“Nothing Special” –Esther 4

During the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln found refuge at the midweek meetings of a Presbyterian church there in Washington, D.C.. He would go with an aide, sit quietly with his stovepipe hat in his lap. He would listen intently as the minister would open the Scriptures and teach God’s Word and lead the congregation in worship.
The war was tearing the nation apart and it tore at his soul as well. He’d just lost his own son, and now Lincoln was grieving, and needing solace and sustenance for his soul.
The preacher finished his message and the people began to leave.
The president quietly stood up, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave.
His aide stopped him and said, "What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?"
Lincoln answered, "I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered."
The aide said, "You thought it was a great sermon?"
Lincoln replied, "No I thought he failed… he did not ask of us something great."(Bruce Larson, What God Wants Us To Know)

The preacher hadn’t asked his congregation to do something great.  He hadn’t challenged the people, or the President of the United States, to do more with their lives. And that disturbed the President, because Lincoln saw his nation being torn apart and saw himself struggling with a deep pain and loss. 

That is a struggle that almost all preachers go through, I believe.  We want to be clear and we want to speak well and we pray always for truth and sometimes even if we can do all of that, we fail to ask or motivate people to do anything to change themselves or others.

Then there is also the even greater problem that occurs when the preacher actually does ask or motivate people to do something!  How can common, ordinary people really do anything to change their own circumstances, much less the world?  How can ordinary people do anything great?  I mean, if we were Abe Lincoln then maybe we could do something great but there is nothing special about me.  How can I change the world?

“Everybody thinks of changing Humanity and Nobody thinks of changing Himself.”  L. Tolstoy.  If we are going to do something great then we have to be ready to change ourselves; to get out of our comfort zones, make some sacrifices and be who we are supposed to be so that God can use us and work something great through us.  We don’t have to be great.  We don’t have to be powerful and influential.  If you weren’t on the stage last Thursday night with the Republican presidential contenders, it’s ok because you can still change the world.  You just have to start with you.

Now, when I say that, it might not be enough persuasion to make you really want to do something great.  You’re pretty satisfied with where you are.  You’re not too bad a person.  Things could be worse for you and you’re pretty comfortable.  Sure, you wish this world was a better place but it’s not enough to make you really want to change much about who you are or what you do.  I understand that.

We are continuing our sermon series entitled, “Nothing Special – Common Men and Women God Used”.  We took a little detour away from it last Sunday but we’re back today looking at a beautiful passage in the book of Esther.  If you have never read the story of Esther, I would encourage you to start at the beginning.  I did that a couple of weeks ago and literally couldn’t put it down.  There is only 10 short chapters and it makes for a great story.

To me, it is the funniest book in the Bible.  I honestly laughed out loud several times reading it and I knew the story.  If you like to see the underdog come out on top and you can’t stand when arrogant and self-important people get away with things then this book is for you.  I won’t tell you the whole story but I will give you enough background to help you understand what is going on in the small passage we are going to read in Esther 4:9-17.

Esther is in the Old Testament between Nehemiah and Job.  We don’t know who wrote it although it may have been Mordechai who is one of the main characters.  Mordechai was part of the group of Israelites who were taken into slavery by the Persians but he had been there long enough he had some standing in his community.  He had basically adopted his young cousin Esther and had raised her as his daughter and it is said that Esther was very beautiful (2:8).

Her beauty is brought out in the book because that is what got her to the position of queen.  The king basically had a beauty contest and she won so now she’s queen whether she wanted to be or not.  Now, being queen was great for Esther but she still had very few rights because she was a woman.  She couldn’t even go to where the king was unless he specifically asked for her.  You know, guys, back in the good old days.  J

The problem was that one of the king’s right hand men had sent out a decree in the name of the king that all the Jews were to be killed on such and such a day.  The king didn’t care and didn’t know that his own queen, Esther, was a Jew so he was all for it.  When Mordecai heard about the decree he sent word to Esther through a man named Hathak that Esther was going to have to go to the king and beg for mercy for her people (4:8).  It was time for little ol’ Esther to do something great for her people.

That is where we pick up in Esther 4:9-17.   Hathak 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?”  ¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”  ¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

That’s pretty courageous, isn’t it?  “If I perish, I perish.”  It reminds me of a similar thought expressed by the three young Hebrew boys, “I know He can and I know He will but even if He doesn’t…” still I will be obedient.  That takes a lot of courage just to say it; even more if you mean it!

Adrian Rogers told about the man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn't cut off the lion's head, the man replied: "Someone had already done that."  Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.”  Do you think Esther was scared?  Sure she was.  She had good reason to be scared.

If Esther catches the king in any kind of bad mood at all, she will be killed.  If she doesn’t go into the king to beg for mercy, she and all her family and every Jew in the land will be killed.  So, yea, she had reason to be scared.  The only hope she had was that the king would see her and extend his golden scepter towards her meaning she could come into his presence.  I know some of you men are wondering where you can get one of those scepters.  J

But today we don’t have to worry about that kind of thing.  We don’t have to worry about a government official sending out a decree that all Christians are going to be killed on a certain day.  We don’t have to be afraid that our lives will be taken away from us just for being of a certain belief.  What we do have to be afraid of is not that Satan will kill us…but that he will silence us.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  Satan wants to devour you.  He wants to kill you.  He wants you to no longer have any influence on anybody else ever again and so his preference is to kill you dead.  But if God won’t allow that then he will settle for you keeping your mouth shut.

Satan is just fine with you being a Christian and going to church and praying and reading your Bible.  That doesn’t bother him at all as long as you don’t go telling other people about Jesus; as long as you don’t go making other disciples by learning from Jesus and then teaching and encouraging others with what you have learned.

Satan is just fine with you keeping your mouth shut and not wanting to create conflict by standing up for your beliefs based on biblical truth.  Don’t go quoting scripture that says people who practice homosexuality will not inherit the Kingdom of God like it says in 1 Corinthians 6:9.  Don’t go quoting one of the 10 Commandments to the abortion supporters because if they hear, “Thou shall not kill” they might actually have to admit that it includes the unborn and Satan sure doesn’t want you quoting John 14:6 that says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  That might offend somebody.

But Esther was courageous.  But then again, she had a lot to lose and maybe you don’t.  In verse 15 we also see that not only was Esther courageous but she was also selfless.  It says, “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do.”

This is an interesting and telling verse because nowhere in the whole book of Esther is God mentioned.  It is unique in that fact.  But fasting is prayer and as a Jew we know she would be praying to Yahweh God.  Fasting is more than just missing some meals and the Bible tells us we are expected to fast and pray.  I have to say I don’t recommend fasting for three days with nothing to eat or drink except in life or death situations, which is where we find Esther.

Fasting for one meal is difficult.  Fasting for 3 days with nothing to eat or even drink would be very difficult, almost impossible and would be unhealthy but Esther was so selfless she cared more about hearing from God about what she was supposed to do and how she was supposed to do it that nothing else mattered to her.  She cared more about her family and her countrymen than even her own health and she was willing to do whatever it took to know and to make sure that she was doing what God wanted her to do.

That is what fasting is for and you can fast from other things besides food.  Fast from TV.  Fast from internet.  Fast from friends.  By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. Matthew 6:16-18 declares, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”   http://www.gotquestions.org/fasting-Christian.html

But fasting is a very selfless act.  It is putting hearing from God above even one’s own needs and Esther was obviously selfless but then again, she had a lot to lose and maybe you don’t.  Esther was courageous and selfless and we also see in verses 13 and 14 that she was also very motivated.  I think it was Mordecai’s words that motivated her when he said, “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?”

Now, it’s good to know that somebody has been listening to me.  Obviously, Mordecai has heard me say over and over again that God’s will is going to be done.  It was done all through the Old Testament and it was done all through the New Testament and it has been done in our lifetimes.  He said to her that relief and deliverance will arise from another place – obviously a reference to God – but Esther, if you don’t do what you are supposed to do; if you are not obedient, then you will miss out on the blessings when God’s will is accomplished.

You can get on board and get blessings of obedience or you can be disobedient, scared, selfish and unmotivated and get the consequences of that disobedience.  See, even Mordecai knew about BOOCOD!  (Benefits of Obedience and Consequences of Disobedience)  But Esther was courageous, selfless and motivated and she did what she had to do to be who God wanted her to be so she could change the world in spite of there being nothing special about her.  But then again, she had a lot to lose and maybe you don’t. 

Or…maybe you do.  Maybe you do have a lot to lose.  Maybe if you remain scared, selfish and unmotivated then you could possibly have a whole lot to lose and the people around you that you love could have a lot to lose as well.  Because Esther was courageous about doing what needed to be done and selfless about finding out what God wanted and motivated enough to be obedient, God worked through her and the Jews were saved from certain destruction.

You say, “But Todd, nobody wants to kill Christians here in America.  What can I do?”  Well, my first response is “Yes, there is.”  Because Satan wants to kill Christians in America but we are no match for Satan.  He is bigger, stronger, faster, and meaner and he has been doing this a lot longer than we have so the only way we can fight him is to tuck ourselves under the protective wings of Jesus; to get so close to the Lord that He protects us and fights for us.  You have heard it said that there is no place safer than the will of God.

So, then, while you are there, close to Him through prayer and personal Bible study every day, you ask Him what you can do.  I don’t know what His will is for you individually.  Maybe it is just inviting someone to church and being selfless enough to offer to drive them here.  Maybe it is nothing more than speaking Jesus to your neighbor or family member.  If you want to change the world, what better way than to change somebody’s eternity?

Also, if you think nobody wants to kill Christians in America I would also point to radical Islam.  I could point to the news media that wants to make Christians look worse than ISIS, or to our government that has sent our country off of the financial and moral cliff.  What can you do about all that?  Maybe it’s time for you to fast and pray and decide that you will stand up for what’s right because the only hope this country has; the only hope your children and grandchildren have is Jesus.

Maybe you need to be the one who brings Jesus back into the schools and to our government and to the media.  Maybe it is time that all of us did what it says to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Let’s do that right now.  We have too much to lose and it is time that the common people did an uncommon thing right here starting with us at Christ Fellowship.

Ask Jesus to come into your heart to be Lord of your life and to forgive you of your sin and then repent of that sin and turn away from it.  Do it now.