Positioned for Purpose

 

Trevor S Ferguson

December 26, 2014

Esther 4:13-14 (KJV)
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

 

INTRODUCTION

The road we travel in life is sometimes complex and convoluted. Many times we find ourselves in places that we would rather not be, as we experience various misfortunes and setbacks. Many people today find themselves displaced from their usual circumstances, e.g. home, work place, school, church, country or residence. In these situations people often wonder how they ended up in these various positions and often end up depressed and distressed.

Such displacement may be unfavourable or favourable, being in a lesser or better position than we had been in previously. However whether one finds himself/herself in a favourable or unfavourable position the displacement often leaves us lonely and uncomfortable in the strange environment. Let me add that it is not only displacement that leads to such discomfort. Sometimes we are very much in our usual position and may be wondering why we have not had an opportunity to move on. Why do we have to stay in lowly places when everybody else seems to be moving on to higher places or greener pastures?

Today I want to share a word of encouragement from the word of God. I believe that for each of us God has placed us in our particular positions in order to accomplish His Divine purpose. You have been positioned for purpose! Don’t rush to move on your own accord. An inappropriate move may thwart God’s purpose for your life.

The text comes from the story of Esther and how God used her position as a Jewish queen in the kingdom of Persia to bring about deliverance for all Jews in the Persian Empire. I declare to you today that your current position, indeed, your current displacement, has been divinely orchestrated by God to bring about his purpose. Allow him to open your eyes that you may see what He has assigned for you to do, because you have been positioned for His purpose.  

EXPOSITION

Let’s look at the text and its context. The story of Esther is set in the Persian Empire among the Jews that had chosen to remain in Persia after the initial decree of Cyrus which allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Among the Jews in Persia was an orphan – Hadassah. We do not know the circumstances of the death of her parents, but she had a cousin Mordecai, who took her as his own daughter and cared for her. The scripture describes her as being fair and beautiful. This Hadassah is known to us as Esther.

Here was Esther, displaced and orphaned; but in even in her unfortunate circumstances, God was working out a plan. He was getting her in the right place to accomplish His purpose. Mordecai, Esther’s adopted father worked at the king’s palace in Shusan. As such he became aware of a ‘beauty’ contest to find a queen to replace Vashti who had been deposed because she failed to comply with King Ahasuerus’ request to parade her beauty before his friends. We are not sure what motivated Mordecai to enter Esther into the contest to find a new queen, but somehow God allowed it because He had a greater purpose. The scripture tells us that Esther found favour with Hegai who was the person in charge of preparing the young women to meet with the king and that also Esther found favour with the king and was made queen instead of Vashti.

Now nested in the midst of this story of selecting the queen is a little side story that could easily have been overlooked. While sitting in the king’s gate, Mordecai overheard of a plot to kill the king, and told Esther about it. Esther submitted a formal report to the king and included in the report that Mordecai was the person that had uncovered the plot. The king investigated the report, verified the plot and had the conspirators hanged. Nothing was done for Mordecai at the time, but again, this was not by accident, because this little encounter was to turn up again at a critical time.

A word to all of us – Do the right thing all the time and don’t worry if you are not appropriately recognized or rewarded. God will work it out in due time. It’s in the records!

Now after this the king promoted a certain Haman as prime minister in Persia. Haman however was an evil man. He was thought to be a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites who were ancient enemies of Israel. This was the same Agag, whom Saul had spared, despite being told to completely destroy the Amalekites! Let us be careful because when we disobey God it can have longstanding consequences across several generations.

Haman had all the people bow down to him as he passed by but Mordecai refused to do so, as to him this was a form of idolatry. Haman was very angry with Mordecai’s stance and plotted to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire.  He obtained a decree from the king to enact the annihilation of the Jews on the 13^th day of the month of Adar and sent notices throughout all the kingdom of Persia to this inform them of this plan. When Mordecai heard of the plan he was in great distress, tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, then went into the city with a loud and bitter cry. There was great mourning and weeping among the Jews, but this was accompanied by fasting as they called upon and anticipated deliverance by the power of God.

When Esther heard of Mordecai’s actions she sent messengers to him to enquire as to the reasons for his grief. He sent her a copy of the decree and charged her to go in unto the king and make supplication to him on behalf of the Jews. Note that all this time Esther’s identity as a Jew was unknown to the king.  Esther’s initial response was one of fear. She reminded Mordecai that the law in Persia required that anyone man or woman, who went into the kings inner court without being invited by the king would be put to death, save and except if the king held out his golden sceptre to grant the person entry. Mordecai’s response is the subject of today’s discourse: “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Let’s look at this verse in some more detail. What can we gather from Mordecai’s words?

(1) IT IS TIME TO SPEAK UP! 

In times of crises we cannot afford to remain silent. Though we may appear protected because of our position, we cannot afford to protect our own interest when the lives of our people are at stake!

(2) IT IS TIME TO DECLARE OUR IDENTITY!

In order for Esther to advocate for the Jews she must declare her identity. Her arguments would be weak and ineffective except that she puts it in the context that she was a Jew, the Jews were her people and the decree would also require her to be put to death. For some people especially when working in high offices, or in the school setting our Christian identity in not known to our peers or co-workers and even more frequently though people may know that we are Christians they may not know that we are Pentecostals. While I do not suggest that we walk around with placards declaring our identity we must be careful to declare who we are and what we believe whenever the occasion is appropriate. Declaring our identity is a testimony of our faith and can be used by God to lead someone to him.

(3) REGARDLESS OF OUR ACTION OR INACTION, GOD WILL STILL BRING DELIVERANCE TO HIS PEOPLE!

Note the word’s of Mordecai here – If you hold your peace, enlargement and deliverance of the Jews will arise from another place! God will work something out. When he could not find anyone inside the city to deliver Israel from the Syrians he used four lepers outside the city gate! God will find some way to deliver his people, by why not let Him use you!

(4) OUR PRESENT POSITION WAS DESIGNED BY GOD TO BRING ABOUT HIS PURPOSE!

While Esther, and even Mordecai, might have been unaware of the plan of God when she was been elevated to the position of queen in Persia it is clear that the hand of God was at work! Mordecai’s statement is written as a question, but as the sequence of events unfolds we see that this was more of a declaration in faith. You are come to the kingdom for this time! Your position was divinely ordained by God, enacted in the heavens, scheduled in time and place. You are in the right place at the right time. Don’t be afraid. Let God use you to accomplish his will!

While the passage today has focused on Esther and her position of prominence, I want to take a little time to broaden the scope so that we may realize that it is not only positions of prominence that are ordained by God! We are very familiar with similar stories about Joseph – how God sent him ahead to preserve a posterity for the Jews in Egypt and of Moses – how God preserved him as a Jew in Pharaoh’s palace, brought up as a prince in Egypt in order to deliver the Jews from Egypt (note also that there came a time when Moses had to declare / who his identity). We also recall Nehemiah whose position again in Persia was used to secure the building of the walls of Jerusalem.

I want us to recall however that it’s not only the people in prominence who are positioned by God. Mordecai as a servant in this story was equally, if not more important than Esther in securing deliverance for the Jews. In fact I believe that Mordecai is one of the unsung heroes of the bible - when we look in the last chapter of Esther, we he that he was promoted to the position of prime minster in Persia and served his people well. The parallel that I want to highlight however is that of the little servant girl in 2^nd Kings 5. This Jewish girl was also positioned for purpose. It was her testimony to the miraculous power on God through his prophet Elisha that led to Naaman being healed of his leprosy. Similar narratives include David who was sent on a simple errand to bring food for his brothers but ending up as the one to slay Goliath; and Gideon, threshing wheat in a winepress, totally out of place but was called of God to deliver Israel from the Midianites.

APPLICATION/CONCLUSION

The word of God to us today is that we have been positioned for Divine purpose. Our present position whether lofty or lowly was designed by God to accomplish his purpose. Some of us have been displaced – moved out of our comfort zone and away from familiar territory. But it is not by accident. God has a plan and a purpose for your current position!

I have always held dear the words of Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way”. I believe that once you are walking in the will of God every step of your way is important and has Divine purpose. I have often said that the route is as important as the destination because the people and issues that we meet along the way are extremely important. Note that Mordecai’s simple act of reporting a conspiracy against the king turned out to be a critical part of the saving of the Jews.  Every step, every action is important. Do the right thing all the time!

So today whatever position you find yourself in, seek to find God’s purpose. If it is not clear to you now, the walk in God’s will, obey his words, do the right thing. You have been positioned for purpose. God will reveal that purpose in good time.