From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Series: Letting God Guide You
April 24, 2005
Last week, (if you were here), you’ll remember that we left Esther with a catch-22 decision to make. She had to decide if she was going to save her own neck and be safe… or risk her life by going out on a limb for Gods people. She needed to tell King Xerxes about Haman’s plan to exterminate the Jews, but without an invitation it was against the law… and she could die. This past March 24, Jews all over the world fasted and prayed in commemoration of the 3 days of fasting and prayer Esther requested before her appearance with the king.
Finally, she made the tough decision saying… “If I die, I die”. Those words have been echoing in my mind all week. I’ve asked myself… “What kind of a person would say something like that? What kind of conviction and character would be needed to stand for what you believe so strongly that you’d be willing to give up your life to defend it? And then… how do I become a person like that? How do I develop those kinds of convictions and character?”
I don’t know about you, but I’m not the person I want to be when it comes to convictions and character. I feel like the English bishop who complained, “Wherever the Apostle Paul went, there was a riot, wherever I go… they serve tea”. Paul was a man of passion and conviction…we know that… but how did He get that way? I was stunned to reality this week when I was confronted by 2 different people… who said I sometimes came across as… ‘wishy-washy’. And that’s what my ‘friends’ say about me! You say, with friends like that, who needs enemies! (Actually we all need friends like that!) But that’s not necessarily something you want to hear! Especially when you’re getting ready to preach a message on courage and conviction, like I am today!
This morning you may find yourself in a situation where you need to stand for what you believe…
· Maybe you need courage to stand for your convictions around your friends who are still partying.
· It could be, you need the strength to stand up to that person who’s able to control you by manipulating your emotions.
· You’re a teen and friends are pressuring you to drink or take drugs…
· Maybe you’re an ‘approval addict’ and you want to break your addiction.
· Or you need the courage to stand up to some dishonest business practices in company…
If you’re someone who needs to ‘grow a backbone’ this morning… then keep your eye on Esther. She had the integrity and grit to be true to herself. Esther’s moment of truth comes in chapter 5 of the book named after her. READ Esther 5:1-2. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to confront your boss or maybe a friend about an issue, about problem you’re having. You really didn’t want to do it… but you know you have too, or things are going to get worse not better. I have! And no matter how many times I’ve had to do it… I still hate it.
At those times, it’s easy to bail out and live with the consequences of our fear…condemned to go through life knowing we played the ‘coward’. What you may not realize is that if you’ll confront the issue head on…instead of sticking your head in a hole…it actually releases you! It gives you a sense of self-respect and satisfaction knowing that you stood for your convictions. You did what you had to do. You confronted the situation and now you get to live with the rewards of your courage.
Esther, even though I’m sure she was afraid… did what she had to do. She took her life in her hands, but not before putting her life in God’s hands. God answered the prayers of His people & she caught the king in a good mood, (think that’s a coincidence?)
Not only did he lift up his golden scepter and invite her in… but he offered her up to ½ his kingdom! Wow! The most powerful ruler in the ancient world, and she wins a hearing!
Esther was a strong person of character. But where did she get it? Well, you don’t have to look very far! She got it from her older cousin (not uncle) Mordachai, who raised her. Mordechai was a strong man of character himself. Remember, it was Mordachai who refused to bow down and worship Haman. So Esther saw character modeled before her. Today we’re going to learn about character… because no matter who you are… we could all use a little more. Because we’re facing a world today that is increasingly hostile to people of integrity. We’re going to learn this morning “How to Become a Person of Character” (not how to become a character!)
Character development is actually a 4-fold process. It starts with knowledge… The 1st step in becoming a person of character is to…
1. KNOW the Truth (this is the knowledge stage of char. development)
Before you can stand for truth like Esther, you first of all need to know what it is, when you see it! The bible claims to be truth. Jesus said in John 8:31. “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” How will you know the truth?… by continually learning His Word. So the bible is a foundation of truth that you can build your life on. It’ll never lead you wrong.
You can either make choices based on what you ‘feel’ is right, or on what the bible says is right. It’s up to you. But if you go with your feelings… you’ve got a hard road to hoe! God’s Word the ‘gold standard’ of truth. If what you ‘think’ contradicts what the bible says… you’re wrong! We’ve been talking about letting God guide us the past few weeks… well, this is where it all starts. Before you can let God guide you, you have to trust that His words are true!
I could spend the next 5 hours talking to you about why you can believe the bibles claims to be truth…but let me just cut to the chase. If you don’t use the bible as your standard for truth… what do you use? If it’s just your opinions… you’re in trouble! Because it’s very easy to adjust your opinions to excuse your own sin.
Jesus said the proof of whether you’re following Him or not is that the ‘truth will set you free”. Are you free this morning? Free from addictions? Free from your own fears? Free of bitterness and unforgiveness? Free of your own destructive patterns of behavior? Free of condemning attitudes? Are you free to be yourself? If you aren’t… then whatever your basing your life on… isn’t the truth! Jesus said that whatever’s the truth… will set you free!
In our society instead of saying, “I believe in absolute truth. There are standards of right and wrong that apply to every person, in every situation.” It’s more popular to say, “I believe that truth is a personal thing! If something is true for you, then go with it. Just don’t push your morality on others”. Basically it’s the idea that, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re sincere!” Oh yea? Well, what if you’re sincerely wrong? I mean that’s possible isn’t it? Write this down…Sincerity is worthless if it’s not invested in truth.
I can sincerely believe that human flight is possible by jumping out of a 3 story window and flapping my arms… but my sincerity isn’t going to make sidewalk any softer! See… The TRUTH MATTERS!
The greatest sin in our society today isn’t sin. The greatest sin in our society is to be ‘perceived as judgmental’! But is that that the goal? To be popular? To be liked? To be considered open-minded & non-judgmental? If that’s your goal, my advise to you would be… “Be careful that you’re not so open-minded that your brains fall out!”. If the truth be known… in reality we’re afraid of the negative opinions of others.
See, the Esthers of this world… the Elijah’s, the John the Baptists and the Jesus’…have a standard of truth that’s unshakable and that they can base their life on.
2. UNDERSTAND the Truth
Before you can be a person of character, you not only have to know the truth… you have to understand it! People of character see life from God’s point of view. When Mordacai learned of Haman’s plan to kill every Jew in the near east, he sent a note to Esther (4:14) and it said … 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 royal position for such a time as this?”
Did you catch the end of his message? “Who knows Esther… maybe you were made queen for this exact purpose!” Mordacai is putting Esther’s life in perspective for her. Perspective is understanding something because you see it from a larger frame of reference. Mordacai is pointing out to Esther, “Hey, this isn’t just all about you cous! It’s about an entire nation!”
Have you ever been guilty of seeing your life as if you’re the only person in the world? I run into drivers on the road like that all the time! Sometimes I drive like that! I feel personally offended when all the lights turn red!
Mordachai, wouldn’t let Esther become near sighted! He pointed out to her that there was a purpose in her problem! Did you know that there’s a purpose behind your problem that’s bigger than you are?
People who live with God’s perspective believe in the providence of God. They believe that God is up to something big in their life. Do you believe that? Boy, I do! I believe God has allowed certain things to happen in my life, in your life for a reason!
(Describe call into ministry…parents said ‘wait’… I had to go NOW. If I hadn’t… missed Rudonna!)
In the process of character building, “Knowing the truth” is learning WHAT God has said and done, but “Understanding the truth” takes it one step further. It’s learning WHY God has said or done what He’s done. See, knowledge answers the ‘what’ questions of life, while understanding answers the “why” questions of life.
If you’re going to be a person of character, like Esther…not only do you need to know the truth, you need go one step further and understand the truth!. You have to UNDERSTAND life from God’s point of view. The bible uses 2 words to describe a person who understands life from God’s perspective… they’re people of “wisdom and discernment”. If you’re going to be successful in discovering God’s will for your life, then you’re going to need these 2 words! When you have ‘wisdom and discernment’, you’ll gain 3 very important benefits in your life…
1st of all…understanding
1. CAUSES you to love God more. See, the better you understand why God does what He does… the more you’ll love Him. (READ Eph. 3:18 LB)
2nd, when you have wisdom and discernment…it will
2. HELPS you resist temptation…
When you see situation from God’s point of view, you begin to realize that the long term consequences of sin are greater than the short-term pleasures. (For example…______________)
If you don’t have God’s understanding on life… you’ll follow your own natural desires, and get into all kinds of trouble! You’ll marry the wrong people, invest your money in the wrong things, you’ll choose the wrong priorities. ( READ Prov.14:12)
3rd, When we understand life from God’s point of view…(gaining wisdom and understanding)… it
3. ENABLES you to handle trials better.
We begin to realize that Rom.8:28 is true when it says… (READ)
4thly, wisdom and understanding…
4. PROTECTS you from error and deception.
I always wonder how people get caught up in cults, or why they get mixed up with the wrong people. Simple!! they lack wisdom and discernment. When we have God’s perspective on life Eph. 4:14 (LB) promises us that… (READ)
God gave Esther a huge helping of wisdom and discernment! I mean, if I was in her place and the King invited me in, I would have probably just angrily blurted out all the injustices Haman had brought on me and my people… and ended up sounding like a blundering, belly-aching, cry-baby… “King Xerxes…you wouldn’t believe what that creep you appointed as V.P. has done to us! etc…..” But that’s not how Esther deals with her crises. Not wanting to give Haman a chance to come up with a defense… she invites both the King and his henchman to a banquet thrown in their honor… READ Esther 5:4-5.
Now here’s a wise woman! 1st of all, she knew that the quickest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach! Over dinner the King asks her what she wants. But sensing the time wasn’t right… she invited them to come for dinner the next night. Have you learned to discern when the time is right, and when it’s wrong to talk to people?
I’ve spoken on confrontation before, I’ve had people just burst into peoples lives, blurt out their complaint, and wonder why it didn’t work! Listen… God may have given you something that needs to be said… but you need to learn WHEN to say it! That takes wisdom and discernment!
I’ve had people tell me… “Chris, you need to deal with that situation right away!”… and they were right! I DID need to deal with that situation, but not necessarily right away! Over time God has taught me the wisdom of looking for His divine appointments. The bible says that’s “there’s a time for everything under the sun” I can’t tell you the train-wrecks I’ve avoided because of that! In a book by John Maxwell, called “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” he writes…
· The wrong action at the wrong time leads to disaster.
· The right action at the wrong time leads to resistance
· The wrong action at the right time leads to a mistake…but
· The right action at the right time leads to success.
Knowing the truth and understanding the truth… leads to the 3rd step towards character development…DEFENDING the truth!
3. DEFEND the Truth
People like Esther and Mordacai who stand strong in the face of great personal pressure are people of conviction. The dictionary defines ‘conviction’ as a ‘fixed or strong belief”. But it’s really even more than that. Your convictions include your values, your commitments and your motivations. See, a ‘belief’ is something you’ll argue about…but a ‘conviction’ is something you’ll die for!
I’d argue with passion over whether the Sac. Kings can make it to the ‘Big Show’… but I wouldn’t die for them! Got convictions? I mean is there anything in your life that you would be willing to die for?
Remember the feast that King Xerxes threw in chap. 1:5, where He invited everyone in the capital of Susa to celebrate an entire week with all the food and booze they consume? Ever wonder WHY they were celebrating? I did! So I did some research into their little ‘shin-dig’ and I found out that it was a feast to celebrate the fact that the Holy Temple in Jerusalem hadn’t been rebuilt!
Xerxes invited all the Jews to attend a banquet that was designed to rub their failure in their face! Now, even though the whole party was thrown to make fun of them, the ‘court Jews’ were excited to get an invitation. Why? I mean why would anyone go to a party in order to be mocked? Because at least they were invited. To them, it was more important to be accepted by their friends than it was to be accepted by God. It’s always amazed me, the kind of lengths we’ll go and the kind of things we’ll do to be accepted!
If you’re afraid of other peoples opinions, know what?…God can never use you in a great way. Because you can bought! Prov. tells us in 29:25 that, ‘the fear of man is a trap’. In otherwords, the minute you start worrying too much about what everybody thinks… you can never live for God. It’s a ‘trap’ to always be afraid of what others think! (Ilus. Man & Donkey). If you’re going to make a difference in this life, you have to learn to live for an audience of ONE. It’s more important what HE thinks, than what anybody else thinks!
To rub it in even more…all the food was served and eaten on sacred dishes they’d plundered when they destroyed the Temple. Xerxes himself got drunk wearing holy garments of the High Priest. Now, when the Jews saw these holy cups and plates being put to shame, they couldn’t bring themselves to enjoy the party… so Xerxes came up with an idea that was acceptable to them: He made a separate room just for them…so they could continue enjoying the party… while knowing full well that their God was being mocked across the hall.
You say, “Well, where were the Jewish leaders of the time? Didn’t anyone speak up and protest?” No. Instead of standing up for God…they left the scene. Somehow trying to convince themselves that if they didn’t see it…it wasn’t happening. See no evil, hear no evil… speak no evil! Kind of like us sometimes! We see wrongdoing, but we don’t want to make any waves… so we keep quiet!
No one had the conviction of their beliefs. No one except for one Jew – know what his name was?… Mordechai! Mordachai, was the the only one who refused to bow down to Haman, and the only one who didn’t attend Xerxes feast. Esther 2:5 shows us why Mordachai was so strong…"There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital whose name was Mordechai son of Yair son of Himei son of Kish, a Benjamite…" -Esther 2:5.
The Hebrew word for "Benjamite" is y’mini. It’s the same word used in Ps. 137:5… "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget (y’mini) its skill…" Mordechai or y’mini didn’t forget Jerusalem. He didn’t forget the Holy Temple, and because of that he wouldn’t tolerate a desecrating God’s honor. Mordacai, remembered who he was, what he stood for, and what he was called to do… no matter the price.
Here’s the point…If you forget who you are. If you forget that you’re a child of God and that Jesus died a painful death to pay for your sins… it’s very easy to be assimilated into the worlds value system. As soon as church services are over on Sunday morning…the next day, you’ll go to your school, or your job, or maybe your home and put up with all kinds of activities that mock God. (TV shows, conversations, movies, actions).
But I want to challenge you this morning to be a man or woman of conviction. Not to forget who you are tomorrow when you go to work, or when you hang out with your friends at school… but to instead be a Mordachai… a ‘y’mini’ for God. One who doesn’t forget.
The easiest thing in the world when you’re challenged to stand up for God is to “say nothing”. Remain neutral, stay uncommitted. To hide your true beliefs. If you were Esther, and you were faced with the choice of not getting involved, or confronting Haman and his evil plans…what would you say? What would you do? Nothing? Or would you stand up and boldly say, “I’m for God!”.
Fact of the matter is, whether you realize it or not that challenge is being made of you everyday. Everyday we’re being challenged to speak up for God. The question is, are you remaining silent? Or do people know what you stand for? I love this quote from Edmund Burke… “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to (say) or do nothing!”
I think the reason our world’s in the shape it is today is because a lot of ‘good people’ are saying nothing! Esther, refused to be silent. If she remained silent, millions of innocent people would die. But instead she risked her life and spoke up.
Last week I spoke to you about a young girl that didn’t forget who she was in the face of her own death. With a gun to her head, she was asked point blank, by one of the Columbine Highschool killers… if she believed in God. She said ‘Yes… I believe in God”, She refused to disown her Savior, and as a result she was shot and killed. Michael W. Smith wrote a song about this courageous young Esther… and I want you to see it… (Show Video Clip)
I think one of the reasons Cassie’s story impacted me so much is that it made me take a long hard look at what’s really important in life… and what I’m willing to give up to have it.
One of the biggest hits in the 80’s was a song by Boy George entitled, “Karma Chameleon”. (Talk about somebody adrift in life!) There was one key line in that song that I think said it all for a lot of people…”I’m a man without conviction”. Show me a person without any strong convictions, and I’ll show you a person who’s at the mercy of their circumstances. See, because if you don’t decide what’s important in life, (what you’re willing to die for) there are plenty of other people in the world who are willing to decide for you. It’s like this… “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything!”
The problem with me, with you… is that we have strong convictions on weak issues (football, fashions, fads ect.) and we have weak convictions on strong issues (what’s right and wrong, abortion, eternal life).
The people who’ve made the greatest impact on this world for good haven’t necessarily been the smartest, wealthiest or best educated… they’ve been the people with the strongest & deepest convictions.
If you want to know what Jesus’ convictions were, study every time he used the term, “I must”. See Jesus had a backbone made of pure titanium! And he wants his followers to have the same! When we develop Christ-like convictions… we gain a reason and a purpose for living. Jesus demands greater allegiance out of you and me than any dictator that ever lived. The difference is that as God, He’s the only one who has a right to it!
If we’re going to make a difference in our world, we have to burn with the conviction that the kingdom of God is the greatest cause in the world. Is it? If it is…then it demands our complete and total commitment.
Lastly, people of character… know the truth… they understand the truth… they defend the truth and then they…
4. APPLY the Truth
The book of Esther is one of the most remarkable books in the entire Bible, because even though it never once mentions the name of God, His presence is always felt behind the scenes. There are 167 verses in the book of Esther and exactly ½ way through, we find the pivotal verse… (READ Esther 5:4)
Esther risks it all, her very life, and acts on what she knows. Which leads to an important lesson for us…God moves for us, when we move for Him. Esther threw caution to the wind & made a move for God! She didn’t wait, hoping that things would get better on their own… she took action!
The bible tells us in James 1:22 to (READ)…Later in James he tells us that “faith without action is dead!” In otherwords, if your faith hasn’t changed the way you live… it isn’t worth much . The Apostle Paul believed that belief and behavior is connected. In everyone of his letters he drives home the importance of practicing what we believe. (READ Eph.5:8 LB)
How many of you would agree that most of us already know way more than we’re putting into practice. I confess! I do! It’s embarrassing sometimes how much I know compared to what I do! God wants me to learn to put into action what I know!
When you put knowledge of Gods Word, understanding, conviction and action together… you get character. On top of knowledge of God’s Word, you add perspective. The better you know God’s word, the more you’ll begin to see life from God’s viewpoint. Conviction grows out of perspective. Once you begin to see things from God’s point of view, you begin to decide what’s really important in life. And then, once you have true biblical convictions, you start to live out what you believe. LISTEN…the bottom line is…If you don’t live it… you don’t really believe it! I can say I believe in God all I want, but if I don’t ever do anything to show Him my love… I don’t really believe in Him.
So…1st you know it, then you understand it, then you defend it and lastly you apply it. The result… character! Developing the character of Christ in us is God’s most important job, because it’s the only thing that will get us into heaven! Character building always involves choices. When we make the right choices in life, our character grows more like Christ.
Would you like to have the character of Christ?
Would you like to have the courage to stand for your convictions?
Are you tired of being wishy-washy?
When I was told this week that I come across as ‘wishy-washy’… it stung at first… but then I realized that God was using those words to force me to count the cost. To decide what was and wasn’t really important in life! If you want to be a person of deep character…Be open to learning His truth, and then ask Him to help you understand how it applies to your life… 3rdly, ask God to give you deep convictions about what He has deep convictions about. Then, decide what you’re willing to stand for… even die for if necessary!
PRAY
