Fear like Esther, Faith like Esther

Psalm 146 | Esther 4

Fear Like Esther

Esther 4:8–11 “Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.””

Esther rightly feared King Ahasuerus

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

No one deserves an audience with the king. No one deserves an audience with God.

Exodus 33:20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.””

Isaiah 6:5 “And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””

We as a people have lost sight of the might and power of our God.

We have in our imaginations constructed a tame God in the box of ideas of being nice

Exodus 20:4–5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,”

When you stand before a lion, should he roar at you, you would quake inside if not out.

There is no hope of taming that ferocity. The lion is rightly called the king of the jungle.

Why would we ever believe that the King of this Universe is any more tame than this?

Hebrews 12:28–29 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Child of God we may have no fear of Hell, but we need to reclaim a clearer picture of the fulness of God. We need to reclaim a right awe, reverence, and fear of our God who is a consuming fire and has the power to destroy both body and soul in Hellfire.

Sinner friend ,that is the unsaved, you stand alone before the rightful judge and consuming fire with no protection.

You stand before a greater king than Ahasuerus, with no scepter extended. THAT is not a matter of life and death, but of eternal life and eternal death.

Faith Like Esther

Esther 4:15–17 “1Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.”

How do we know this was an act of faith in God; not just an act of uncommon courage?

Prayer and Fasting

Matthew 6:16–18 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Mark 9:28–29 “And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.””

This is a picture of true Biblical Faith: Not just acceptance of facts, but RELYING on who God is to do the righteous and courageous thing.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.

Esther was courageous, but her courage was a gift of God to an obedient and faithful servant. It was her humble approach, her reliance on God, her cries for aid that put her in the right position to receive this courage borne of grace as well as in position to be used by God to save her people.

A Greater King

Why should we fear like Esther, and have faith like Esther? Because we serve a greater King!

God as the King & Jesus as the scepter extended

John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

So Loved: In this way; How did God love us? By giving Jesus as the sacrifice

By extending the scepter to the undeserving to rescue them from the King’s Justice

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence [because the scepter that is Christ HAS been extended] draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Purpose? Rescue, Redemption, Salvation

God’s grace thru Christ Jesus saves us from God’s Justice and wrath

God uses His Children to save their people; His People.

Church Family, seeing that we have a greater God than Esther had a king, let us fear God as Esther feared the King. Let us have a faith in God like Esther had ,and in so doing was used mightily of God. My God grant us fear, faith, and usefulness that our loved ones might be saved.