In this chapter, we see how Esther made her choices when faced with a crisis. Did she choose to live her own little life, or did she decide to pay the price and take on her mission? What revelation does this give us? Brothers and sisters, when we break through ourselves and take on the mission of God's kingdom, God's blessings will be added to us in abundance.

Reflection Questions:

• Do you think Mordecai's weeping bitterly when he learned that Haman was going to exterminate the Jews was a sign of weakness? What do you think was Mordecai's state of mind?

• Esther, who held the position of queen, risked her life to see the king in order to save the Jews. Do you think it was worth it? Why?

• What revelation do you gain from Mordecai's and Esther's reactions to the crisis? Do you understand God's way of doing things?

God truly blesses us, but we should not waste time in our merrymaking. If your vision is only like a mouse, seeing only the small things of going to and from work, God can still work through others. But what God announced to Esther through Mordecai is also announced to you. He said: You and your father's house will surely perish. You must know for sure that God blesses us today, allowing us to live a good life, to find favor in the eyes of people, to have our bosses and colleagues like us, and to have all our things go smoothly. But this is not God's purpose.

Our Chinese nation must take on the mission of spreading the gospel. For hundreds of years, how many preachers have given up their lives for the Chinese people? Today is the day for us Chinese to take on the mission of spreading the gospel. Who knows but that God has blessed you today for such a time as this? If you have no mission in your heart, whatever is given to you is useless, and people will die in their own blessings. Calamity will not come near those who have a mission, but will come near those who live in the world. If we do not take on God's mission, we cannot seize the opportunities that God gives us, and that blessing will become a curse. Everyone saw the news about Greece and their debt crisis. Economists say that whether a deal is reached with Greece or not, the Euro will be sold off. What does this mean? It is irresolvable. Today, we must also return the grace of the gospel that we have received. We are a Mandarin-speaking church, and although we are a Chinese church, I think we should start learning to read the English Bible, English Bible study materials, and also listen to some English sermons.

Today is the day our Chinese people are being raised up. In this generation, God has a wonderful plan for us Chinese. All who follow this plan will prosper, and those who go against God's plan will be like Esau, living in the world. Today, what God blesses us with is only a little, and I believe that what God is going to do among us is very great. Some of you sitting here may be like queens in the future, or perhaps your position is that of a businessman, but God does not want you to just make money, but to be a blessing in this generation.

Mordecai's Reaction to Crisis: No Despair

We must learn from Mordecai's reaction to the crisis. The decree issued by the Persian king could not be changed, not even by the king himself. But in Mordecai's heart, nothing was unchangeable, because God can change everything. We must learn from the character of Mordecai and Esther. We did not read any complaints from Esther to Mordecai. Esther did not say: It's all your fault, if you hadn't done that then, nothing would have happened! If you are the kind of person who says this, you need to repent. Mordecai's words and deeds saved the Jews, and made the enemies of Judah those whom God would destroy. When Mordecai encountered such a thing, his first reaction was not to despair. The Bible tells of Mordecai fasting, weeping, and wearing sackcloth, but that was not despair. On the contrary, it was not despair, but absolute faith in God that made him take these actions. When you see a crisis coming to you, coming to your nation, the first thing to do is to realize that you cannot do anything, but to learn to fast, weep, pray, and wear sackcloth, and this will move the hand of God.

Mordecai trusted in God, which is the natural reaction of a spiritual person. Always remember, if you are facing a crisis, you must know that it is an opportunity, a critical moment of turning point. Mordecai was clear-headed, he knew that Esther could carry out the plan, this was the first way. Even if Esther refused to do so, God would give a second word. He began to see in faith that it was not the Jews who would perish, but the enemies of the Jews who would perish. Among us, this situation is not difficult to understand. Brothers and sisters have faced crises, and every time they experience these things, the pastor will also sweat with you, but in my heart I firmly believe that this crisis will surely pass. There was a brother whose job was about to be lost, his wife was pregnant, the place they were renting would not let them live there anymore, and they did not have enough money. Because he was not a PR, if he lost his job, he would have to return to China. Later, thank God, there is nothing that God cannot turn around. In the end, he experienced a great turnaround.

In Mordecai's heart, nothing was impossible. Any desperate situation, as long as there is God, can be turned around. Our brothers and sisters have experienced God's great grace. If you have experienced God's grace, you will also experience the turnaround of your family and the turnaround of your nation. These experiences will make you understand more deeply how vast God's power is. As long as a person does not give up, there will be a turnaround. God is not working through others, but through Mordecai's faith. God is looking for people in this generation who have faith like Mordecai. If Mordecai had taken a slightly worldly path, bowed down a little, and made friends with some dignitaries, he could have lived a life of luxury and ease, but Mordecai was not that kind of person. Pay attention, anyone who comes to you to receive your ministry, the most important thing is to give him the faith within you. You don't know what the future holds, and neither do I, but it doesn't matter, we are walking forward by faith. God actually has a precious and wonderful will for everyone, but it depends on whether that person has the faith to live it out.

Esther's Reaction to Crisis: Making Excuses

Let's look at Esther's reaction to the crisis again. Her first reaction was to make excuses. I encourage you not to be a person who makes excuses, because in God's dictionary, there is no such thing as impossible. Esther's first reaction was that she was facing the strictest rules and regulations of the Persian Empire, and if she violated these rules and regulations, she would die. I think this is our natural human reaction. Today, I encourage you, if you are facing human systems, that is not difficult. Even if human rules and regulations trample you underfoot, if you are doing this with a mission, God can still determine your survival. So what did Esther say? If I go in to see the king, whether man or woman, without being summoned, going in rashly will surely die miserably. If the king holds out the golden scepter to you, you can live, but if he does not hold out the golden scepter to you, you cannot survive. This was the situation Esther faced. In fact, Esther could have told Mordecai directly in another way, let's start fasting and praying.

Why did she have this reaction? Because she had already obtained a great position, and now she was worried about losing it. If you become a queen, it is very dangerous in the harem, and you have to be very careful every day, so you have developed a very cautious habit. Caution is good, but it is not God's will. Today, if Esther could have opened her mouth with the first sentence and said: If I die, I die, let us all pray together! In me, there are no so-called palace rules, I will die if I die, I believe that our nation will surely be saved in God's hands! It is possible to get past this stage of making excuses. If our brothers and sisters often make excuses, you should underline this sentence: you and your father's house will surely perish. (See Esther 4:14) You must know that you and your father's house will surely perish, why? Because God revealed to the Israelites very early on that God's intention has always been to save everyone.

When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die!’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. (Ezekiel 33:8)

That was a wicked person, he was supposed to die anyway, they were sentenced to die anyway, but God wants you and me to tell him: you must turn from your sin. If he does not turn from his sin, his death is his own business, and you have nothing to do with that sin. But if that wicked person happens to be our closest relative, how can we explain it to God? So today I want to encourage everyone, and stimulate the brothers and sisters again, their salvation, this mission, rests on your shoulders.

Because you are the first person in your family to be chosen to become a Christian, God has a mission for you! If you do not take on this mission and make a lot of excuses, you will surely perish. Do not say that the pastor is cursing you, it is not me who said it, it is God who said it. If you can take on your mission, you can be a very good queen in the days to come, like Esther. Because Mordecai became prime minister, you think the queen is from their family, and the prime minister is from their family, wouldn't they get whatever they want? God wants to do great things, and God does not like people who do small things. I want to encourage our brothers and sisters to have a concept of God's kingdom in their hearts, and to seek an official position in God's kingdom. Why? Because you have the kingdom of God in your heart and want to obtain great grace in God's kingdom.

Esther's Response to the Crisis: If I Perish, I Perish!

The second reaction was that after listening to Mordecai, she changed her mind and then said: If I perish, I perish! I tell you, those who have the faith to say, If I perish, I perish! will never die. But if you say, I cannot die, I cannot die, then you will surely die. Later, I saw those who had terminal illnesses, and when you heard the words from their mouths, I cannot die, I cannot die, you knew that this person was bound to die. If he says, Oh well, if I perish, I perish! I'll eat, I'll drink, and I'll do whatever I need to do. I tell you, before long, his illness will be healed. It's very miraculous, because those who fear death will surely die, but those who are not afraid of death will live instead. So don't think that having trouble is a bad thing. When you have trouble, don't be afraid of it. You need to know that what you fear, you will get; what you don't fear, you won't get.

Then he announced that all the people in the city should fast and pray for three days and three nights, without eating or drinking. I was thinking: Why is crisis our turning point? Today, some of us are still in crisis, because in times of crisis, you will find that everyone's contradictions disappear. We found that in this crisis, all the Jews in the city had to be of one heart and mind to fast and pray, because everyone was going to die. Yesterday, they were still arguing about whether this plot of land was yours or that plot of land was mine, and why you took advantage of me, etc. Now everyone is going to die! Forget it, let it go! Actually, you could have let it go a long time ago! Then all the people in the city began to pray there, not eating or drinking, desperately calling out to God.

I think this is a great benefit of crisis. We rarely have the opportunity to have the whole city pray together to save the Jews. At this time, they were about to die, so there was no need to plant the land, there was nothing to do, and they fasted and prayed for three days and three nights. I think when our own brothers and sisters are in very difficult times, they fast and pray for three days and three nights. Their parents come, and as a result, the crisis is even more serious. Originally, it was mild depression that became severe depression, and the parents' hearts were breaking as they watched the severe depression. The opportunity that God had prepared was for your whole family to be saved, because in the process of heartbreak, all worries and distracting thoughts will be put down. God does things very miraculously. You must know that the crisis you encounter in your life is the opportunity that God gives you, because at that time, you can break many worldly concepts. Then this sister recently returned home again, and many people in her family were saved because of her. Her salvation began with that first three-day, three-night fast.

Summary: Our Position Today Is Given to Us by God

Our position today is given to us by God, so that we have honor and are blessed in front of our bosses and colleagues in the company. Salaries are given to us, increased by 20%, 50%, increased a lot. Then God gives us opportunities to buy real estate, acquire property, etc., but don't be addicted to it. You need to know that this is for today's opportunity. Do you have such a mission in your heart? Today, those lazy Europeans, they once preached the gospel to us, shedding their blood. How many European and American missionaries died on this land of China? Many! Especially during the Boxer Rebellion, they died miserably. Today is the time for us to pray for those in Europe who are facing famine and crisis, and it is also the time for us to pray for the Jews, because we were originally wild olive branches grafted onto the true olive tree of the Jews. We are blessed and saved, shouldn't we commemorate these people?

Is your heart still living a small life, living Esau's small life? Today we should put down our small life and start living God's big life! I tell you, God will surely bless you even more. In the following chapters, we can see God's miraculous deeds. Why do the Israelites still celebrate Purim to this day? Because that was the day of salvation! Not only is it a day of salvation, but it is also a day to commemorate Mordecai and Esther who were willing to take on the mission of national salvation. If our family, nation, or all nations are saved through your and my prayers and service, God will also establish a day in heaven when that festival will be celebrated, just as the days of Esther, Mordecai, and those Jews who were turned around are commemorated! So I encourage everyone to break away from all worldliness and start living a life that pleases God!

Scripture:

Est 4:1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
Est 4:2 He went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
Est 4:3 And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Est 4:4 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.
Est 4:5 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 was happening and why.
Est 4:6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square that was in front of the king’s gate.
Est 4:7 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.
Est 4:8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Shushan to destroy them, to show Esther and explain it to her, and to command her that she should go in to the king to plead with him and make supplication to him for her people.
Est 4:9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Est 4:10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:
Est 4:11 “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. Unless the king holds out the golden scepter toward him, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”
Est 4:12 So they told Mordecai Esther’s words.
Est 4:13 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.
Est 4:14 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?”
Est 4:15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
Est 4:16 “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.”
Est 4:17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.