Esther Lesson 9: Our Time to Stand Up and Stand Out :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: March 9, 2021 by RR7

Chapter 4:4-17

“So, Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was.

⁶ So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king’s gate. ⁷ And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews. ⁸He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go into the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people.

⁹ So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: ¹¹‘All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go into the king these thirty days.‘

¹² So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. ¹³ And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: ‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?‘

¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶‘Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so, I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!‘ ¹⁷So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.“

Last week we talked about the need for God’s people to run away from the ‘woke’ church thing. This is so important. The desire to be just like the world in the Lord’s churches is killing us. We are to stand up and stand out. We are called cities on a hill, we are called lights, and we are called salt by Jesus in the New Testament. The idea of blending in was never in Jesus’ thoughts as He taught during His earthly ministry. Christians who blend in and never stand out for the Lord are not doing what we are called to do. There are many who claim to be Christians who support abortion, are okay with same-sex marriages, and have the idea that God is love so He is okay with all of our sinfulness. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

God hates sin, and in Romans 1: 18-32, God lays out the very sinfulness that we see today. I want to be clear that this is nothing new.

The Roman Empire that Paul was writing about was just as eaten up with homosexuality and the same kind of debauchery that we see today. It is just that we see it on TV, and maybe since there is a larger population, it seems that we have an avalanche of sexual sins, but it is no different than it was in Paul’s day. They were just as open as we see it today; the rise of effeminate men and other perversions was there for all to see. Paul, via the Holy Spirit, wrote about these things in Romans 1. This kind of defiance of God and His ways is the root of the attack on Christians in Paul’s day. The same defiance is fueling the attack today. These people know that there is a God, a true and living God to whom they will answer, and they are defying Him to His face and have no sense of shame or fear of the Living God.

Our freedoms and our very lives and the lives of our children are at stake, and someone needs to stand and do something.

We find ourselves in a dire situation, much like the situation here in our account of Esther. We have political enemies that have bargained for our demise. The recent laws that have been enacted by the US Congress are attacks on the very foundation of Christianity. Laws like HR5 and others in places like Australia limit what we can say about transgender and homosexual lifestyles, making some verses of the Bible illegal to say and preach from. In the case of Australia, one is not allowed to counsel an individual against a sex change or the like.

A new law that is being proposed in California will make it illegal for stores like Walmart to have boy’s and girl’s toys or clothing sections. All the toys and clothes must be in one section. In some cases, like in HR5, they are trying to make it so that no places can have male and female washrooms at all; even gyms where the showers will not have male and female restrictions, for instance. In these new laws are grave penalties of jail and financial burdens in the form of fines that will cripple most churches.

There is coming a day to make a stand; we will either have to stand up or become obsolete and forgo our call to preach the truth of God, the whole truth of God.

Esther did not know what was happening, verses 4-9

Much like Esther, many Christians do not know what is going on. They are blissfully ignorant and love being so. They are of the idea that this stuff just brings them down and spoils their mojo. People like me who try to inform others about the goings-on around us are called fear mongers, causing anxiety and stress. The Bible teaches that God’s people should be wise to the world around us and that we should be armed and ready for battle (Ephesian 6:10-18). In teaching on the armour of God, one will soon discover that there is no protection for the back of the soldier; we are to be moving forward and engaged in the battle. One of the most important parts of being engaged is knowing your enemy. In the military world, this is called Intelligence; this is knowing what your enemy will do or where he will be before he even does it.

Our sword is the Word of God. It is powerful and sharp according to Hebrews 4:12, able to get right down the thoughts and intents of the heart.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

When we do not know the Word of God and we fail to read and study it, we find ourselves at a disadvantage in the war we are fighting.

Esther did not know why Mordecai was mourning, and she tried to clothe him and cover his concern. She only saw the fruit of the problem and not the problem itself. The same is true in our world today; we see the fruit and often fail to dig deeper into the problem. The root of homosexuality and the like is a hatred for God and all of His ways (see Romans 1:21). These defiant people ‘knew God’ but were not thankful. In Romans 1:25, they changed God’s truth into a lie. In Romans 1:28, they did not retain God in their knowledge. And in Romans 1:30, they hated God.

People like my Prime Minister simply hate God. Others like this hate God, and they hate you and me as His children. Haman hated the Jews, and in reality, he hated God, and he was going to destroy the Jews in defiance of God. He would stop at nothing to hurt God, and the best way to do that was to kill His people. We are in the same boat; these politicians, many, not all, simply hate God and are defying Him by attacking us.

Mordecai made Esther aware of what was going on; he told her about the financial reward being paid to kill all of the Jews in the 127 provinces that Ahasuerus ruled and that she, a Jew, would not escape even living undercover like she was, and that eventually they would kill Mordecai and put 2+2 together and figure out she was a Jew and kill her as well.

All of us are targets in the war right now. All Christians are serious targets in the war that is being fought against us and the Truth. You and I will not be allowed to be undercover Christians for much longer. Somewhere, somehow, you and I will be called to stand and opt-in or opt-out of the new normal based on what the Bible says. Your secret Christianity will come out.

Esther; God’s tool, verses 10-17

God is good!!! He is so far ahead of the enemy that it is mind-boggling sometimes. We can go all the way back to Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers in the book of Genesis and see how God was way ahead of things that would threaten His people. From Joseph all the way to Moses, to Gideon, to Jeremiah and on, God always has someone in place. Someone that He put there to be used at the right time to give God the glory and effect the change necessary to save His people. Did God’s people go through tough times? Yes! But God had a plan and a purpose and a person.

Esther was that person, and she did not even know it. God put a Jewish girl at the top of the political pyramid in the empire, and He did something even more amazing; God sent a girl that Ahasuerus would love (Esther 2:17). This was very rare. Many political marriages were just that: political — no love, just sex and grandkids to preserve the peace between two rival empires. But God put Esther in the palace, and Ahasuerus loved her. This gave her more power than anyone else in the palace to influence the king, and it would provide the opportunity to save the Jews. God was so far ahead of Haman that it is sad, really. Arrogance always proceeds a great fall, and Haman was about to fall. In fact, he was already falling; he just could not feel it.

Esther was God’s tool; she had been honed and prepared for this time, and Mordecai had a big part in this.

Parents, are you preparing your children to be used by God? Have you set the example of being a vessel for God? Have you instilled in them the idea that God has them where they are for His purpose and His plan? Mordecai did this for Esther, and she was in the right place, set there by God for His use. Instill in yourselves and your children that obedience is the highest form of worship. We have become enamored today with singers and bands; they lead worship with songs, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what has happened is that the experience has become more important than the execution. What is the point of singing about how good God is if you have no plan to obey Him? If there is no obedience, then there is no worship; it is just a ritual.

Are you ready to stand up? Esther had to risk her life to do so. What about you and me? Are we ready to risk our lives, our jobs, and our earthly security to be obedient to the Lord?

I will tell you that I have been praying and asking God to help me to stand when the time comes. I feel like Gideon, me a warrior? No Lord, you’ve got the wrong guy; I am just a lowly preacher and salesman. I am no one. I am just a broken man saved by grace, no one special and no one at all. But inside I feel that the time will soon come when like Esther, we will be called to step up and step out for the Truth of God’s word and Jesus’ Gospel. We may have to risk life and security for the Truth and for the sake of our fellow man if we are to be salt and light to a lost and dying world.

Will you and I be like Isaiah and say, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” Or will we hide and let someone else do the heavy lifting? Are we as pastors preparing the Lord’s people and churches to stand in the war and fight, or are we just coddling them until Jesus comes? Oh Lord, have mercy on us.

You and I are God’s tools to be used for His glory and purposes, and sometimes those goals are served in our pain and even our deaths. The apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy by God to suffer for Him; may we have the same idea, and may the Holy Spirit grant us the strength to suffer and die if necessary for the Lord’s plan to be enacted and fulfilled. If you are not serving the Lord in peaceful and secure times, serving Him at the risk of life and limb will be very, very difficult.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)

Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Biblical Significance of the Number 5: Part II :: By Randy Nettles

Published on: March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by RR7

Grace Found in The Old Testament (continued from part 1)

The Lord was very graceful to the children of Israel as long as they obeyed His statutes and commandments. In Leviticus 26:3-13, the Lord explained to them how He would bless them for their obedience and worship. Here is one blessing He promised them: “You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you [followers of God] shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you” (Leviticus 26:7-8).

In Leviticus 26:14-40, the Lord told them how He would curse them if they didn’t obey his commandments and statutes and broke His covenant. Here is one curse He mentioned: “I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”

“The Israelites were required to give or dedicate certain things to the Lord: the first fruits of their harvest, firstborn animals, their firstborn sons, a tithe of their increase. Many wished to go beyond this and dedicate themselves or another family member, additional animals, a house, or a field to God. In these cases, it was possible to donate money instead of the actual person, animal, or property” {1}

By giving money, you could actually redeem a person or property that had been formerly dedicated to God. God set a price on the person or property according to their value. Here are a few examples: “If your valuation is of a male from 20 years old up to 60 years old, then your valuation shall be 50 shekels of silver. If it is a female, then your valuation shall be 30 shekels. If from 5 years old up to 20 years old, then your valuation for a male shall be 20 shekels, and for a female 10 shekels. If from a month old up to 5 years old, then your valuation for a male shall be 5 shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be 3 shekels of silver. If from 60 years old and above, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be 15 shekels, and for a female 10 shekels” (Leviticus 27:3-7).

Nearly all of the valuation money for the redemption of persons, property, animals, fields, or tithes are in the number of multiples of 5 shekels, according to Leviticus 27.

Moses died (at 120 years of age) after viewing the Promised Land from a distance. The people mourned Moses’ death for 30 (5×6) days. Joshua replaced Moses as the leader of the newly formed nation of Israel and entered the Promised Land in 1406 BC. He was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses laid his hands on him (Deuteronomy 34:9). Joshua died when he was 110 (5×22) years old.

After Joshua’s death, God raised up judges to lead and deliver his people from slavery. The total time of the judges was about 326 years, from 1376 BC to 1050 BC. Israel’s first king was Saul, who ruled for 40 years until about 1010 BC.

While still a young man and before he became king of Israel, David fought and killed the Philistine giant, Goliath, armed with only a sling and 5 smooth stones. By the grace of God, David only needed 1 stone which was Divinely guided with great velocity to the only unprotected part of Goliath’s body, his forehead. For more on this epic death match, see: The Spirit of the Lord – Part 2 :: by Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready

David ruled for 40 years until about 970 BC. He died at 70 years of age. David was a descendant from the lineage of Jacob’s son, Judah. “All the sons of Judah were five” (1 Chronicles 2:4). Jesus was descended from this lineage on his mother’s side and his stepfather’s side.

David’s son, Solomon, became king of Israel after his father’s death. He began the temple building project that his father had desired in the fourth year of his reign in 966 BC. “And it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign over Israel (966 BC), that he began to build the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:1). The temple, inner and outer sanctuaries, furnishings, and Solomon’s other buildings were all built with dimensions of 5 cubits or multiples of 5, similar to the tabernacle of the wilderness.

Ezekiel’s vision of the Millennium Temple and city was also similar to the tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple in regard to the dimensions being mostly multiples of 5 cubits (or 1/5), according to Ezekiel 40-45. God’s Holy worship facilities seem to be centered around the number 5.

Daniel the prophet was the only wise man in Nebuchadnezzar’s court who could interpret the king’s dream regarding the great statue or image because God revealed it to him. “The image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (Daniel 2:31-33). Daniel explained that the different parts of the image were different Gentile kingdoms that would become dominant world powers. The head of gold was Babylon, the 1st kingdom.

The chest and arms of silver was the 2nd kingdom (Medo-Persia). The belly and thighs of bronze was the 3rd kingdom (Greece). The legs of iron (Rome) and feet of iron/clay was the 4th kingdom (revived Roman Empire). In the dream, a stone that was cut out without hands struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. All the other pieces were destroyed as well, and no trace of them was found. “And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). The stone that broke the image (nations) is Jesus Christ (the rock that was not formed by man), and the mountain that fills the whole earth is His kingdom (Kingdom of God/heaven). It is, by the grace of God, the 5th and final kingdom of planet Earth.

Psalm 103 and 104 were written by David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). They are praises for the Lord’s mercies (grace) and Providence. 5 of the verses in these chapters begin with the exact phrase: “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” (Psalm 103:1; Psalm 103:2; Psalm 103:22; Psalm 104:1; Psalm 104:35).

Grace Found in The New Testament

As previously mentioned in part 1 of this article, the word “grace” in the Old Testament was usually used in the context of “favor” and not Divine grace. True Divine grace comes only through Jesus Christ. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

“The law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect… For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 4).

When Jesus came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You [Father God] did not desire, but instead You prepared a body for Me…. Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:5, 9). God takes away the first (sacrifice offerings for sin) that He may establish the second. “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

Because of the new covenant with Jesus, grace cannot be earned, as taught by the New Testament. It is a free gift from God for all those who believe in Him. “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (Romans 11:6).

Most modern-day theologians believe in the following timeline for the life of Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus was born in the year 5 BC. He began his ministry in AD 29-30 and died on Passover day (Thursday) on Nisan 14, AD 33. He was resurrected three days later (Sunday) on Nisan 17. Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days later, which was 10 days before the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles with great power. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).

Most of Jesus’ ministry focused on the kingdom of God, otherwise known as the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of God is mentioned 70 times in the New Testament — 5 times in Matthew, 15 times in Mark, 33 times in Luke, 2 times in John, 7 times in Acts, and 8 times in the rest of the N.T. The kingdom of heaven is only mentioned in Matthew, which mentions it 33 times. As you know, 3 and 33 are numbers that symbolically refer to Jesus. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, for He is full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Romans 38-39 is a great example of God’s grace. These verses speak of 10 (5×2) powerful things that are “unable to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death
Life
Angels
Principalities
Powers
Things present
Things to come (future)
Height
Depth
Any created thing

A double portion of God’s grace is mentioned in John 1:16. “And of His [Jesus] fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul compares speaking in tongues to prophecy. “In the Church, I would rather speak 5 words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than 10,000 words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:19).

In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul lists 5 weaknesses that God uses to make a believer strong. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 4 speaks of spiritual gifts that the Lord gives to the ones who love Him. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7). “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and some teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

By God’s grace, believers in Christ will escape the wrath of God during the Tribulation by means of the Rapture. At the Rapture, 5 events will happen according to 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.

The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.
Michael the archangel will shout (perhaps as the second in command of the armies of heaven).
The trump of God will sound.
The dead in Christ shall rise.
We which are alive and remain shall be caught up with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.

There are 5 crowns or rewards that will be rewarded to believers in heaven for their faithfulness, “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

The imperishable crown – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25; 1 Peter 1:4
The crown of rejoicing – 1 Thessalonians 2:19
The crown of righteousness – 2 Timothy 4:8
The crown of glory – 1 Peter 5:4
The crown of life – Revelation 2:10; James 1:12

There were 5 people who were raised from the dead by Jesus and his apostles (not counting Jesus Himself or the many saints who were raised after His resurrection).

The son of a widow of the city of Nain by Jesus (Luke 7:11-17)
Jairus’ daughter by Jesus (Luke 8:52-56)
Lazarus of Bethany by Jesus (John 11)
Tabitha (Dorcas) by Peter (Acts 20:7-12)
Eutychus by Paul (Acts 20:7-12)

Unlike Jesus, all of these people died again eventually. There were also two sons that were raised from the dead in the Old Testament — one by Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 17:17-24) and one by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37). This brings the total number of those raised from the dead to 7, which is God’s perfect and complete number.

“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Here are the 5 steps of God’s Divine grace and plan for mankind (for those who love Him) according to Romans 8:29-30. I have added some extra scripture that complements these verses.

God foreknew those that would eventually respond to the Holy Spirit’s calling that leads men and women to the Son. “He who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9).
God predestined those he foreknew (from before creation) would call on the name of the Lord; to be conformed to the image of His Son (that Jesus would be the firstborn among many brethren.
God called the predestined ones by His Holy Spirit who leads them to the Word (Jesus).
“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace” (Galatians 1:15).
God justified (by His Divine grace) those He called unto righteousness. “That having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).
God glorified those whom are justified. “We are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:16-18).

Moses was called the servant of the Lord. “The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Moses wrote 5 books in the Old Testament, including Genesis, the first book of the Bible. John the apostle was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He wrote 5 books in the New Testament including Revelation, the last book of the Bible.

The first sentence in the Bible (given to Moses by God) speaks of God’s Divine grace: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In the fullness of time, God once again showed His Divine grace, as written by John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). John also wrote the last sentence in the Bible. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).

Randy Nettles

nettlesr@suddenlink.net

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Endnotes:

{1} Life Study Application Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Pg. 246