Unfortunately, many people and Christians spent a large part of their lives climbing the ladder of success, only to discover at the end that it was leaning against the wrong wall. In an effort to meet the standards of our world system and succeed in accordance with the world, many have missed the purpose of God in the process. Many would have been great in their careers and education but will stand before God, never having finished the work that God called them to do.
1. You are called unto a Divine Purpose
Once you become a Christian, you have been called unto a purpose or destiny—your divinely designed reason for being. The reason why we were not raptured at the moment of conversion was that God left us here for the achievement and the accomplishment of a kingdom purpose.
Unfortunately, today, it is easy to get caught up in the wrong purpose. People’s purposes are possessions, paychecks, power, and popularity, and they sprinkle a little piety in to make them feel a little better. It is easy to live the life that we live without the right in-game in mind.
Like the man who said, I was dying to finish high school so that I could go to college. I was dying to finish college so that I could start my career. I was dying to get married so that I could start a family. I was dying for those kids to become 18 so that they could leave. I was dying to retire, only to discover that I was just dying. The sense of purpose is gone.
Esther 4:14: “Have you not been called to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
2. God does not waste his words
Using the providential hand of God in the life of Esther, how do you know when it is your time? Everyone talks about, “It is my time: it is my season.” It is easy to say and quote, but how do you know when God has prepared you for the moment? God has worked with you through the good, the bad, and the ugly to bring you to a space of usefulness for his kingdom purposes.
Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite advanced and established his authority where everyone bowed down and paid homage to him, but Mordecai did neither of those. So, Haman determined to get rid of Mordecai and all the Jews.
Looking at Haman’s background, he was an Agagite. In 1 Samuel 15:1-23, Agag was head of the Amalekites, and the Amalekites were trying to destroy the Jews many years ago when Saul was king. God told Saul, ‘I want you to go and destroy the Amalekites and King Agag because these folks are trying to destroy you.’
But Saul thought he was too smart for God. And he decided he was not going to kill the king. Agag was allowed to live longer. So, his legacy was allowed to continue. God does not waste words in his word. Years later, the fruit of a problem that was supposed to be dealt with by Saul has come to hunt down the children of Israel.
There are problems which, if you had dealt with years back, you wouldn’t be dealing with it today. Because you did not deal with it when you should have dealt with it, you wind up with the fruit of it continuing in your life and your entire generation.
So, Haman was an art of a legacy of unaddressed sin. There is a future repercussions for today’s disobedience. The whole race of Jews was about to be exterminated due to Saul’s disobedience a long time ago.
3. Your purpose brings spiritual warfare
You know it’s your time when God connects spiritual preparation with spiritual warfare. Haman was an agent of the devil whose goal was to thwart the purposes of God. In the Old Testament, it had to do with destroying the Jews. In the New Testament, it has to do with muting the effectiveness of the church—the representative people of God.
Satan uses people and systems in order to destroy the programs, promises, and purposes of God. The Messiah was going to come through the Jews, and Satan knew that. Along the way, Satan came up with a theology of genocide and destruction, trying to hinder the purposes of God.
Whenever God is getting ready to use someone, they will have a battle to overcome. They will have spiritual warfare that will seek to destroy God’s program and purpose in their lives and the lives of others because it is not just about them. Haman was going to get rid of Mordecai and all of the Jews.
Before David could be recognized to be the future king of Israel, He had to go through a battle first: He had to face Goliath. It was not until he defeated Goliath that spiritual warfare began to emerge as preparation for kingship. But before God elevated him to the ultimate purpose, he had to use him in spiritual battle. So, spiritual battle is always a prerequisite to spiritual purpose.
4. God is so sovereign and providential
If you are not willing to demonstrate willingness to deal with the spiritual issues that Satan brings in your life to thwart your purpose and how God wants to use you for the benefit of others, then you are not ready to be realized and set free for your ultimate spiritual purpose.
God wants to train us to use the spiritual when the going gets tough. He wants to know that the spiritual won’t be thrown aside when the natural shows up. When God is going to give you your time, that is, the time to be released to your ultimate purpose, there will be a spiritual battle that you will have to not only fight but will make your declaration known as well.
The edict went out about the destruction of the Jews, but it was to happen in 12 months. Haman cast a lot of dice to see when he would destroy the Jews, and the dice came out six and six, making it 12 months before calamity struck the Jews. Even when Satan rolls the dice, God loads them. God is so sovereign and providential that he controls the dice.
There was a twelve-month window between the time of the declaration and the time of the execution. Whenever God creates a gap, when evil is about to occur, the gap is good news in a bad situation. Remember, he told Jonah to foretell Nineveh’s destruction in 40 days. Why not just destroy them? There is a window between the judgment declared and the judgment implemented. And if God creates a window, you better praise it because a window is an opportunity. It is called a grace window. It is a window where God’s mercy and grace are still being allowed before destruction is implemented.
There was a 12-month window to address the problem of satanic influence. Also, to bring about a decision to thwart the destruction of God’s people and God’s program.
5. Your position in life should leverage influence for the advancement of the kingdom
Esther 4:1: Mordecai learned that all of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, the garments of sorrow.
He went out into the midst of the city and walked loudly and wailed loudly and bitterly. People could hear that man crying all over the place.
When Satan is trying to do an evil thing on you, he can bring you to tears. He was out there loudly declaring hopelessness because of how bad things looked. He went as far as the king’s gate. Never count God out. No matter how bad things look.
Mordecai sent words to Esther to employ the king on their behalf. When Esther was married to the king, Mordecai told Esther not to reveal her identity because there was an anti-Semitic atmosphere in the city.
But a time came when the lives of the Jews were at stake when Esther had to reveal her identity. It was time for Esther to let know who she was and who her people were. You know it is time for God to move you to your ultimate purpose when he has given you a position that leverages influence for the advancement of his kingdom.
Esther was pretty, not just for beauty’s sake but because God knew that this day would come. Everything about you has been positioned by God to leverage his influence for his kingdom purpose. God has blessed you to be a blessing.
6. Let God work through you and not for you
There is a problem today: we have a misunderstanding of blessing. We have people running around saying, ‘I am looking for my blessing.’ That is a flawed approach to blessing because it is incomplete. Whenever you tell God, ‘I want my blessing,’ you have prostituted the term because blessing is only a blessing in the Bible when it can flow through you and not just to you.
God told Abraham, “I am going to bless you, and through you, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”
When seeking blessings from God, it is important to express a willingness to utilize those blessings to positively impact others. It is essential to recognize that blessings are not solely for personal gain, but rather to facilitate the ability to contribute to the well-being of others. Furthermore, it is imperative to acknowledge that divine intervention serves a purpose beyond mere relocation, emphasizing the importance of understanding and fulfilling a greater purpose.
God doesn’t get you out of a bicycle and move you to a Benz. He just does not keep you out of the Salvation Army thrift shop just so that you can go to the most fabulous malls and live large. He always wants to know how you are going to use the gifts, talents, skills, and resources he has given you to advance his kingdom program.
If there is little or no concern for his kingdom, you just cut off your blessing. In fact, you will watch your blessing become a curse because you are not using it for kingdom purposes but for personal benefit.
7. Make good use of every kingdom opportunity
So, it was time for Esther to use her position, influence, and resources to leverage that in light of the spiritual issue. If you do not see the spiritual, you do not see the opportunity. If you are looking at the physical, you will not see what is happening behind the scenes of the spiritual. There is a spiritual activity for every physical circumstance.
Verse 11
All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king, to the inner court, who is not summoned, he has but one law that he be put to death.
Esther has not been summoned to the king for these 30 days. It’s been five years, and it was like the king was not impressed with her beauty anymore. Maybe she had picked up a few wrinkles on her face. Esther was faced with fear. She was adamant to respond to Mordecai’s request. She thought she would lose her career, life, and economic stability. She was not just ready to put that on the line for all the Jews.
Sometimes, we think that because we have attained social status, we are no longer a part of the family we came from. Some Christians think that because they have attained status in life, they are not like other Christians who are broke, live in shabby houses, and have minimum income.
You might have a big bank account, or an upper-class person or successful but you are still a part of the shabby family you came from. What Esther did is what we do. We miss-diagnosed kingdom opportunity. All we see is, “This could have a negative effect on me.” If it was not for the goodness of God, you would not be where you are now.
You did not get where you are on your own. You got there the same way a turtle gets to the top of a fence—somebody put it there. Esther forgot about that and said, “This is about me now.” It is easy to forget how you got where you are. It is easy to forget once you start living in a certain neighborhood, driving a certain vehicle, and wearing certain clothes, that if it were not for the grace of God, you would not have attained the position you are now in.
