Episode 1476: For Such a Time

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1476. of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:08] Joshua Johnson: I'm Joshua Johnson. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence, and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to find your purpose and calling is key, and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:41] Scott Maderer: We're no better than anyone else. Even holy living. We often think about, you know, I do these things. Therefore, I somehow deserve more grace than someone else. Someone else does something that isn't right, and therefore they don't deserve grace. But see, that's the [00:01:00] thing. Grace isn't earned, it's given.

[00:01:04] Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures. for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:37] In today's Spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Esther chapter 7 verses 1 through 6 and verses 9 through 10 and Esther chapter 9 verses 20 through 22. I share how this unusual wisdom literature helps us to realize what it really means to be in such a time as this. And I also share how this calls us to [00:02:00] gratitude, mercy, and grace.

[00:02:04] Esther chapter 7 verses 1 through 6, 9 through 10, and chapter 9 verses 20 through 22 says, So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request?

[00:02:25] Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled. Then Queen Esther answered, If I have won your favor, O King, and if it pleases the King, let my life be given me. That is my petition, and the lives of my people. That is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people. To be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.

[00:02:47] If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace. But no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king. Then King Assyrius said to Queen Esther, Who is he, and [00:03:00] where is he, who has presumed to do this? Esther said, A foe and an enemy, this wicked Haman. Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

[00:03:09] Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, Look, the very pole that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman's house fifty cubits high. And the king said, Hang him on that. So they hung Haman on the pole that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

[00:03:31] Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Assyrius. Both near and far, and joining them that they should keep the 14th day of the month Adar and also the 15th day of the same month year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness, and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days [00:04:00] for sending gifts of food to one another, and presence to the poor.

[00:04:07] This is the final wrap up scripture for going through this Wisdom Literature series, and this is probably a little unusual in a couple of different ways. First off, this passage from Esther is maybe not the most Famous passage from Esther, and I named this episode for such a time because that passage is actually probably the one that is the most common, and this set of passages is not from there.

[00:04:39] In fact, This sort of passage is much later in the story. There's a lot of folks that use the quote, or the common wisdom of Esther, as a way of propping up their own views of divine providence, of what they're supposed to be doing, of what things are working for them. [00:05:00] If they like the way something is going, or if they feel convicted to seize an opportunity, then they invoke the Mordecai's words from Esther that come from chapter 4.

[00:05:11] Perhaps you have come to such and such a place, whatever it is, for such a time as this. Or perhaps you've been put in this place for such a time as this. In other words, this idea that we are placed here through divine providence, and what is happening now is exactly what is supposed to be happening, what we're supposed to be doing, we've been blessed.

[00:05:35] And let's face it, as humans, we like that wisdom, that idea, it feels like it validates our plans, what we want to have happen, when we feel good about it, when it's happening our way, when things are going our way, that must mean that this is divine endorsement, and we can just keep on doing what we're doing, and keep on acting like we're acting, and obviously it's blessed, because we're in such a [00:06:00] time as this, in such a place as this, But that's not the passage that we're talking about because really and truly that is not what the book of Esther tries to teach us about what God's blessing and providence looks like.

[00:06:17] Instead, here we're focusing on the moment of the story where Esther is begging for deliverance from the king. And it's the moment when he grants it. And very importantly, it's the moment in which the Jewish people are then called, and they inaugurate a festival to commemorate that deliverance. If you're not familiar with the basic story of the Book of Esther, I invite you to read it.

[00:06:40] The whole thing. And trust me, we're skipping around in the story and we're leaving a lot of stuff out. It would be a good idea to read the whole thing. And a lot of times people don't even consider Esther as wisdom literature, but rather a short story, and they put it in books or in a group [00:07:00] with books like Ruth and Ezra and Nehemiah and Jonah.

[00:07:04] It can also be argued that this is wisdom literature, just like Proverbs and some of these others. If wisdom literature invites us to think theologically, think through the eyes of God in light of the world around us. Wisdom is about making the proper response to circumstance. It's about responding in a godly way to what the world is doing.

[00:07:34] The saints like Paul the Apostle, Augustine, all of these often remind us that, feeling what we feel. We can't be blamed for our feelings, but how we react and how we act and what we do in response to those feelings, that matters. And in this lesson, in this week's passage, we see two different [00:08:00] responsive acts.

[00:08:02] The king responds with mercy. Esther makes a plea, and the king responds with mercy. And then in response to that mercy, the Jews respond with gratitude. And if you think about it in today's world, I think mercy and gratitude are character traits that are very uncommon. Who would show mercy? Who shows gratitude?

[00:08:28] If somebody, if I owe somebody money in the common wisdom, I need to charge them interest. And I demand that they pay me back. If somebody falls on hard times, that's too bad. Don't forgive them. Make sure that they pay you. Make sure you get yours. There's no moment of mercy there. And there's no moment of gratitude either.

[00:08:51] We don't account for gifts. We don't think of the blessings that we have. We look at living comfortably or living well as something that we [00:09:00] just. deserve. We don't think and look for moments to be grateful to ourselves, to others, and to God. Instead, these are things that are calling for us to recognize in the moments of everything that we do that we are called to recognize that we haven't done anything to earn mercy or gratitude from God.

[00:09:30] And instead, we need to recognize those moments that we have been saved by grace alone. We're no better than anyone else. Even holy living, we often think about, I do these things, therefore I somehow deserve more grace than someone else. Someone else does something that isn't right and therefore they don't deserve grace.

[00:09:55] But see, that's the thing. Grace isn't earned, it's given. [00:10:00] And we are compelled to go out into the world and give ourselves to others. We say that during the weeks of Holy Communion. When we do that, the liturgy, at least in the Methodist Church, says those very words, that we are called to go out into the world.

[00:10:17] into the world to give ourselves to others. That is what living in grace means. That's what mercy and gratitude look like. Thanks for listening.

[00:10:34] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook. com slash inspired stewardship [00:11:00] and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there.

[00:11:17] Until next time, invest your time. Your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact the world.