The Significance of One

Introduction

There are currently over 7.5 Billion people in the world, and guess what! Nobody is just like you. Think about it, you may have a twin as far as you’re appearance goes but nobody has the same unique talents, giftedness and personality that you do!

As Christians, we believe God has gifted us according to where we are, not only in the church to minister for Him, but in your family and at work as well. Therefore, no one can do exactly what you do or be exactly who you are right now. ILL.> In my first 18 years I struggled to be like everyone else, but I was quiet, didn’t do well in school, my middle brother out did me in sports and popularity, and to top it all off , I was the second youngest in my H.S. graduating class. I struggled with inferiority! Once God showed me a direction in life through Christian friends and Bible School, I worked towards that and did much better. In Seminary after college I remember thinking “why do I need Seminary? Is the ministry all about your degrees and putting on a Pastoral face? At the same time I was trying to live up to what PEOPLE thought Pastors should be until this one thought freed me; “If God made me the way I am with my giftedness, and personality, why am I trying to be like somebody else”? It’s ok for me to be the weird, unusual pastor because that’s how He made me!

When I see you stretching and challenging yourself within your giftedness and weird quirks, it encourages me. It gives me hope and excites me because I know the Lord is going to Bless you and our church greatly for your effort as He has me. I can’t say “nobody is more surprised than me how I turned out” because A LOT of people are more surprised as to what happened from when I was a stupid teenager to what I’m doing today.

It’s not just me, but using your uniqueness is also encouraging to others. It helps others see that something is happening here through you! And that ripple effect of hope, encouragement and excitement spreads through the congregation from even one person who believes that God has turned him/her on! ILL> Blessing Bags… (made 200, 36 left in church, over 50 given out by one person).

Have you ever thought of where we would be in the world if one person like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, Patrick Henry or Henry Ford thought they couldn’t make a difference!

Let me catch you up to where we are here this morning in Esther chapter 4… The story is told of Myrtle, a beautiful young woman who entered a beauty contest and won! The prize was to marry the King and be one of his wives. She didn’t have to do anything but look pretty and please the King. She was set for the rest of her life! On top of this, the King loved her so much he made her the Queen. Things were going well until an evil and powerful man within the kings leadership threatened the queens uncle and her people, the Jews, with annihilation unknown to the King. Myrtles uncle persuaded her to do something to save her people from being wiped out and she did! At first this sounds easy because of her position, but she was a woman and women did not speak unless spoken to , and nobody spoke to the King directly without being invited. Punishment was DEATH. Myrtle is what we would call her today in America for that’s what her Hebrew name “Hadassah” means, but we know her of course as Esther, her Persian name.

You too may have thought at times; I’m only one person, what can I do? This is too risky, or everything seems stacked against me! Nothing is too big or out of reach if God is in it. There are three things that can help us as we minister in our culture “for such a time as this”.

I. Learn to Resist the Temptation to do nothing. (vs. 14a)

Whether it was out of fear of only being one person, the fear of the consequence, or just not knowing what to do, Esther was hesitant! Mordecai her uncle realized that she alone held the keys to this situation. He challenged her silence with an appeal to her conscience (4:14a…). This is quite a pressing situation; do nothing and perish or do something and possibly perish. Notice too that God is going to get His work done either way. There are things that only you are equipped to do in God’s plan to receive a blessing, it’s just are you going to trust His leading and enjoy the stretching that ministry brings or cower in fear and miss that blessing?

I believe God wants to change outcomes through us more than what we think. What are some situations in which you are tempted to do nothing in the face of a challenge? Stranded motorist? Church Board or committee? Charity phone-a-thon? (Life 97.9…). Compassion child… Or how about something very annoying right now; the Presidential Election? No matter what, you have to VOTE!! Your privilege and responsibility as an American citizen and a Christian is to Vote for Biblical principles, no matter what platform, and not necessarily the man. (Edmond Burke - late 1700’s).“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do NOTHING!” God is using our influence to work His plan, whatever that may be.

We have to believe that to do nothing in some of these situations would be against what God would have us do if we were listening to the H.S. It’s natural to hesitate in light of a challenge, even a financial one, but don’t just push it aside like it doesn’t matter, it does!

II. Believe that God has Prepared you to make a difference. (vs. 14b)

For Esther, the realization that maybe she had attained royalty “for such a time as this”, changed her outlook, caused her to think! She no longer believed that her beauty and outward adornments as well as her position were given her by God only for her own wellbeing. It never is! There is always a reason for who you are and what you’ve gone through! That is an amazing thought. Everything God planned in her life beforehand brought her to this point; Her Jewishness, her beauty, her family, her living in a foreign country, her winning the beauty contest, her being favored by the King, her becoming Queen, not dying when she approached the King and on and on it goes! Everything is important, nothing is wasted in a life! ILL> Along time ago it was suggested to me in making goals and finding where the Lord is leading my life, to spend some time in a quiet place for a few days and review the highlights of how God has worked in my life so far. As I looked at friends, schools, events, situations good and bad, a pattern of interests and ideas developed and God revealed how He had changed me through them all, even in emphasis’s for ministry, weirdness and all. A chain of events somehow all connected. God’s not just sitting around letting things go, He’s got a plan and it includes you!

Recently I came across this comment and it stuck with me “Nobody ever made a difference by being like everyone else”. I’m encouraged by that because it reinforces that my weirdness is ok! I can be a different person like Moses the stutterer/leader, David the shepherd boy/king, Gideon/warrior, Daniel captive/royalty. All it takes is faith in who God made you to be. We need to reclaim the phrase “I am somebody ‘cause God don’t make no Junk”

I’m sure all of us could point to individual people who made a significant impact on our life. ILL> For me it was a Pastor and a Christian best friend. LeAnn remembers a S.S. teacher. You are that person already to someone else who may be looking at you without you knowing it. I would go as far as to say it is a sin to believe your life is a waste! You have come to Christ and are a member of this Church, the Body of Christ, to make a difference somehow. You are also in your family and your job for the same reason.

III. We must get personally Involved. (vs. 15 - 16)

Esther said to her uncle, You fast, I’ll fast then I’ll get it done and “Hey, if I perish, I perish” (vss. 15-16…). What did she mean? Well, she had to step out and tell the King of this plot against her people, but in Persia if someone approached the King without an invitation, even the Queen, they were to be put to death. Her only hope was if he held out his gold septer, that meant it was ok for her to come and speak to him. Esther was so involved that she was willing to sacrifice herself. Basically she was willing to give up something of great value; her life, to make a difference and save her people.

I’ve noticed that many times we don’t get personally involved in people’s lives, and that’s why we can’t make a difference. What good is it for us come to church and say our how do you do’s once a week, when hurting people need to know we care. Someone once told me that “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care”. It takes personal involvement and sacrifice to visit people, have them over (2:42 Group leaders and hosts), to do something special for them I know takes effort, but that’s when you begin fulfilling what God put you here for. You then become a significant person in their life!

Esther knew no one else could do what she had to do to save her people. Nor did she ignore the need because of the risk involved. This is what people who make a difference are made of.

Conclusion

Review… Resist doing nothing… Believe God has prepared you to make a difference… personally get involved...

Esther could have stayed her Queenly self-centered self but she chose to get over herself and make a difference. We can stay aloof from people who really need what we have to offer, but the our only significance will be a negative one. God wants us to know that one person; YOU, can make a big difference in our world. Did you know in 1845 - the margin of one vote brought Texas into the Union. 1875 - one vote changed France from a Monarchy to a republic. 1923 - one vote gave Adolf Hitler control of the Nazi party in Germany. You, one person, can make a difference in our local and National Election. Don’t forget to VOTE.

On a little bit larger scale, don’t you think there needs to be one church that ministers to people in the community personally and significantly? It’s part of our theology to the least of these! You’ll be sad to hear that most churches now, even the ones down 25th St. here, do not help people anymore with something like our Benevolent Fund! Thank you for contributing to that. It takes money, time, and patience to deal with people we don’t even know and do the best we can to legitimize each request. Not many churches are doing that these days; but Jesus told us to!

One little spark of willingness can make a difference in our community, family, work and our Church. None of us are Exceptional, but all of us are Unique! And you know what, we have a Royal position greater than even Esther’s because we are a child of the KING of Kings and LORD of LORDS. Remember, “You and God are a majority”.