM.
And because of the PLACE that Esther had been put by God and the THING that Esther had to DO, God’s people, the Jewish people were saved from destruction.
She had been put there for “Such … a time … as this.” An INSTRUMENT of God to save His people.
And I don’t know if we will ever know the IMPACT we have made on other people’s lives.
Listen, the times that we’re just ENDURING the PLACE that God has put us.
The times we’re having to do the things we may NOT want to do.
We may feel like we’re just TREADING WATER, just GETTING BY but what God may be doing is PREPARING US for the JOB that lies ahead.
“For SUCH a TIME as THIS” … YOU can be where God wants you to be. And GOD can do MIGHTY things USING YOU.
In the 9th Chapter of Esther it tells us that after the battles were all fought, after the Jewish nation was saved, that the people RESTED and held a FEAST.
Even today that Jewish Holiday, called Purim, is still celebrated. The day that the BRAVERY of Queen Esther and the DOWNFALL of Haman is remembered. It is considered the FUNNEST of all the Jewish Festival days. A day to CELEBRATE and ENJOY LIFE. A DAY TO LIVE!!!
“For such a Time as this!!!”
Because of what Esther did, those that should have died LIVED.
Because of what Jack Wilson did, those that should have died LIVED.
And because of what Jesus did on the CROSS of CALVARY, ALL of US who should have died, now have an opportunity to LIVE. And I mean REALLY LIVE!!!
And that has to be the #1 JOB for all of us here today. To tell others what Jesus has done for them. He CAME as a BABE in a MANGER. He lived a SINLESS LIFE. He DIED on the CROSS, taking their place. And He ROSE AGAIN defeating DEATH, HELL and the GRAVE. AND HE WILL COME AGAIN
“For such a time as this!!!”
It’s very likely God has placed you where you are at today to tell others about HIS SAVING GRACE. To INTERCEDE in PRAYER for those who don’t know Him. To PROCLAIM HIM to a LOST and DYING WORLD.
“For such a time as this!!!”
30 years ago I was running a bus route through North Tulsa. We would run down North Lewis to Apache and hit that neighborhood South and East of that intersection. We would then make our way back up North to 41st North and go back to the East to a neighborhood called Lakeview Addition. You can see the backside of it from Highway 75. It’s a big addition. Old, Rundown and Poor. But we would pick up a lot of kids there. The ____ kids lived with their grandmother. She was a good person and did her best to raise her 5 grandkids. But one of those boys was named Chris. Christopher Lee ____. He was an ornery little fellow 12 year old. One Sunday he came to church and caused some trouble in Sunday School so they came and got me. I knew him pretty well. I got on to him real good and told him that was NO WAY for a Christian Boy to act. He looked at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about. So I asked him if he knew Jesus, and he didn’t. So we prayed and he asked Jesus to come into his heart. He told his teacher at school what he had done. He had met Jesus. That’s a wonderful story isn’t it? Here’s the rest of it.
One week later he was playing in the street there in Lakeview Addition and a car ran over him and killed him.
I CANNOT and WILL NOT take any credit for him knowing Jesus. You know why? Because GOD put me there “For such a TIME as THIS.”
Let me ask you something. Are YOU WILLING to let God put YOU where He wants you, “For such a TIME as THIS?” Are you WILLING to submit to Him and let HIM have HIS way in your life? Because I’ll tell you what, there are people here today who want a Savior but they don’t want a LORD. I’m NOT trying to be mean. I’m just being HONEST.
I believe there may be people here today who are being called BY GOD to do something. Become a PREACHER, a SS teacher, work with the Youth. God may be URGING YOU to witness to someone you know. A LOVED ONE, a CO-WORKER, a NEIGHBOR. And God has placed you where you’re at “For such a Time as this.” Now what are you going to do?
Let’s Pray
