Made for This Moment #2
A Moment of Decision
Theme: Mordecai and Esther’s coziness became challenged when Haman ordered the eradication of the Jews. The time had come for them to stand up and speak out for God. Are we willing to stand up and speak out for what is right? Maybe we have been put where we are for such a time as this!
Introduction
Video Ill.: The Story of Esther - Second Look Films (segment 2)
Last week, we began a new study, based loosely on Max Lucado’s book, You Were Made for This Moment.
As a reminder, there’s also a really great study guide and streamable videos to go along with the book. All are available from booksellers like Amazon, CBD, and others.
In our study last week, we began the story of Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai and Esther are Jews living in the time of exile in Persia. They were the third generation of Jews born in Persia. They were miles and years away from Jerusalem.
And, like many Jews, Mordecai and Esther had made themselves quite cosy in the culture of Persia. They had found a way to fit in as Jews in Persia, so much so, that Mordecai worked in the palace and Esther became Queen of Persia. Everyone was none the wiser of their true heritage and lineage.
Like Esther and Mordecai, we too just want to blend in with our culture, often masking and hiding our faith. But God has called us to be holy — to be different — to stand out for Him.
The video summary at the beginning this morning summarized for us our text, Esther 2:19 through 4:17. You can read that this afternoon when you get home from church.
Lucado, Max. You Were Made for This Moment Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video (p. 19). HarperChristian Resources. Kindle Edition.
[And it is in this part of the story that] …[Mordecai and Esther] will be faced with a crisis—what we might call a “Mordecai Moment” and an “Esther Event”—that will cause them to act. They will come to a moment of decision where they must choose to stand up, step out, and take a bold risk of faith for God.
Let’s look deeper at this part of the story this morning, where we will see Mordecai’s moment and Esther’s event.
As we begin, let’s look at Mordecai’s moment.
The time comes in the story where Mordecai has a change. No longer does he blend in, he literally stands up as a Jew and a child of God.
What brings about this change?
Well, I believe it has everything to do with Haman coming to power.
Haman, you see, came to power because the king had just been able to prevent, because of Mordecai, an assassination attempt.
The king, though, begins to feel threatened by this attempt on his life. He begins to be paranoid about what is going on, finding himself vulnerable, so he needs someone who will protect him and his family.
That man was one of his court — named Haman.
So Haman is put in charge of the protection of the king. And because of his duties, he is basically second in command. Everyone is to pay him ultimate respect.
But really Haman wasn’t that good of a guy.
And it was Haman’s history and lineage that caused a change in Mordecai.
So who was Haman?
In Esther 3, we read:
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, (Ham-muh-duh-thuh) the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. (Esther 3, NIV)
Besides some difficult names, there is a very important piece of information here that is included for our benefit today.
Haman was an Agagite.
A who? And what difference does that make? You may be wondering.
To understand, we have to remind ourselves about some of Israel’s early history.
In Deuteronomy 25, God says these things to Moses:
17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget! (Deuteronomy 25, NIV)
The Amalekites were just evil. As God reminded Moses, the Amalekites preyed on the weak, the old, the young, those who couldn’t keep up with the main group as the Israelites were leaving Egypt and heading to the promised land.
God wanted the Israelites to get revenge on the Amalekites when they made it to the Promised Land. God wanted them wiped out.
Later, the Amalekites did fight the Israelites, and under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, they Israelites defeated the Amalekites. But, they were not wiped out. They were just defeated. They remained.
Years later, in the days of King Saul, Israel again would battle against the Amalekites.
Again, the command was to wipe them out.
We read about this in 1 Samuel 15:
1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to || death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you || along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the || best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. (1 Samuel 15, NIV)
I’m sure you remember that story from your days in Sunday school.
Agag, king of the Amalekites, lived.
And so, Haman was a descendant of King Agag — an Amalekite.
Haman came from a long line of people who hated the Jews and wanted nothing more than for them to be eradicated from the earth.
We cannot help but think that it was this history and Haman’s family tree that caused Mordecai to change they way he was living his life.
Mordecai found his courage and bravery and began a resistance — he refused to bow down to Haman.
When it became important, Mordecai found his roots, his faith, his God.
You Were Made for This Moment
Max Lucado
© 2021
pp. 57
Max Lucado writes:
“Living as a person of faith in a faithless world requires courage and acts of resistance. You won’t be told to kneel before a Persian tyrant. Odds are slim that you’ll be persecuted by ISIS [, like 21 Christians who were beheaded on a beach in Libya in February 2015]. But chances are high that you’ll be tempted to compromise your beliefs or to remain silent in the face of injustice and evil. Mordecai moments are coming your way.”
Are we ready?
That moment could be right around the corner for us — an issue about which we have not spoke up — a part of our lives we’ve been hiding — an opportunity to change someone’s life.
Are we ready?
You Were Made for This Moment
Max Lucado
© 2021
pp. 57
Max writes, “Long after acts of compliance are forgotten, acts of courage are pondered.”
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/august-landmesser-1936/
Acts of courage like that of a man named August Landmesser, pictured here in this now infamous picture. He’s the one man who is standing there and not saluting Hitler. You can see him in the center of the circle.
August is standing here in defiance. The picture represents the protest of one man, in it’s most sincere and pure form.
Now, how did August get to this point?
As the story goes, August joined the Nazi Party in 1931, believing that having the right connections would enable him to get a job in a poor and weak economy.
In 1934, August met Irma Eckler, a Jewish woman, and the two fell deeply in love. Their engagement a year later got him expelled from the Nazi party, and their marriage application was denied under the newly enacted racial Nuremberg Laws.
That year, August and Irma had a baby girl, Ingrid.
The picture was taken in 1936, at the launch of a German army vessel during a ceremony that was attended by Adolf Hitler himself.
Shortly after the picture was taken, in 1937, August and Irma made a failed attempt to flee to Denmark. Instead of making it, they were apprehended at the border.
August was arrested and charged with “dishonoring the race”. He argued that neither he nor Irma knew that she was fully Jewish, and he was acquitted in May of 1938 because of a lack of evidence. However, he was warned that a repeated offense would land him in prison for many years.
The couple continued their relationship, and a month later August would be arrested again and sentenced to two years in a concentration camp. He would never see his wife again.
Irma was detained by the Gestapo and imprisoned. There she gave birth to their second daughter, Irene. The children were taken into custody. Ingrid was later allowed to live with her maternal grandmother. Irene went to live with foster parents.
It is believed that Irma died in February 1942, in Bernburg.
August would be released from prison in 1941, but would later be drafted into the penal infantry. He went missing in Croatia six months before Germany officially surrendered. His body was never found.
All these years later, though, we talk about the courage of this one man to stand up in a crowd against the evils of Nazi Germany.
Mordecai was standing in that very same situation.
We stand in that situation today — standing up for God in a time when Christianity is less and less popular — when Christianity is under attack as intolerant, as old-fashioned and outdated, as controversial, as unyielding.
We need to have our own Mordecai moment where we make that decision to stand for what is right, no matter what the consequences are.
We need to stand against the attack of evil. In order to do so, we have to have the right armor.
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that || when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish || all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6, NIV)
Want to be able to stand? Get fitted for battle. Be prepared. Get dressed and ready. Put on the armor of God.
The day of evil is coming, if it’s not already here! Right now is a moment of decision! Will we stand, or bow down to the evils of this world? When we are fully suited up with the armor of God, we will be ready for the battles to come — battles for our souls — battles for our families — battles for the truth.
Only after making our decision and suiting up will we be able to stand like Mordecai.
2. Esther had her own change. Let’s look at Esther’s Event.
When Mordecai found out what Haman had planned for the Jews, he tore his clothes, wore sackcloth and put ashes on his head.
News of this made it to Esther, who began to worry about the scene that Mordecai was making. After all, acting like this was going to blow their cover, and ruin everything that they had worked so hard for over the past few years.
She was embarrassed by what Mordecai was doing, so she sent clothes and word to him to stop acting that way.
Picking up in Esther 3, we read:
7 Mordecai told [the king’s eunuch Esther had sent] everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into || the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
9 [The eunuch] went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has || but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent || at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 3, NIV)
Esther didn’t want to blow her cover.
Esther wasn’t ready to get out of her comfort zone.
“If I approach the king, I’ll be killed,” she said. “He doesn’t want to see me. He hasn’t wanted me around for a month’s time!”
Why upset the apple cart?
Why disrupt the good thing we have going?
“Because no one gets a free pass,” Mordecai says. “Not even the Queen!”
What changed Esther’s mind? The bold statement from Mordecai — who knows, maybe you have come to your royal position for such a time as this!
Maybe, just maybe, God has put you here so that He can use you to deliver His people.
Maybe, just maybe, you were put here on purpose.
Maybe, just maybe, God has a plan for your life and this is it!
And if that is God’s plan, you’d better go along.
What powerful words were written spoken.
We each have a purpose in this life — a purpose and a use for God.
Are we like Moses and Aaron who give all kinds of excuses why they are not the right ones?
Or do we have an Esther event, where we realize that God is working in our lives — that God loves us — that God has a purpose for us — that we are important to God — that we are somebody.
Maybe we are not the queen or king of an empire. But we may be the confidant that someone needs in order to talk them off the ledge when life gets tough.
Maybe we are the one whom God is sending to provide for the neighbor who doesn’t have much.
Maybe we are the one who can share God’s message of salvation with a hurting soul.
If so, I encourage us today to listen to God’s prompting — to God’s leading — and like Esther, step out in faith.
Lucado, Max. You Were Made for This Moment Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video (p. 33). HarperChristian Resources. Kindle Edition.
When Esther did finally decide to act, she fasted for three days. Sometimes, we likewise need to wait before we take action. We need to plan our course and let our ideas simmer. We need to wait on the Lord’s guidance. This is what Esther did—and it is what many others have done throughout the Bible.
Max Lucado writes:
Lucado, Max. You Were Made for This Moment Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video (p. 22). HarperChristian Resources. Kindle Edition.
A crisis is no time to prepare an escape plan. The time to prepare to resist temptation is before it strikes.
We need to be ready — we need to plan — we need to pray and maybe even fast when we find out what God has planned for us.
Jesus prayed and fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before He began His ministry.
After feeding the 5,000, Jesus sent His disciples on across the sea, while He stayed back and spent time in prayer, before the next phase of His ministry.
Jesus spent time in the garden of Gethsemane, praying and talking to God, before He would endure the worst suffering any human can experience — all culminating with His execution on the cross.
Folks, this morning, if Jesus needed time to prepare, how much more do we?
Get ready.
Be prepared.
Spend time in prayer, seeking God’s leading.
Spend time in His word, studying His ways.
Be ready.
God wants us to be on His team. He has wonderful things in mind for our lives if we are ready.
But just like with Esther, as Mordecai said, if we are not willing and ready, God will find a way to accomplish His ways, plans, and purposes.
You Were Made for This Moment
Max Lucado
© 2021
pp. 75
Max Lucado says, “You were made to stand up like Mordecai, to speak up like Esther…. The question is not, ‘Will God prevail?’ The question is, ‘Will you be part of the team?’”
Conclusion
Lucado, Max. You Were Made for This Moment Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video (p. 20). HarperChristian Resources. Kindle Edition.
While [we] may never be a leading character as the world sees it, these same “Mordecai Moments” and “Esther Events” will come into [our lives] . . . and often when [we] least expect them. God will orchestrate events in such a way that [we] will be compelled to move out of [our] comfort zone, make the decision to trust in him, and then take the steps as he leads. Perhaps [we] will be confronted with an injustice that causes [us] to speak up. Or [we] will encounter a needy person and be prompted to help. Or [we] will find [ourselves] in a situation where [we] can share the hope [we] have found in Christ with someone who desperately needs the gospel.
Could it be that God has placed a specific situation or circumstance before [us] today? Could it be that [we], like Esther, are at the right place at the right time for a specific purpose?
This morning, we are at a moment of decision — which way will we go?
Will we trust and follow God’s leading?
Or will we choose to stay cosy in our culture?
Today is the day to make that decision so that when we are faced with the calling from God, we have prepared, we have put on God’s armor, we are ready and available to be used by God.
Take heart from these words of Mordecai, challenging yet true: “Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
