Esther 3-4
Lesson 2
"For Such a Time as This!"
"When the enemy plots your demise, the King is planning your reward,"
from Tommy Tenney's
12 Protocols of the Palace.
12 Protocols of the Palace.
Israel's future is at stake, hanging in the balance; how will they survive another enemy that wants them ALL wiped out, driven into the sea? With God's sovereign hand, that's how! He is sovereign over kings and kingdoms; "The King's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes." Pr. 21:1 Have you noticed in Scripture how God always fulfills His purposes through the most unlikely characters? A meek shepherd boy became king, a harlot is in the bloodline of Christ, a Moabite woman leaves her homeland and returns with her mother-in-law and marries into the lineage of the Messiah, a Jewish baby placed in a basket floats to a maiden in the palace of Egypt where he would be prepared to deliver his people, a simple young girl and young man engaged to be married, would have their fairy-tale interrupted so that she would give birth to the King of Kings! Get the picture? God's ways are not our ways. Esther is a rich "fairy-tale like" story buried in the heart of the Old Testament, where a simple Jewish girl is given access to the throne room of the greatest kingdom on earth. Only our Great God can do that!
If this were a drama on today's television, the cliffhanger from today's episode would be, "Will Esther risk her life and go into the King, interceding on behalf of her people?" Tune in next week! What about that life in the palace? We learned today using a timeline that Esther has now been in the palace for five years before the events of Esther chapter three occur. Life is going great; lots of pretty things, parties, and oh, the decor. She is in "high cotton" as we say in the south. Isn't that the way life is at times, just when you think all is well, then it happens - something hits your life and rocks your little palace, and you come to a crisis of belief. What will you do? Will you bow to the "Haman's" of this world? Or will stand in your faith and refuse to pay homage to the enemy? Mordecai had fear, but not of man; he feared his God and rested in the deliverance that he knew God would deliver.
Then there is Esther, sending Mordecai the messages to change his clothes, stop his mourning; what is wrong with you? Mordecai sends her a message of what has happened and how the edict has been sent to kill all of the Jews, and that she must intercede on their behalf. I can so relate to Esther, I would have done the same thing, quoting rules and laws, excusing my way out of the conflict. - did we not all see what happened to Queen Vashti? And then comes the infamous lines from Mordecai to Esther, "And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this?"
What have you attained for such a time as this? What sphere of influence do you have? Will you go in, count the cost, deny yourself, and lay down your life for someone else or something you believe in? Kay's tape today began with her posing to us two questions:
1. What am I living for? For what reason do I live the way I live? (For such a time as this)
2. What would I lay down my life for? (If I perish, I perish)
Esther became more than just a pretty face; somewhere between message two and message three from Mordecai, she rolled up her pretty little sleeves and changed from a meek girl taking commands from Mordecai to a strong woman instructing him to have the people fast for three days. Then she said, "And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." Somehow, Esther was able to step back and look at this moment in her life as God's calling for such a time as this.
God has a purpose for you as well, dear one. Everything we do should doxa, or glorify Him and testify to the world that truly God hath sent His Son. When we use our gifting, in our sphere of influence, we are "Esther's" in our own little world. Kay gave us four points that support this truth:
The Reason I Live...
1. The reason I live is to bring God pleasure. (John 10:17, 2 Cor. 5:9)2. I live knowing that God is going to bring His kingdom on earth. (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38-39)
3. The reason I live is to bring Him glory. (John 17:4)
4. The reason I live to His glory is because there is a reward. (Rev. 22:12)
What will you do when an old enemy comes knocking on your palace door? Will you pack your bags and run? Will you make up excuses and compromise? Will you go in to the throne room and risk your life? These are not easy questions for any of us, but they are questions we need to think about, for who knows, perhaps we are studying Esther so that we will be equipped "For such a time as this!"
Laboring with you and through Him,
Phil 1:6
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Day 47: Nehemiah confronted sin! As Barney Fife would say, He nipped it in the bud. All sin begins in our mind and hearts. What do you think about? It says in Proverbs 23:7 For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Do you need to confront the sin in your mind and take it captive to the obedience of Christ? How can we change our thought habits? After taking it captive, we have to replace those ungodly thoughts with God's thoughts. I like to call it THREW with a PG Rating. Finally brethren, whatever is True, whatever is Honorable, whatever is Right, whatever is Excellent, whatever is Worthy of Praise, whatever is of Good Report - dwell on these things. Phil. 4:8 it! Just something to think about!
ReplyDeleteDay 48: What attributes of God do we see listed in Nehemiah 10, when the Levites stood and blessed the Lord in a beautiful prayer and praise? Lord God alone, creator of heavens and earth, chose Abraham and made him a great nation, covenant God, righteous, promise keeper, deliverer, provider, guide, instructs by giving of the Law, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounds in lovingkindness, giver of the land, gave us His Spirit through which He admonishes us, does not forsake us, subdues our enemies, great goodness, rescues us, just, faithful, awesome, and mighty God. Wow! Just in one chapter of the Bible, we gain such truth of who our God is and how He relates to us. Pause today, thanking Him for these attributes!
ReplyDeleteDay 49: The exodus is mentioned in Neh. 9; why is Israel's deliverance from Egypt mention so many times in the Bible? I would dare to say it would be one, if not the most, repeated event in the Bible. Israel needed to be reminded that God was their deliverer. provider, sustainer, and redeemer. He guided them by day with a cloud and by night with the fire. The cloud cooled them from the desert sun and the fire gave them light and kept them warm on cold desert nights. He guides and provides all at the same time! What is your most important event in your walk with God? Is not your -exodus- from the captivity of sin as well? When He saved you, He redeemed you from your slavery to sin; and now, He guides you by day and night through the fire and cloud of His Spirit within you and His Word in front of you. Let the Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path!
ReplyDeleteDay 50: Why did Israel go into captivity? Why was the city and the temple burned and destroyed? Sin! Disobedience to the Laws of God. We see Israel sign the agreement in Neh, 10 that they would put away their foreign wives, observe the Sabbath as well as the land's Sabbath rest, they would pay the tithe and give the contributions to the priests. Were they able to keep the agreement? No, they would continually return to sin over and over again. We can't keep the Law, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Heb 10:4) What are we to do free ourselves from the curse of the Law? Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE -- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Oh sweet Gentiles, - we are free from the curse of the Law, IF we accept the One who took our place on the cross!
ReplyDeleteDay 51: Wow! One more day!! Are your breaches almost closed? Have you been a watchman on the wall for your prayer partner? Have you stood with confidence against the opposition? Or perhaps, you were fooled by the enemy and he got you to STOP THE WORK! Nehemiah said, I perceived that they were trying to frighten, discourage, and cause me to STOP the work (Neh. 6:3,9,13). He discerned by using God's Word whether to meet the messenger or stay at the job site. Have you been manipulated to stray from the task at hand? You have two days left: dont let the enemy steel them! Stay up on the Wall!!
ReplyDeleteDay 52: It is finished! That's right precious construction workers, you have come to the last day of repair. Or have you? Yes, you have closed up some breaches, and you have made gate repairs, but if you are following Nehemiah's guide, you will now establish - gate rules. Put up guards, or stop gates, that will help you capture any thought to the obedience of Christ. Everything starts in our minds, so have scripture memorized or placed above your doorpost, helping you to close the access to your heart. It has been a joy working with you and beside you; and now, I urge and implore you to STAY UP ON THE WALL! I am looking forward to our BIG celebration tomorrow at the luncheon. These emails have been my East Gate Goal, the gate of hope. Oh, I pray they have encouraged you to - do the work! Signing off, In the Name of our Master Carpenter, the Lord Jesus Himself
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