FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Esther 4:14-16
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.
As I begin this message, I want to go back in time a couple of years and share with you some thoughts that I shared early on in my ministry here.
In one of my first sermons, I spoke to you about vision and in particular, I talked to you about the vision the Lord had laid upon my heart for this church.
I said, "Unless we get behind that vision the vision will perish."
I said, "It was decision time for the church.
How many remember that sermon?
In that message I noted in part, "I am convinced that the Lord has a specific word for every church. A word that is as unique as the people that attend that fellowship.
The Word is Specific: To the community that the church serves; As to the gifts within that church. To the pastor and the leadership; To the socio-economic make-up of the church/community;
(Just like he had to the churches in Revelation Chapter 2)
That specific word is what I call VISION.
Abraham called it a WORD.
Martin Luther King, Jr. called it a DREAM.
John F Kennedy called it a Challenge.
The Apostle Paul spoke of it as being his vision. And I call it a VISION, for the Bible says, "Where there is no vision the people perish" A vision is merely a mental picture, or word of what GOD WANTS TO SEE ACCOMPLISHED IN A GIVEN CHURCH OR GROUP.
I believe God wants people who: See the invisible; Hear the inaudible; Believe the incredible; Think the unthinkable; Will do the impossible; Will step out of the boat; Will Wade into the water;
Will Gird up their loins; Will go forth into battle;
God has called the church to such a time as this.
In churches you’ll find that: The majority sees the obstacles; The few see the objectives;
Oblivion is the reward of the former while history records the successes of the latter.
Vision is simply seeing the invisible, hearing the inaudible, believing the unbelievable and thinking the unthinkable.
Well, why do we need a vision? If you do not have a vision my friend, you are dead still in the waters. You’re: Not moving forward; Stagnant; Satisfied with your condition; Apathetic;
"He who aims at nothing will hit their mark every time."
Visions: Produce hope in the face of despair; Are inspiring. Motivate; Give you a goal; Give the people something to unite behind; Creates unity; Call people to prayer and faith; Require faithfulness and patience;
A true vision consumes YOU!
A few examples:
LOOK AT ABRAHAM.
He saw a city whose builder and maker was God. Therefore, he set off from his home in faith and obedience. He traveled to a land not knowing where he was going. He went because he had a vision.
LOOK AT MOSES.
He left the ease of Egypt choosing to suffer afflictions with the children of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and came back 40 years later to lead a rag-tag army through 40 years of wilderness wandering. I want to tell you, you better have a vision and a Word from God if you’re leading 2 million people thru a Hot barren desert, and they’re: Grumbling; Complaining; Stiff Necked; Murmuring; You better have a vision.
LOOK AT THE APOSTLE PAUL
As he does a 180 degree turn and begins to preach the very Gospel that he once hated. These men were directed by a WORD - A VISION from God. They were visionaries. Are you a visionary?
Are you somebody who has a set goal, your eyes are on something, or are you somebody who aims at nothing?
People without a vision rarely accomplish anything.
Do you know that you can see and observe people who have no vision. In fact, the familiar Proverbs 29:18 notes, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
As I noted a few moments ago, when I came here the Lord directed me to begin a process of instilling within the body the need for Revival. I want you to know I have not lost that vision.
I still believe that God is going to perform that which he has spoken. God is: Going to move; Going to have a people; About to show Himself mighty; Bringing Revival; Fixing to break forth in His Glory;
Some of the things that have transpired, which we can’t figure out; The Purging; The Exodus; The rumors; The Skepticism; The prophets of doom; All these were necessary to get us to where we are right now. I don’t like it, and you don’t like it, but the simple fact is, "We grow through trials and tribulations." "Adversity is the key ingredient for toughness." We need to focus on: Our altar times of prayer; Fighting Spiritual battles; Allowing God to move in our services; A willingness to get behind the vision; A desire to move forward and to put the past behind; Keeping our house in order;
We need to have: A renewed feeling of integrity throughout the whole of the church; Confidence within ourselves; Confidence in others; A sense of the church being the church;
This church feels like a church.
I like a church that’s: Alive; On fire; Letting God move; Moving forward in the Lord;
We have our focus right! This is a house of prayer. This is a place of ministry. This is a temple of worship. The Lord is here, and nothing can be any better than that.
I like a church where you can: Worship the Lord; Speak in Tongues; Dance in the Spirit; Run in the Aisles; Do what the Lord says to do; Feel the Love of God; Feel the presence of the Lord; Love one another; God can move in that kind of atmosphere.
God loves and moves in a church where there is acceptance and forgiveness one with another. We have grown in love. This church was very divided when I came here. In fact, that was the main thing I noted when I came in 1995. There was: Division; Rumors; Suspicions; No real Spirit of God moving; I wish to commend you, you did the right thing, to come together as one body in Christ Jesus. I didn’t do that; You did that.
I can lead you to truth, but if you do not act on that truth, what good have I done? You acted on it! Then, finally, one of the key ingredients to this whole process is restoration. RESTORATION
The children of Israel could have gone from Egypt to the Promised land in just 11 days -- 11 days! Nonetheless it eventually took them the sum total of 40 years! Why? It took them that long to: Get Egypt out of them; To Learn to truly trust God; To learn the lessons God had for them to learn; To have the necessary faith to go in and possess the land that God had promised to them 40 years earlier; We too could have taken 40 years, so to speak, to work through this process. I guarantee you, with some churches it would have taken them 40 years or more!
I have known congregations that are still fighting battles that are 50 years old! They’re still fighting over: The color of the carpet; The type of piano; The type of lighting;
Hear me: The carpets laid; The piano is there; The lights are on; My Lord, give it up and get on with the Great Commission! People are dying!
How many believe we ought to forgive one another and go on? To your credit, you were ready to move in and on as Christians. Because you were willing to obey and ready to forgive, the Lord is giving us some new marching orders! I commend you as a church. I feel that it is time to look forward to the new vision the Lord has for us as a church. Please understand that I take this process very seriously. I have been asked repeatedly if I still have the same vision for the church.
The answer is yes.
I still believe God is going to send Revival to the church, and through this church, we will be a light house to this valley. I wouldn’t speak to this if I didn’t think that I had the mind of the Lord.
I believe that we as a church have come through some tough times, and God is about ready to fulfill the vision He has given us.
It only stands to reason that he wouldn’t move us to another level if we had not graduated from the first level. God is not going to send in the lost unless we’re ready to receive them, just as they are! I believe as a church we’re past: Judging people; Condemnation; Holding grudges; Holding in things that will eat us up; Before I give you the word, please allow me to give you a little background. One of the most fascinating books in the Old Testament, if not in the whole Bible, is the book of Esther. It is the story of a beautiful queen, a deceived king, a deceitful noble and a very wise Hebrew brother. To condense the story, the nobleman wanted to kill all of the Jews.
He had his plan in place and the means with which to carry it out. Hope for deliverance was about gone when the wise Hebrew brother called on the beautiful queen, who was also a Jew, to intervene. Knowing that to interfere with the king’s business could possibly not only cost her, her royal position, but also her life, Queen Esther balked. At that point literally the whole Jewish race was facing extermination. For you see, if the evil Haman’s plans were to succeed, God’s plan of salvation would have been thwarted for Jesus had to come as a Jew. In short, Satan was trying to stop Jesus before He was even born. Mordecai, the Hebrew brother that I have been speaking about, then tells the queen, in Esther 4:14, "Who knows but whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
In response to his words, Esther moved forth in courage and faith and the Jewish race was saved.
Having said that, the word the Lord has spoken to my heart is, He has set us in: His Kingdom; In this world; In this community; In this church "FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS."
I said, God has set you here for such a time as this!
You are not here: By mere coincidence; By mere happenstance; Because you had nothing better to do; Because you just happened to move here; Because you just wandered into this church; But you are here because: God put you here; God ordained you to be here; God has spoken it to be so; You are a vital asset to this church; You were searching, and God brought you here for such a time as this.
God gave me this word for you, You are: In the right place; Here for this hour; Going to shine forth like you’ve never shined before; Not to give up; Not to quit; Not to be swayed from this way to that way; Here, for such a time as this!
The Apostle Paul noted in Acts 17:26, And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;" Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, declares, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;"
Job 14:5, adds, "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;" May I say to you, we were born: According to a time table established by God Himself; To be who we are; To be where we are; To be what we are; To be winners; To be victorious; To be like Jesus; For such a time as this!
God knows what He’s doing. Listen to Jeremiah 1:4-5, " Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Did God have a hand in the birth and times of the Prophet Jeremiah? I think the Bible speaks for itself. The same God that knows the number of hairs on your head also knows the time of your birth and the time of your death. Listen to me, You are not here: By mere happenstance; By some mistake; Because you dropped off the last hay wagon going thru town; But, you are here by divine appointment "FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS."
NO DOUBT, SOME OF YOU ARE THINKING, "WHY ME? WHY NOW?" "WHY HERE?"
Good questions. I understand fully. I have asked the same questions myself a number of times since coming to this church. Three primary reasons stand out in my mind.
1. THIS IS THE TIME This is a defining moment in the history of the church, it also set you in a position to be used of God in a special way "For such a time as this" According to some experts, the number one and number two needs today among the people of America are, "To be loved and to be forgiven." God wants you to hear two things: Tell the people that I love them and tell the people that I forgive them." That is what people are wanting to hear today. If you can’t love others and forgive others, then God can’t love and forgive you. People are dying to hear such a message, however they want to hear it from someone who has walked the talk! You have!
Next, let me point something else out. No individual or group has ever risen to true greatness in or out of the Kingdom of God without first overcoming some giant-sized obstacle. In 1962 a book was published entitled, Cradles of Eminence. Some 413 famous people who had really excelled were studied over a span of five years. The researchers were trying to find some common thread in their lives that would explain the secret of their success. The one thing that surfaced in 392 of the 413 people, the single most common denominator, was that they had faced unbelievable obstacles in their lives.
The researchers came to the conclusion that those who had risen to the top were people who had labored under terrible hardships at some point in their lives. How many believe this church has been through the fire? The late great black leader Booker T. Washington once noted, "You cannot ever judge success by what position you have, you can only judge success by what you have had to overcome to get there." Before one can become a giant, you have to have first whipped a giant! In overcoming with love and grace the giant of shame and failure that this church had carried on its back since early in this decade, Sunizona Assembly of God has positioned itself to become a giant for God "For such a time as this."
2. GOD HAS GIFTED THIS CHURCH. This church has the means to do so much for the Kingdom of God. There is enough within this church to win this state for Jesus. The intercession that goes forth from here; The people who love one another; The people who are faithful givers;
We have enough in the house! I said, "There’s more than enough in the house to bring about God’s plan." The Bible says in Luke 12:48, " But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
The Living Bible puts it this way, "Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater." In the face of tremendous needs, God is calling us to do more. "But pastor, look at what our church has done over the years, and we’re just a small church." I hear you. However, God is calling us NOW "For such a time as this." Tell me Who is going to: Reach this generation for Jesus; Bring Revival by prayer; Preach the message for today; Those who have gone before us -- regardless of how greatly they were used of God -- cannot reach today’s generation. They are dead, we are alive. The torch of the Gospel has now been passed on to us.
1 Corinthians 6:2 declares, "...I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation." Did you hear it? NOW -- "For such a time as this."
Conclusion: I’m closing with this. When the future King David was running from King Saul, God sent hundreds of thousands of men to help him. But, perhaps the most important men in the entire army were the 200 men of Issachar. They were chosen for their insight and foresight -- their ability to look beyond the details of day to day life, discern the underlying issues, and chart an accurate course into the future. That is the so-called Issachar factor -- the ability to understand the times and know what God wants us to do.
Let us be like these men of Issachar -- let us understand the times today. The Bible speaks of our times as being very evil; exceedingly evil! Satan is on a rampage. Evil men and seducers are going from bad to worse. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that things can’t continue on this downward slide forever. Eventually something has to give. The times are so ! People have seemingly lost their ability to blush. Sin is now out of the closet and in your face! Do you have unsaved loved ones? Now is the time to try and reach them. Do you want to see your neighbors come to Christ? Again, today is the day to go for it!
Do you have a burden for the unreached masses of humanity? Work to reach them now!
Listen to John 4:35-36, " Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."
He is calling us NOW, "For such a time as this!" What a privilege that God calls us to work in His harvest. He wants you, He chose you, He appointed you, again He calls you "For such a time as this."
Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Would you say as Ester said, "If I perish, I perish" Lord, I’ve come unto the kingdom for such a time as this. Amen
