If you have your Bible with you, we're turning to Esther chapter 4. We're going to read the entire chapter this morning, continuing with our study in this book. We're coming to the seventh message of the book of Esther and coming into this fourth chapter. In many ways, a very pivotal chapter as far as Esther and Mordecai are concerned. focusing upon their actions especially, and especially Esther's as we come towards the end of the chapter. We're taking the time to read the entire chapter this morning, Esther chapter four, and commencing at verse one. When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry. and came even before the king's gate, for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told of her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved. She sent Raymond to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sackcloth from him, but he received it not. Then called Esther for Hathak, one of the king's chamberlains who made appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai to know what it was and why it was. So Hathak went forth to Mordecai onto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews to destroy them. Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it on to Esther and to declare it on to her and to charge her that she should go in on to the king to make supplication on to him and to make request before him for her people. Hatha came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Again, Esther spake unto Hathak and gave him commandment unto Mordecai, all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there's one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. But I have not been called to come in unto the king these 30 days. And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. And Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their 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? Then Esther bade them return, Mordecai this answer, Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. Amen. We'll finish there at the end of the chapter. We pray the Lord will bless his word to our hearts this morning. Coming to verses 14 and 15 for our text. If they all together hold us, thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thy and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou would come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, and she says, I will go, and if I perish, I perish. Taking especially verse 14, a little phrase there, come to the kingdom for such a time as this. For such a time as this. So with our Bibles open there, let's seek the Lord together in a further word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy mercies today and for Thy presence with us already. Lord, we bless Thee that Thou art our help in ages past and our hope for years to come. We thank Lord of this passage of Scripture and if Esther had known the words of that hymn and Mordecai also Lord, they would have had these words much upon their hearts. And we ask, Lord, today that thou wilt write these things upon our hearts. We are very conscious, Lord, that these Old Testament records, these historical accounts have been written for our admonition, for our learning. And we pray, Lord, today that thou wilt minister thy word to our hearts. We might learn from this. We might see something of thy purpose for us. So our God and our Father, we pray now for thy help. in the preaching of thy word, that, Lord, thou wilt come alongside and fill me with thy spirit. Give help in the preaching, give help in the hearing of thy word, we pray. We ask, Lord, thy great name, it be magnified this morning. We pray for Jesus' sake, amen. Of the five main characters that feature in the book of Esther, there is nothing good that can be said about Haman, the Agagite. When this man first appears in Esther chapter three, he is portrayed as a very proud, self-centered, arrogant, and extremely malicious kind of character. By the decree of the king, he had become a prominent figure in the royal court. He'd occupied a very powerful position in the Persian government. Other officers were commanded to bow down to him, and Haman, being the proud man that he was, expected and enjoyed that honor. As far as position and prestige were concerned, Haman had it all. He was a very wealthy man and loved the preeminence that he had gained in the nation. I think if he were alive today, he would be constantly in the news, bragging and boasting of his achievements and looking to be honored at every individual opportunity. And yet for all of that, Haman was intensely unhappy. And the reason for his unhappiness centered on the fact that Mordecai, a Jew, refused to give him the respect that he felt he deserved. Mordecai would not bow down to him, nor reverence him, nor worship him as the king had decreed. To him it was an act of idolatry, and God's law prohibited such worship to men. The fact that Haman was an Amalekite, one of the ancient enemies of God's people, undoubtedly factored into this, and there was no love lost between these two particular men. We might think that given Haman's position in the kingdom and his prosperity in the kingdom, that he could put such a thing to the back of his mind. After all, everyone else worshiped him and his position in the kingdom was very, very secure. But such was his pride and such was his arrogance that Mordecai's actions filled him with anger and filled him with so much anger that he went to the king and succeeded in securing a law being passed that resulted not just in a sentence against Mordecai, but a sentence of death against the Jews. His plan was one of genocide. He wanted to wipe out the entire Jewish population. Not one Jew, young or old, man or woman, would be spared. These Jews had been in Persia for several generations by this time. Many of them had settled there, and they posed no threat to the king or to his kingdom, but Haman wanted to destroy them all in one day. When that law was passed and announced throughout the 127 provinces of the kingdom, there were two very different reactions. On one hand, Haman and the king sat down to drink wine. There was a sense, at the end of chapter three there, there was a sense of self-satisfaction. Haman thought the deed was as good as done. He could sit back now, relax, and wait for that planned day to arrive when he would be rid of this problem of the Jews. He was very confident that there would be no slip-ups, no obstacles, no problems. After all, this massacre was now enshrined in Persian law. What could go wrong? was time for a drink. But on the other hand, while he and the king were sitting at ease drinking, on the other hand, Jews throughout the kingdom were in a state of utter disbelief and consternation. That's how Esther foreopens, when Mordecai perceived all that was done. In other words, when he heard the contents of the King's letter, when he realized the date had been set, when he understood that all of his people were going to be massacred at the hand of Haman on that particular time throughout the kingdom, when he perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the streets of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry. It must have been a most unusual thing for this man to do. Remember Mordecai was no ordinary member of the public. He was an officer in the royal court. He was one of the government officials. Yet there he was in the middle of the city of Shushan, weeping and wailing and mourning over what was being planned against him and his people. There is no doubt that he linked this to Haman's hatred of him. and his refusal to bow to Haman, and therefore he would have felt this most keenly and perhaps more keenly than anyone else. It was one thing for his life to be in danger, he was ready for that, but it was an altogether different thing for the entire Jewish population to be facing death. And therefore Mordecai was distraught, and how he reacted was how the other Jews reacted also. The Jewish population of Persia was in an uproar. The king's command had come unexpectedly for them, and since it was the law of the king, it was considered to be unchangeable. You could put yourself in their position. They appear to be just months away now from complete destruction. And you can imagine what would happen if we were receiving that kind of news or that kind of decree were passed against God's people. The Jews mourned and wept and fasted and clothed themselves in sackcloth and ashes. At last Esther heard about Mordecai, and it seems that up until this point she had no idea what had happened. But when she hears of her cousin out in the streets weeping and wailing, she sent some clothes to him so he could change out of the sackcloth and put on these other garments, but he promptly refused them. Then she sent one of her servants out to ask the reason for the weeping and the mourning. That servant came to Mordecai and on this occasion Mordecai sent her by the servant a copy of the king's letter so that she would be well appraised of what was taking place and also a message from Mordecai that she must go into the king and plead with him to spare her people. When Esther heard that message from Mordecai, she knew exactly what it meant. It meant certain death for her, for she explained to Mordecai through her servant, it was Persian law, that no one could approach the king unless he asked for them. And to breach that protocol would result in death. And the king had not asked for her for 30 days. And Esther is essentially saying, I have no way into the king. I have no access to him. I cannot approach him. And if I do approach him, I will die. And then Mordecai sent an answer back in which he firmly and passionately stated to his adopted cousin, Esther, do not think that you will escape this massacre. If you do nothing, if you say nothing, deliverance will arise to the Jews from somewhere else, but you and your family will perish. But who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Mordecai was not speaking in generalities here. He was pressing home the solemn personal responsibility that was now upon Esther. Hester needed to act. She needed to intervene. Mordecai has not been overdramatic. He is not scaremongering. This really was life or death for not only him and her, but for the rest of the Jews. And he was reminding her. that in the providence of God she had been placed in this position for this reason, and now it was time for her to step up and do what God had put her in the palace to do. It was an impassioned plea for Esther to approach the king on behalf of her people and thus seek their deliverance. Esther, you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Now those words have become one of the most memorable statements of this book. But let us leave Esther aside for a moment, for these words have a message for every one of us as God's people. And this is something we must consider very carefully. And I use the word consider intentionally. In verse 13 there, Mordecai said to his cousin, think not. Think not. Then in verse 14, he said, who knows or who knoweth whether thou would come to the kingdom for such a time as this. In verse 13, he said, don't you think this way, Esther? Don't you think that you can escape? Don't you think that you can say nothing and still escape with your life? Don't think that way, but who knows? And in both statements, when he says, think not, and then who knoweth, he is asking her to consider certain things. He wants her to ponder her circumstances and this challenge that is now before her. He wants her to pay particular attention to what has happened in her life, and why she is in the position that she is in, and why this circumstance is now before her, and why she must act as she needs to act. He wanted her to consider this. And there are certain things that we need to consider also. This is not just a page from history. Believer, Esther chapter four has very important lessons for us, and therefore we must consider what God is saying to us as well. To put it simply, we are here for such a time as this. And that's the theme that I want to look at this morning, for such a time as this. With that in mind, I want you to consider these three things with me. First of all, God has a work for his people to do in evil times. God has a work for his people to do in evil times. We hardly need to remind it that these words were first spoken by Mordecai in a time of great crises for God's people. Ancient animosities had come to the surface. Haman is determined to do God's covenant people to death. Their entire future now is in jeopardy. Their families are about to be torn apart. Mothers and fathers are going to die. Children are going to be destroyed. There is a campaign, a crusade against God's people. Their whole way of life is to be extinguished from the kingdom. him and that bitter enemy and adversary of the Jews, he's a man standing in the wings just waiting to execute his wicked plan against God's people. And therefore, it was an extremely evil time in their history. They were about to be destroyed. That's the context of this phrase, for such a time as this. What time was it? What kind of time was it? There's a time of little encouragement, a time of little to hearten God's people, a time when there's little to cheer the Jews, a time where there's not only little to cheer them, there's everything to plunge them into despair. There's a campaign against them. There's an adversary working against them. There's an enemy opposed to them on every front, and he's setting forth his plan to bring them into death. And it's right at that time that Esther is being urged to do something. Look at the language of verse 8 and also the language of verse 14. In that 8th verse, Mordecai gives a copy of the writing to Esther and also a message declaring to her, verse 8, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king to make supplication unto him and to make requests before him for her people. And then in verse 14, he emphasizes that again by telling her that she needs to go and speak to the king because she has come for such a time as this. According to verse 14, she was not to hold her peace. That is, this was not the time to remain silent. This was not the time to remain still now. She knew what was planned against the Jews, and now it was her time to go to the king. Esther's duty was very clear. She needs to go to the King Ahasuerus. She needs to identify herself as a Jew. She needs to expose the sin and wickedness of Haman. She needs to plead for the salvation of her people. She needs to endeavor to overthrow and overturn the law that has been signed. To put it very simply, Esther was being asked to take a stand for God and his covenant people. And these are not a parallel for God's people in this day. There's a work, believer, that we are being called to do for God in these evil times. Is it not our responsibility to stand up for Christ amid all the wickedness and sinfulness of this generation? Is it not our responsibility to expose every plan to destroy Christ and his church? Is it not our responsibility to do all we can to see our family saved, our children saved from the evil plans of Satan himself? Is it not our responsibility, our duty, to strive for the salvation of those outside our families who are in danger of eternal death? Is it not our duty, our responsibility to speak a word in season to a lost and dying world? Is it not our responsibility in these evil times to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? Is it not our responsibility to serve God and be faithful to Him? Are we not charged in these last days, these perilous times, are we not charged by gospel precepts to be distinct from the world and to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness? Are we not charged, is it not our responsibility to unashamedly identify ourselves with the saints of God and declare by our words and by our actions that we are on God's side? Is it not our duty? Is it not our duty to serve Him with all our hearts and souls and mind and strength? Is it not our responsibility in these evil times to stand up and be counted for the cause of Jesus Christ? That's the message of this passage. God has a work for His people to do in evil times. Note the details here. This work is the personal responsibility of every believer. The personal responsibility of every believer. Mordecai was speaking directly to Esther. And as he did, he stressed her personal responsibility. See how that's emphasized in verses 13 and 14. Notice what he says to her there. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, think not with thyself. that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thy and thy father's house shall be destroyed, and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? If you mark your Bible, mark the phrase, who knoweth whether thou art come. He's emphasizing this is her responsibility. In fact, the force of these words is that this is something only Esther could do. Others had their duty, others had their responsibility, but this was hers. And believer, we too have a personal responsibility to stand for God. We sometimes say this is the work of the church. We are the church. We are the church. And if you're a believer, you're a member of the church of Jesus Christ. Therefore, this is the responsibility of every believer. Notice, too, that this work is extremely pressing and urgent. It's impossible to read Mordecai's words and his message here and not detect the urgency that he's calling for. Time was very short for the Jews. The black thunderous clouds of trouble were casting a very dark shadow over them. Right now in Esther chapter four, evil men are busy at work. The plans have been put into place. The scheme has been fast forwarded as quickly as Haman can do it. Plans are being finalized. There's no time to waste. Esther, you need to step up. You need to go forward. You need to speak to the king. There's an urgency here. Notice too that this work, this gospel work, is beset with dangers and troubles. Esther could die. Esther could lose her life. It could cost her everything she has. She knows that, and Mordecai knows that too. Look at the language in verse 11. Notice what is said there. All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come in unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter that he may live. But I have not been called to come in unto the king these 30 days. I have no invitation to come. And since I have no invitation to come, if I come, the law is, he has one law for this, if I come without an invitation, I die. She could lose and risk life and limb here to go into the king. Her work was not at all easy. What Mordecai was asking her to do and what she knew she had to do was not an easy thing. Following Christ can be costly. There is a price to pay for being faithful to the Lord Jesus. We can lose friends. We can lose promotion at work, perhaps. We could lose the acclaim of others. We can find ourselves isolated and forsaken, and in some cases, Christians lose far more. They lose their lives. But even there's still a work to be done. Following Christ can be costly. Not following Christ is even more costly. Notice, too, that this work has important ramifications for the future. What Esther was being called to do would impact generations to come. It was not just about her. It was about children and children's children. And is it not so in our generation too? The work that we are called to do for God and for the gospel is not just about us. It's about our children and our children's children. It's about the future. It's about the cause of God for years to come. And God has a work for his people to do. I see a very clear parallel in our time. These are evil days. These are perilous times. Take the words of 2 Timothy 3. Satan has come in like a flood against the church of Jesus Christ. He has set on our destruction. Our children are under serious threat from a world that cares nothing for their spiritual well-being. They are assaulted on every side possible. And Satan would love nothing more than to destroy our children, to destroy our homes, to destroy our church, to destroy the work of God. He would love nothing more than to destroy the testimony of Scripture in this world of ours, to have men and women living in defiance, complete defiance of God with no knowledge of the gospel whatsoever. Therefore, it's time for us to realize that There's a work for us to do in these evil times. The Christian is not saved by his works, but he is saved onto good works. We are servants of God and there's a mammoth work for us to do. The psalmist speaks of a time for God to work. But it's also a time for us to work as well. I believe that one of the greatest things that we can do is presented by contrast here. Esther was being urged to go into the king and plead for his people, plead for her people before him. She did not have ready access because he had not invited her, but we, we have ready access into the presence of our king, whereby we can plead for his church and plead for his people, And therefore, this is what we need to do. It's not the only thing we can do. We need to stand up for Christ, and stand up for the truth of the gospel, and stand up for the gospel of Jesus Christ. But let all our standing for God and his people be in an attitude of fervent prayer to our King, to whom we can come in the name of Jesus Christ. God has a work for his people to do in evil times. But notice secondly here that God appoints and prepares his people for that work. He appoints and prepares his people for that work. Mordecai doesn't simply set this challenge before Esther. He also presents her with a compelling argument. Look at the words of verse 14. Who knoweth? Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? What's he saying by those words? He's asking Esther to consider the truth, that God had placed her in the palace so that she would be in the right place at the right time to intervene on behalf of his people. Who knows? Who knows whether thou would come to the kingdom for such a time as this? This was a call for Esther to look back and to ponder all that had happened in her life up to that point, and to realize that all those events All those experiences, all those upheavals, all those trials, all those changes, all those seemingly strange providences were all of God and meticulously designed for this purpose, that she might be the means of doing this great work for Him and for His people. In other words, God had prepared her, God had placed her in the palace for a reason. You think of what was involved in all of that. She was still living in Persia when other Jews had returned home. That was in the Lord's providence. The beauty God had given her meant that she was chosen to appear before the king. Not every girl was chosen, but Esther was. Due to her supreme character and appearance, she was actually made the queen. that too was of God. She had wisdom to obey her cousin and not reveal her Jewish background at an earlier time. And she found favor with the king and for a number of years lived without major incident in the palace. None of those things were by accident. Esther was where she was because God wanted her there. I understand the wickedness of the king's court and the extremely unconventional events in the early chapters. Some very unsavory things taking place in Esther chapter one and Esther chapter two as far as the king is concerned. But God is working all things together for the good of his people and for the glory of his own name. This was all by divine appointment. Esther's placement in the palace. Esther's preparation in the palace, Esther's performance in the palace, none of that was coincidental. God wanted her there at this very time so that she could be the means of serving him and his people. What a lesson in God's providence. You think of that and you note how personal God's providence is. This was centering on Esther, one person out of the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Persia stretching from Africa to India. And God providentially is dealing with one girl to bring her to the palace at this particular time. It's very personal. Her life is in the hand of God, and God is directing her and moving her and orchestrating things that she could be where she is at the right time. How precise God's providence is as well. Here's the meeting of the circumstances and the time and the person. Exactly. Exactly as God ordered it to be. Think how purposeful God's providence is. There's a reason for this. These are not just haphazard events with no real purpose to them. This is God ordering things for a particular reason. God had that reason in mind. It's not that God is caught unawares and then suddenly has to shuffle things together again in some kind of unusual way to bring something to pass. God had a purpose in all of this. How prevailing God's providence is too. If one step had failed along the way, Esther would not have been where she was at this time. What do we learn from that? Believer, what do we learn in 2016? We surely learn that God has placed us where we are because he has something he wants us to do. C.H. Spurgeon asked the question, why are you placed where you are? Brother, your inevitable answer must be that God has put you where you are for some good purpose, which purpose must be connected with his own glory and with the extension of his kingdom in the world. If I can put it this way, God has placed us in this world at this time to meet the challenge of this hour. And that's not some vague observation or some impractical truth. Where are you right now in life? Some of you are in school. God has you in school at this time because he has something for you to do there. Maybe students are here and you're thinking, I wish I was finished. I wish I was out back in employment or out into employment and back home again, and I wish I were doing something different than what I'm doing right now. If you haven't felt that already in this semester, you probably will before it's finished. I wish I was finished with this. God has you where he has you for a purpose right now. Some of you are at home with children. Perhaps you feel worthless and you feel useless. What can I do? If you feel like that, listen, you have a phenomenal opportunity to do good among your own children. God has you in that place at this time for that purpose. Maybe you're in a place of work that is hard and very difficult, perhaps discouraging, perhaps depressing. You've come to that place. You've been brought to that place for such a time as this. You're in the church of Christ. You're perhaps in this congregation. In the providence of God, He has brought you here for such a time as this. You ever wonder why we were not born in the days of the Reformation or in days of revival or the days of great awakening? You ever wonder why you were not born in Africa or India or Australia? You ever wonder why God saved your soul and directed your steps this way? You ever wonder why did God order that you would be living in days of deepening apostasy and compromise and spiritual declension? You ever ask yourself, why has God placed me in this world, in this generation, when I see this nation seemingly falling apart at the moral seams? Why did God appoint your circumstances as they are? Why? Because in His sovereign purpose, He has brought us to the kingdom for such a time as this. It wasn't His will that you'd be born in the days of the Reformation or in days of revival. It wasn't His will that you'd be born in Africa or India or Australia or somewhere else. It was His will that you'd be born in this nation at this time for a particular purpose, that you might serve Him, that you might stand for Him, that you might honor Him, you might obey Him, you might love Him, you might be faithful to Him. Believer, there is a reason why God has placed you where he has. Otherwise, he would have placed you somewhere else. We should strive to serve him where we are. If God has placed us here, then his remarkable dealings with us compel us to serve him where he has placed us. and there's a true contentment in serving God where he has placed us. Better to be in the Persian court with all of its trials and troubles and be in God's will than to be somewhere else outside God's will. Esther was where she was because God had appointed that and God had prepared her for that in order to do the work that he had called her to do. I don't know your circumstances right now or exactly how you're feeling right now, but I want you to know this. God has not placed you where you are so that you can simply enjoy what he has given you and live the rest of your life for yourself. He has appointed your place for his service. Why on earth was Joseph ever in Egypt? He is his father's favorite. He's able to look after flocks. He's a man of integrity, a man of purity, a man of honesty, a man of God. His brothers take him, strip him of his coat. sell him as a slave, he's taken into Egypt, he works for Potiphar's family, he is lied against, he's sent into prison, he's forgotten in prison, and eventually he comes out. And if you were to look at Joseph languishing there in prison in Egypt, you'd wonder what on earth is that about? But God had Joseph in Egypt for a purpose. That he might be the means of delivering those people, and his own people, from certain death when the famine came. God had a purpose in his placement of his servant. And we live in 2016 with all of its challenges, all of its deepening apostasy and spiritual compromise and all of its immorality. all of its dishonesty, all of its emptiness, all of its vanities. God has placed us here at this time that we might serve Him. Who knows? Who knows whether thou would come to the kingdom for such a time as this? There's a work to be done, believer, a stand to be taken. a God to serve, a cause to espouse, a gospel to proclaim, a godly life to live, a faithful stand to take. And God has called us to the kingdom for such a time as this. God has a work for his people to do in evil times, and God appoints and prepares his people for this work. The third thing I want you to see is that God graciously encourages his people to fulfill this work for him. He graciously encourages his people to fulfill this work for him. If Mordecai's statement was true, that Esther had come to the kingdom for such a time as this, and it was, it was true, then Esther had every reason to go forward. Verse 14 is not just an argument for action. Verse 14 is an encouragement for action too. God was with her. This is what Mordecai is telling her. God is with you, Esther. Who knows whether you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. God has ordered these things. God is in control. Don't think for a moment, Esther, this has just happened. Don't think for a moment this is all accidental. Understand that you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. God is in control. Now here's the reason. Now you didn't understand the reason all along. Now here's the reason. Can't you see the reason, Esther, why God orchestrated things as he has? God is in control. And when he says that, he's emphasizing to her, you can step out, and you can be daring, and you can go to the king, because God is in this. God is in this. These words are full of encouragement. Esther takes it that way, and she says in verse 16, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also, my maidens, will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish." And we'll come back to that text the next time. But she takes the encouragement and says, I will go. I will go. I will cast myself upon the Lord." It's not about Esther. It's not about Esther's life, because if I perish, I perish, she said. This is not about me. This is about God's will, and He encourages me. By His providential dealings with me, He's encouraging me to fulfill this work for Him. Tremendous courage on Esther's part. I can only imagine the fear, the dread that must have filled her heart when she speaks the words of verse 16. We read that very quickly and we perhaps detach it from the emotions that must have flooded her soul when she says this, but her decision to go was a decision she made having pondered, having pondered the providential dealings of God with her. Believer, don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged in the work that God has called us to do. He knows what He's doing for you, He knows what He's doing in you, and He knows what He's doing with you. Therefore, we can say with Esther, so will I go into the King." Believer, you can press on with God in such a time as this. You can press on with God in dark days. You can be confident. You can be courageous. You can be content in the full knowledge that God works all things together for good. to those who are the called according to His purpose, to those upon whom He has set His everlasting love. Who knows? Who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Maybe you've been in the shadows and wondering, what is God's will for me? What can I do?" Maybe you're in the shadows, discouraged and cast down by circumstances. Believer, God has placed you where you are, that you might serve Him as you can, and He encourages you. He encourages you to press on with Him. and to go on with God in these evil days. For such a time as this. If Esther had failed to go, Mordecai told her deliverance will arise from somewhere else. God's purposes will not be frustrated. While it may be that some believers Miss out with God. God's work goes on. Let's desire to be part of that, to enjoy that, to experience his hand upon us, for we have been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. May God help us. May God help us to be as courageous as Esther was in her day. May the Lord bless His word to our hearts for Jesus' sake. Let's find a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy presence with us this morning. We ask, Lord, Thou would write Thy word upon our hearts and upon our souls. Lord, there's much for us to stand up for Christ concerning. An age of false religion, an age of declining morals, an age of wickedness and peril and danger. In an age when children are being tempted and influenced by the ways of the world, it seems in a very powerful way. Lord, you have brought us to the kingdom for such a time as this. Help us, O God, therefore, to stand for thee. We pray, Lord, thou wilt give us courage and strength. Give us faith. Give us love to thee. Give us obedient hearts. Help us to stand up for Christ. to know thy good and gracious hand upon us. So bless thy word to our souls today, we pray. And Lord, we pray that thou will bless us throughout this day, help us to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy. Bring us back again to thy house tonight. We pray these things in our Savior's name. Amen.