Calling out the Called

Esther 4

As you’re turning over to Esther, i’ll remind you that the theme of this book, in fact the key to understanding what God is doing at this time, the key to understanding what is happening in this book is that

God is faithful to save His people, even in the midst of their wandering and disobedience.

And last week, we uncovered this plot by Haman to kill the Jews, to eradicate them all in the kingdom of Persia, which would

Nullify God’s promise to Adam

Nullify God’s promise to Abraham

Nullify God’s promise to David

1-3

Mordecai and all Jews ALL OVER the world went into mourning. Went into fasting. This was a sorrowful time. And Mordecai couldn’t come into the presence of the king because, well. You could actually die for that. If you’ve read the book of Nehemiah, you know that when Nehemiah appeared before the king, the king noted that Nehemiah was sad - that he’d never seen Nehemiah sad before. Interestingly enough? That king, Artaxerxes……was the son of this king, Ahazueras, or, as he’s called in other places, Xerxes.

4-7

What’s heartbreaking to me here is that Esther didn’t know……she had no clue that there had been a death sentence laid against her people.

8-9

See, Mordecai had told Esther to keep quiet. And she had. It was politically convenient for her to keep quiet. And in a misguided effort to SAVE Esther, he’d told her to keep her faith under wraps. See, he thought secrecy was better security than God’s sovereignty. I’ll say that one again, because some of us still live in that delusion, that Mordecai thought, and sometimes we think that in regards to our faith, secrecy is better security than God’s sovereignty.

And see, Esther at least had Mordecai’s direction. But some of us, we walk out of here, back into an old way of thinking, an old way of living. We’ll sing loud the name of Jesus, then we walk out of here, and we’ll treat His name like a curseword……

But mordecai saw this problem. Esther hadn’t seen it yet. Mordecai saw the imminent death of his people, and he knew there was one path of salvation. And he knew it depended on Esther having the boldness to talk to the king.

And at this very moment everything clicked into place in Mordecai’s mind, and he knew why God had elevated Esther to this position.

And that truth is just as applicable tonight to us as it was then;

You have a platform because you have a call.

And some of ya’ll in here. You have a massive platform. Bigger than you think. See, your platform, it’s the people in your life that you talk to, that you influence, that you rub elbows with. It’s the people that you spend time with. The people you play sports with, the people you’re in band with, the people you work with……

Your platform is your sphere of influence, and you are accountable for that platform.

Whether or not you know it, whether or not you even want to recognize it, you have a platform, and that platform comes with a calling to make Jesus known.

We say we exist as a church to Abide in Christ and Advance the Gospel. And I’m here to tell you that, just like Esther, God has you in the place you’re in to be a witness about what He’s done.

But see, so many times what can happen to us is what happened to Esther, that we can get so caught up in that face THAT we have a platform that we forget WHY we have a platform.

Esther’s platform had eclipsed her call. (10-11)

10-11

Esther was saying, you see this lane? This is my lane!! I’m supposed to be RIGHT HERE. And when the king calls for me, I can go talk to him. But until he does, I can’t go see him. That’s against the law. That’ll put me at risk.

Esther was content. She had everything she needed - but isn’t it interesting that in every corner of the kingdom, there was weeping, there was sorrow. There was misery, and yet in the king’s very palace….she had no clue.

And even when Mordecai told her about this, and TOLD her about that she had to talk to the king, her response was, “The king hasn’t called me!!”

See….Esther was waiting on the wrong KING to call on her. Ahasueras - he might not ever have called on Esther to come speak into the situation, but the King of KINGS was calling her out, and she had lost sight of that.

We can sit, isolated in our own little bubbles, content to just live our lives. Content to just hang out with our friends, do our thing, live our lives, but I wonder, are we paying attention to the dire situation of the world around us? Do you go into school with your blinders up? Do you see the people who are hurting anymore? Maybe you do.

But maybe, like Esther, we’ve taken our eyes off the call, or we’ve let people distract us from the call, or we’ve sort of been lulled into complacency…..And we’ve forgotten the fact that WE’RE here to tell the world about Jesus.

Can I let you in on a little something? Very few people in your life are ever going to come up to you, just out of the blue, and say, Hey, can you tell me how to be saved? Can you talk to me about Jesus? If you’re waiting on that, it’s not going to happen. Esther, wasn’t going to get a call from Ahasueras - but she was being called by God to step into this situation.

In the same way, your friend may never call you up and say, hey, can you talk to me more about Jesus, especially if you’ve never broached the conversation before.

Don’t wait for someone to ask you about Jesus.

Because they might never do that.

Esther’s platform was dependent on her call. (12-14)

12-14

Do something with your platform, or it will be taken away.

Esther’s platform was less important than her call. (15-17)

15-17

Ultimately, Esther listened to Mordecai, and she began to realize, okay. This is serious. We’re playing for keeps here. We’re not fooling around anymore, this is bigger than the clothes, the makeup, this is bigger than my position here. This is bigger than my LIFE

Middle school won’t last forever. High school won’t last forever. College, your career…..NONE of these things will last forever, but eternity will.

Esther had found something that was bigger than her platform, that was bigger even than her life. I’m wondering. I just wonder…..have you found something, in Christ….that is bigger than your life. Have you caught on to the fact….that you are part of something infinitely greater than yourself.

Has it occurred to you that you are taking part in the greatest story that has ever been told, that you have a part to play in it. And that, just like Esther, God has so ordered the events of your life that you’ve come to THIS point, on THIS night, for THIS purpose, for this……very…..reason.

For such a time

As this.

What we do here echoes through eternity.

Have you found something in Christ worth investing your life into? Worth giving your life for? Because, i’m going to tell you the truth; You can’t say you’d die for something if you never start living for it.

Invest your life into Kingdom work.

Pray that God would give you eyes to see the need

Pray that God would give you courage to step in.

Pray that God would give you a greater understanding of this glorious purpose for which you were born.

There was someone else who face imminent death