Sermon Transcript
Well, that’s a fitting song on this Sunday where we’re rejoicing in all that God’s doing in our lives. Great is thy faithfulness. You know, it’s my privilege today to speak on the Sunday after the strong confirmation vote for Dan Stockum to be the next lead pastor of Bridges Community Church. And in case you haven’t heard, 95% of our congregation gave their support for calling Dan as our next lead pastor. I got to tell you, that makes me happy, and not just me, it makes Bernice, my wife, happy.
The elders are happy, our staff is happy. I believe God is happy. And I say that because I believe God’s hand is on Dan, and I believe that he’s calling him to be our next lead pastor here at Bridges. And I believe the Lord has brought Dan and Beth to Bridges Community Church for such a time as this. So what’s next, you ask?
Well, the elders and Dan and I are going to continue over this time here, this transition time here over the holidays, so Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and we’re going to work on some transition matters, some preparation matters for what’s to come. And then, Lord willing, we’re going to install Dan as our new lead pastor on January 10th, 2021. And so I would just want to thank you for your overwhelming support of Dan and our leadership throughout this confirmation time. We are especially thankful for your prayers, for your participation, and I want to give a special word of thanks to Dan and Beth for making this an amazing time. I mean, they’re just simply amazing people anyway, but all that they gave to this period of time has been really special.
And on this Thanksgiving week, I also want to thank our elders. Their leadership through this time has been amazing. A special word of thanks to the chairman of our elder board, Fritz Mueller. You can’t even believe all that he did behind the scenes that was a part of this confirmation transition process. And I’ll tell you, I think he did a great job.
I really mean that. This whole process, I believe, has been a testament to God’s work in our midst and the plans that he has for Bridges family. And so we are hoping and praying for Bridges to have even greater ministry impact in the days to come. So all of that said, we’re going to look at a passage of scripture today that really does relate to the work, the great work that God is doing in our midst. And so we’re looking at Esther chapter 4.
Esther chapter— I almost said Ephesians. Esther chapter 4 and verses 12 to 17. So if you got your Bible or your app or whatever you got or the message notes that we have available for this message, go there with me to Esther chapter 4, verses 12 to 17. That has for such a time as this relevance written all over the passage. Relevant to Dan and Ben to the Bridges Community Church family, and also relevant to each one of us individually, including Bernice and myself.
That phrase, for such a time as this, is one that I’m sure you’ve heard before. It’s first used here in Esther chapter 4 and verse 14. That was about 2,500 years ago, and it is still being used in our time. In fact, recently I was praying in person with a small group of masked people. And at one point, one of them prayed, Lord, please give us wisdom for such a time as this.
And then this spiritual leader went on to pray, and Lord, help us take next steps, bold next steps. And really, when the leader prayed that, he was praying, Lord, help us take bold next steps for such a time as this. And when he said that, I said amen. And do you know why I said amen? Because I really think God is working in and around us in new ways right now, and he’s changing us, he’s changing our world, and I believe he has us here at such a time as this in this location.
He wants to use us. He wants to use all of us, not just Dan and Beth, all of us right here, right now. But for that to happen, I believe we must do what Esther did, which was what that spiritual leader was really praying for. In that meeting that I was in, that prayer meeting recently, we need to take bold next steps like Esther took bold next steps. So today we’re going to see that what happened to Esther and how she took those steps can be a help to us in us doing the same thing in our day.
Now, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Esther’s story or not, but the brief on Esther is just simply this: she lived around 475 BC. In the city of Susa, which was the capital of Persia. Esther came into prominence because of King Ahasuerus, who chose Esther to replace the Queen Vashti, who had been dethroned. So King Ahasuerus went looking for a new queen after Vashti was dethroned, and what he did was he held a beauty contest that included Esther in this contest. And this is what we’re told in Esther 2:17.
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Now you talk about an incredible turn of events, especially when you consider that Esther was a Jew. Who happened to be living in Persia with her uncle Mordecai after thousands upon thousands of Jews were run out of their homeland and they ended up in exile in Persia. And for the most part, life was good for them until a guy named Haman came along and he had it in for the Jews.
He vowed to first hang Uncle Mordecai on some newly built gallows, and then once Mordecai was out of the way, he was going to kill the entire Jewish population that were living in Persia. So when Mordecai got word of Haman’s plot, he sent word to Queen Esther. In fact, this is the essence of what he says, and you can find this in chapter 4 and verse 8. He told her, go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and to plead with him for her people. You say, all right, well, she’s in the position where she could do that, so that would be no problem, right?
I mean, after all, She was the king. Well, actually there was a big problem. There was a do-not-disturb law that forbid anyone, even the queen, from approaching the king without an invite or without a summons. So whoever broke that law, chapter 4, verse 11, would be put to death, which means— which meant if Esther showed up in the king’s presence without an invite, she could be put to death. But there was an exception.
If the king extended his gold scepter, and what you have here is a picture of that, this image, you can see actually what looks like a long cane here or whatever, but that was a scepter that the king had, and if he extended that scepter, then that person may live, chapter 4, verse 11. So that’s to say, if you’re the gambling type, you could just show up and see if the king smiles on you, you know, and he extends his scepter, and shows you favor. You can risk it, you could take a big bold step, but if you’re not willing to die on the spot, it would be better for you to wait for a royal invitation. So what did Esther do? Well, she sent a note back to Mordecai that basically said this: the king has had no interest in me for the past 30 days, and so that being the case, it’s probably not a good time for me to just show up at his doorstep and surprise him after all all, he hates surprises.
Well, that’s where we pick up the story then in the text we’re looking at today, Esther 4:12-17. So when Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 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. 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 royal position for such a time as this? Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.
Do not eat or drink for 3 days, night or day, and I and my maids 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. So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. So as you can see, for Esther to make this big bold step decision for such a time as this was a big deal. This was not a casual minuscule decision.
This was a life-or-death decision. So it would be really good for her to know this is exactly what she should do. She needed to get this decision right. And that being the case, the factors that she looked at or she had available to her to help her take this risky step and step out in a courageous way and do what needed to be done in that hour of need are really, really something that we can learn from. In fact, what I see here is 3 motivating factors in this situation that were in play that needed her focus and attention if she was going to move forward in a courageous, bold step— next step way.
And those 3 motivating factors are sovereignty, responsibility, and opportunity. And I believe those same 3 motivating factors could actually help us right now take bold next steps for such a time as this in the world that we are living in. So, let’s talk about them. First one is sovereignty. One of the things we should be looking for if we’re thinking about taking a bold next step, a courageous next step, is we should be thinking about God’s sovereignty.
We should be looking for evidence of God’s work. And as you look at this passage, do you see any signs of God’s sovereignty in this story? Any indicators of God’s work and God’s control? Is God orchestrating anything here to accomplish his will? Can you see anything at all that suggests God is up to something big?
Well, how about Esther? I mean, he put Esther in this role, didn’t he? I mean, that didn’t just happen. She was selected out of all of those women as the next queen of Persia. She, a Jew, got the prize role.
She was crowned king— not king. She was crowned queen by the king even though the king Ahasuerus was a Gentile. Now, why her? Well, according to Mordecai 4:14, Mordecai said, who knows? And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?
I mean, basically what he’s saying is these things just don’t happen. They happen for a reason, for such a time as this, because God is sovereign. Could it be that God was behind the new role that you’re in, that God wanted you in this privileged role as a queen at this specific time? In this specific place. That’s what Mordecai is saying.
He’s saying, you are where you are at this location, at this job, in this city, at this crazy time in history because God’s sovereignty orchestrated all of that so that his children would not die. He puts you where you are right now with access to the king even though the odds are stacked against you because he wants to use you to fix something that’s wrong That’s not right. And what’s that? He wants to use you to save his family, his beloved, his beloved children. Now, let me ask you a question.
Have you ever seen God’s sovereignty in your job placement? Do you believe that God has you right now in the location that you are because he has something special that he wants you to do in you and through you? Little old you at your age. That speaks to me at my age. My oldest son is always watching for signs of God’s work, God’s sovereignty.
That’s the kind of thing that you do when you’re intricately tied to God’s work and people around the world in filmmaking. So recently Brent was telling us that he and his primary firm company partner felt that God was leading them to put more effort and time into training filmmakers in other countries. You know what happened? Within 24 hours, they heard from a filmmaker in Ethiopia, and this filmmaker was asking them if they would like to collaborate on some God stories. Now you tell me, is that a sign of God’s work?
Is that a sign of God’s sovereignty out of the blue? I think so. God’s sovereign work often enables our work. And one of the things that I love about ministering here in the Silicon Valley, and I bet you do too, is that we are in a place that could potentially have far-reaching impact. Each of you where you are right now, your work and in your relationships could impact the world from the Silicon Valley.
It’s not an accident you are here to take bold next steps for such a time as this. So, this text reminds us to pay attention to the sovereignty of God. Look for evidence of his will work. A second motivating factor that you see here is responsibility. Fulfill your God-given assignment.
Now Esther was placed where she was so that she can do something about the situation that she had found out about. So when Esther got wind of Haman’s plans, she had a decision to make. What would she do? Would she ignore what she heard? Would she minimize what she heard?
Or would she take appropriate action? Would she step into this situation, situation Well, this is what happened. Esther chapter 4, first part of verse 4 and verse 5. When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, he was in great distress, she was in great distress. I mean, he was in distress, now she’s in distress.
Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, and assigned him to attend her and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai. And why. Now, what’s going on here? Esther needed to have some help. So, what did she do?
She took action. She confirmed first of all the facts. She wanted to know that what she was hearing was actually true. So, she steps into her God-given assignment. She doesn’t ditch the assignment.
In fact, how she stepped into it wasn’t forced. It was just natural for her to check things out to make sure that what she heard was true. And in a sense, when she did that, she was working with God. She was following God’s lead. And after she found out that the death report was credible, she began making plans to do something about it.
You know, one of the things that she did was she called the people to fast with her. The situation was too bad, it was too big for her to take it on her own in her own power. And by her own plans. And so this is what Esther did. Esther chapter 4, verses 15 and 16.
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for 3 days, night or day, and I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king even though it is against the law. Now I like the fact that the first thing that she did after she got the facts straightened out? The first thing she did was to fast.
And not just her, but she asked for everyone to join her— Mordecai, all the Jews in Susa, and her maids. Chapter 2, verse 9 tells us that she had 7 maids. Now, why did they fast? I mean, did they need to lose some weight? Was that what it was?
Did they need to break a habit? Were they preparing for a colonoscopy? No, none of that. The fasting was for the purpose of confirming God’s will and for seeking God’s favor. You know, fasting is a way of putting special focus and attention on God, on knowing his will and his plans, on asking him to have his will be done.
And it’s often a cry for help, a plea for help, a prayer for help in a desperate situation. And really, it’s an important faith practice that you see even here. And we should ask ourselves, you know, when we find ourselves looking at potentially a next step, have we spent any time in fasting? Have we spent any time in prayer? In fact, just look back over the last 9 months.
Have you spent any time in fasting or prayer? I know people in organizations right now that have, like Bible teachers connected to the organization Walk Through the Bible that I teach for. Haven’t done any teaching for them over the past 9 months. But I have heard about what God’s done through different instructors around the world, such as in Romania. I recently heard about a group of leaders and teachers in Romania who over the summer had to cancel 12 youth camps because of the coronavirus.
And that of course wasn’t great. It was sad because they were losing the opportunity to impact several hundreds of kids. So, you know what they did? They stopped and they said, Lord, what do you want us to do? And you know what God did?
He began to open up other doors through television to teach the Bible in new ways that they had never taught it before. And guess what? They have now reached since then more people than they could have reached at those 12 youth camps. In fact, television doors have opened for them in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Moldova. So that now, this is what I heard recently.
So that now they have reached more than a million people, all because they’re willing to pray and ask the Lord to show them what they could do to fulfill his calling on their lives. And God is showing them how to do the ministry in new ways. Is that a good lesson to all of us? With all that is happening in our world right now, we need to open up our hearts and we need to open up our playbooks to ways of doing ministry in a different way than perhaps it’s been done before. Walk Thru the Bible, the organization itself, this summer came out with what they called Step Into the Story.
And you know what? That Step Into the Story is reaching people still all around the world. They had never done that before. They had never gone online with one of their seminars, but they did this time, and God’s doing an amazing thing in it. And God could be telling us similar things.
I have some assignments for you and I know you think it’s a crazy time, but I’m actually working my sovereignty out in the world in new ways, and I want to use you in new ways. So when you see God’s sovereignty and our responsibility connecting, that can build and help us take those next bold steps that could potentially make a worldwide impact. Well, there’s a third motivating factor for a courageous bold step here. It’s opportunity. That is, join God in saving people.
What was the primary task that God had for Esther? Well, it was saving people. In Esther’s case, literally saving many people alive. I love those words. Those are the words of Joseph found in Genesis chapter 50 and verse 20, who in God’s sovereignty was placed in Egypt.
Joseph was placed in Egypt, and you know what? He became vice-pharaoh, so to speak, so that God might use him to save many people alive. That’s what Genesis 50:20 says, during a time of famine. Well, God also wanted to use Esther to save many people alive, and that objective was at the heart of Mordecai’s appeal. So again, looking at verses 13 and 14, actually the last part of verse 13 and first part of verse 14, do not think— Mordecai said, do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
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. Wow. Can you imagine this? What was Mordecai saying to Esther? He’s saying, you got to do something.
I mean, you got to do something. People are hurting. They need emotional relief from the constant threat of death. Death. They need deliverance from certain literal physical death.
If the king’s edict isn’t reversed, this is not going to be good. Oh, and by the way, as Mordecai says to Esther, if you don’t do something, you’re going to also perish, which would mean that you would miss out on being the vessel through which God saves your fellow Jews because— and notice this— because they are going to be We have God’s Word on that, that relief and deliverance are going to come to them one way or another, and they will be brought back to their homeland by the grace of God. Don’t miss that. Now, when you look at that, you got to ask, why would God save them? I mean, the reason they were in the mess that they were in, in exile, was due to their sinful ways and their rejection of God’s ways, right?
That’s, that’s why they were there. But the fact is God had not stopped loving them. I mean, listen to the promise that was made to them even before they were taken into exile and away from their homeland, a promise found in Jeremiah 31:3-6. The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love, speaking about his love for the Jewish people. I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
I will build you up again, and you will be rebuilt, O virgin Israel. Again, you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. Again, you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. The farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit. There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.
You see, that’s a promise. That’s— the Jews had a promise, a future promise to hang on to, one that was certain, one that was based based on God’s unending love. And that being the case, Esther, at this moment, at this moment, after all that she’s heard, after all that she’s observed, after all that she’s done, she has Mordecai’s reminder of God’s forgiveness and blessing that’s ultimately going to come on his people. But would she boldly step up and join God in saving her fellow Jews? Or would she cower in the castle, so to speak?
Would she seize the opportunity before her knowing that if she didn’t, God would do the saving work of relief and deliverance through somebody else? You know, that’s a big concern for me. That’s one of the reasons why I have talked a lot recently to pastors and leaders and church attenders about boldly stepping up into the plans that God brings our way, seizing each one of those opportunities, which in some cases are limited-time opportunities. I mean, this has really been on my heart lately in a very personal way, is I’ve been waiting for things in our world and in our area to get back to normal. Well, that’s not happening, is it?
And I could be waiting for another year or more, who knows? And what I’m coming to realize is that if I’m going to join with God in saving people, I need to courageously step up and ask God to show me how I can still do that right now, how I can connect with unbelievers in general ways and unbelieving friends in specific ways so that I too might be among those that God uses to save others alive. And I just want to ask you, will you join me in that effort of asking God to help us seize the new opportunity to bring the gospel to others around us in new ways during this unique season. So here’s the point: like Esther, we as individuals and as a church are invited by God to join him in the redemptive work that he is doing here and around the world. Yes, he’s doing— in fact, that’s why Jesus came, isn’t it?
Jesus came to take bold next steps for such a time as this so that the world might know of God’s love. And that they might be saved. Did God’s sovereignty show up in Jesus’ life and ministry? You better believe it. From beginning to end, you can see God’s sovereignty from where Jesus was born to how Jesus died.
Did Jesus act responsibly? Did he fulfill God— the God-given assignment? If even if it meant death, was he willing to die? Did he lay down his life so that people like us might live? He completely did that.
He stepped into God’s plan, perfectly did what God wanted him to do. In fact, he said that he only did what he saw his Father doing. John 5:19, he said, what the Father does, the Son also does. He absolutely stepped into God’s plan. Did Jesus join God in saving people?
So much so that he was actually criticized for hanging around with sinful people. He believed that every lost person matters to God, and he gave his life to seeing every lost person be saved in his time, at such a time as the time that he lived. Well, now it’s us. Now it’s our turn. Now it’s our turn to take bold next steps like Esther, like Jesus, in such a time as this.
And in doing that, boldly step into the work that God has for us to do, a work that could impact our world, save our world, one person at a time. Well, let’s pray. Father, as we consider this passage in light of the world context that we’re living in today, we see that the application was not just for Esther, but it’s for us. And so we pray that you would help us step up and take courageous, bold steps. And may we obviously, before we take these steps, look to you.
Lord, may your sovereign work be obvious. May the work that you’ve given each one of us to do be something that we completely embrace. And may we step into the opportunity for the time that we have to seize this opportunity to make the most of it. And so however you want that to work out in us, we pray, Lord, that your will would be done. Use us, Lord.
Here we are. Use us. Thank you for Dan and Beth. Thank you, Lord, for the confirmation of them stepping into the lead pastor role. We rejoice.
We give thanks. We look forward to how you’re going to use them. And we look forward to how you’re going to use all of us in this season that we live. And may it be ultimately to your honor and glory. May people be saved.
And our prayer would be even today, Lord, if there’s anybody that’s watching this worship time, this worship experience today, that even today would be the day of salvation for them. They’d reach out and confess you as Savior and Lord, believe in their heart that you raised your Son from the dead, and be saved. In fact, if that’s the desire of your heart, tell God that. He’ll hear that prayer even now. We want to do all that we can to help you begin this new life in Jesus Christ.
And if you’d like to talk to somebody more, give us a call. Lord, we love you. We thank you for this time of worship. As it continues, may we continue to honor you from our hearts. May we surrender to your will for such a time as this.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
