FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Esther 4:14, "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?"
Why am I here, right now and in this place? What is my life all about anyway? These are two of the most challenging questions that arise in the heart of a man. While many people have claimed to find the answer to these questions, the real answer is only found in the plan of God for your life.
Esther, whose name meant “secret or hidden” was a beautiful young girl of tribes of Israel but she was not in Israel anymore. She was instead, a slave of King Ahasuerus of the Medio/Persian Empire. God’s chosen people were in bondage and one of the king’s princes, Haman, whose name meant “noise or tumult”, had devised a foul plot to have all of the Jews exterminated. Haman was a sort of ancient Hitler who saw the extermination of the Jews as the final solution to the woes of the kingdom.
Little did Haman know that God already knew his secret plans and had positioned his own “secret, hidden” deliverer and was already at work bringing Esther to the forefront of the deliverance of Israel from certain death.
If you will read the entirety of the Book of Esther that tells of her story and how God used her to deliver her people, you will see the pattern that all Christians must follow in their decision to obey the call of God.
I wonder how often she had thought to herself, “Why am I here? Why was I born a slave instead of free to enjoy serving and worshipping the God of Israel in the land of my fathers?” I didn’t do anything to deserve this. It’s not my fault that Israel sinned. I was just a small child when we were taken captive, or maybe she hadn’t even been born yet.”
I wonder if she thought to herself, “I’m a nobody with nothing to offer. I’m an orphan girl, raised by my uncle, not a prince in Israel. I’m trained to take care of children and raise a family, not to be warrior! Besides that, don’t you remember what happened to Queen Vashti for refusing to dance before the king so that the whole kingdom could see her beauty? The king had her executed and she was his wife, what to you think he will do to me? There has to be another way! There has to be someone else who can do the job better than I can!”
God makes no mistakes. He knew what it would take to reach into the king’s heart to change him. It would take the warm smile of a pretty young girl to flutter her eyelids and speak kindly to him so God prepared Esther to fill the requirements of the king and bring about God’s will. She was prepared for such a time as this!
What would it have been like if Esther would have refused to be used by God? What would have become of her family and friends if she had said no? What would Israel have done if their intercessor had not fulfilled her mission in life? Esther was born for such a time as this!
Think about those around you and let’s see if we can see why God allows his people to face such hardships and how he works to bring a deliverer?
There’s the Christian teenager, who feels trapped in life because he has to live by the rules set before him by godless parents, has those questions to arise in his mind.
What does that teenager’s life mean? I’m sure they have the same thoughts as Esther did. Why can’t I be free to serve the Lord; free from those who hold authority over me and still live in rebellion against God’s law?
Perhaps God is preparing you for the job that is laid before you. It may be the constant bombarding of Heaven on behalf of his family that finally brings the deliverance from sin that they so desperately need. It may the example of his faithfulness in the midst of persecution from his own family that finally breaks through their shell of sin and shame to let them know that God is real and that he is the only answer.
What about the elderly, whose lives have been spent in serving the Lord, but who are now extremely limited in what they can do for God often wonder, why do you leave me here God? What good am I to anyone anymore?
The church is losing its prayer warriors more and more all the time. I fear what will become of the church if we cease to have prayer warriors, interceding and ever lifting up the names of the pastors, or the church members before God’s throne.
Don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you that you are of no more use to the kingdom of God and that there is nothing left for you to do but give up and go into that long dark night! Perhaps all of your life has been planned, executed and led to this very time, in this very place, for one all-important purpose, to lift up the standards of the cross and to pray for the church. Prayer is the key for every blessing and every victory. We need our elderly prayer warriors, interceding for God’s people every day. Where would we be without you?
What about the shut-in and handicapped people, who are too ill to get out much or who have little or no use of their limbs? Do they wonder, why am I like this? I can’t do much of anything for God in this condition. Why doesn’t God heal me and allow me to be a real witness of his miracle working power?
Let us never forget 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
God’s power is not found in our physical appearance or our physical prowess. He doesn’t need our help to accomplish his work but he chooses to use us in his own way.
Perhaps God has allowed these afflictions in your life for the purpose of chastisement for sin that lingers in your heart? Perhaps he has allowed these things in your life like the thorn in the flesh of Paul, so that your faith in him could be made strong in your weakness?
Whatever the reason that God has, we must trust in Him. We are his workmanship and there is a purpose in everything that we must face in life.
I remember having to go and visit with one of our dear elderly saints while she was still a part of our church. I would go over there as the “pastor” to try to pray for her and cheer her up, but I would walk away each time feeling as though “I” was the one who was lifted up and encouraged to fight on. She has gone home to be with her Lord now, but I can sense the difference in our church since her prayers are no longer rising toward heaven for us. Everyone has something to give and what God has given you to give back to the church is a gift that may forever be lost if you don’t give it.
Then there is the preacher who is facing attacks of the enemy against his ministry and against the church wonders, why God? Why am I hemmed in on every side so that I can’t seem to break free from these attacks of the devil? Why don’t you take these things away so we can do the work that you have called us to do?
How do we know what God has seen in our path ahead? Preacher, are you going to remain at your post and be faithful unto the end, or give up and run home? Can’t we understand that God knows our strengths and he knows our weaknesses? Can’t we understand that “his strength” is made perfect in our weakness? Preacher maybe you are where you are for such a time as this. It may your tenacity that helps the church to hold together and pull together as one body against the powers of darkness. It may be your example of faithfulness in the midst of great storms that leads your church to remain faithful and on fire for God even in the middle of a sermon. Stand in the gap for your church! Hold on to the horns of the altar in prayer for the flock of God! Stay on your watch and don’t give up. The future generations will need an example of stalwart faithfulness to look up to and that may well be you.
Then there is the single parent who finds themselves abandoned and alone, to face the world and try to raise the children all alone wonders, why God? Why did this have to happen? I’ve tried to be careful in choosing my spouse but they chose not to stay? Why couldn’t you have kept our marriage strong?
Single parents carry an awesome responsibility upon their shoulders. Not only are they responsible for their own souls but also now they have the added load of raising their children in the fear and reverence of Almighty God and to shape those young minds in preparation for the day when those children will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Who knows what great things God will do will your children? Who knows what great things God has planned for your life down the road?
God takes the weak and small and makes them into great and mighty warriors in his kingdom.
Illustration:
There is the story of a young, not so handsome youth who attended a bible college. As time went on he wasn’t the best of students academically and it seemed to some that he just didn’t have what it took to be a minister. In fact, one day he noticed a young coed at the college and asked her to go on a date with him. She took one look at him and turned him down flat. She told him that she was at college with only one thought in mind and that was to prepare for a lifetime of ministry and this young man didn’t look like he had the makings of a minister so she refused to date him.
He said in his own testimony that this was one of the darkest days of his life because he was so devastated by her words and rejection of him. He went out into the woods and spent the whole night in prayer, asking God why this had to happen.
I wonder if that young lady ever stops to think of the life that God had placed at her feet that she refused. That young man went on to shake the world with his ministry and has ministered in coliseums with some of the largest crusades in history. His name is Dr. Billy Graham and I think that he did have what it took to be a minister of the gospel.
Don’t look on your circumstances right now. Look at the promises of God and have faith in what he can do for you in his own time. We often miss God’s best because we can only focus on what is not instead of what can be, or what is! God is preparing you for something special and that time will come when you will be used mightily for God
Lastly, I want to mention he worker on the job who is faced with downsizing or outsourcing of his job after having been a faithful employee for many years and wonders, why God? Why couldn’t my job have held out just a little bit longer so that I could retire in peace and spend all my spare time working for you in some form of ministry?
We live in a world where you are nothing more than a number, a statistic on the balance sheet of some giant conglomerate. The days of caring for people and having loyalty for employees have given way to the days of caring about red ink. The only loyalty found in the market place today is to the dollar bill and it has become the lord of the realms.
Thank God that God does not cast us aside like some useless junk. Life is a precious commodity. People are God’s personal creation and his love for them knows no bounds. God will take that life that seems to be fading into failure and forgetfulness and give it new life, new hope and a brighter tomorrow.
Thank God that he has it all in his control. Everything in your life is working out to his will if you stay faithful to his calling. Like Queen Esther, never forget that God is bringing you into the place where he wants you to be. Like Esther, you are being prepared for God’s work, in his time and in his way, so keep the faith. You are being prepared and you have been prepared for such a time as this.
Notice with me if you will what Mordecai’s first words are to Esther.
“…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…”
What does that say to each of us right now? Even though we may be facing some of the tough times in life and we find ourselves among those who are asking questions of God, it’s like they say in Hollywood (and I don’t think much worth repeating comes from Hollywood), “the show must do on”!
God won’t accept any excuse for not doing what he has called us to do, no not even your best one will hold up in the court of Heaven.
What Mordecai is saying still holds true today. God will find someone to accomplish his will. He will find a willing man or woman of God who will step out by faith and do whatever it takes, no matter how much it hurts or how inconvenient it may be.
There is someone who will do your job if you don’t do it yourself. It works in the job market on this earth and it works the same way in God’s economy. God is not limited to using only those who receive the call first. He always has another plan waiting in the wings to bring about his perfect will upon the earth and in his kingdom.
But what happens to that one who refuses to step out in faith? They fall into rebellion and not only lose their chance to work for the Lord, but if they don’t repent, that rebellion will cost them their very soul.
We can’t afford to hang out at a “Pity Party”. We can’t afford to sit around complaining, crying and moaning about our lot in life. If we are truly God’s people with the call of God upon our lives, then we must be about our Father’s business.
God has called each of us for such a time as this. Wherever you are in life; whatever your circumstances; and no matter what you are facing, don’t ever forget that God has brought you to this place, this time and this condition for a purpose – HIS PURPOSE!
Let’s not miss the blessing by allowing the opportunity to serve the Lord pass us by. Let’s do like I heard it said in a movie that I saw.
“Carpe’ Diem” - means, “seize the day”. Seize the moment and step out in faith. Then watch God bless your efforts!
We can’t waste time making excuses. Time is a commodity that, once it is spent, it is not recoverable. You only get one chance to do it right. Sadly, too many people procrastinate, waiting for a more opportune time to step out in ministry unto the Lord. Pretty soon they look back and wonder where their life has gone.
Let me read you this poem in closing:
What happened to Time?
·When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept.
·When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked.
·When I became a full-grown man, time ran.
·And later as I older grew, time flew.
·Soon I shall find while traveling on, that time is gone.
SEIZE THE DAY! STEP OUT IN FAITH AND ANSWER THE CALL THAT GOD HAS PLACED UPON YOUR LIFE BEFORE TIME IS GONE!
Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording, including sermon titles, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these sermons. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and/or quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
