{"id":6642,"date":"2019-12-11T20:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T03:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=6642"},"modified":"2019-12-06T23:15:39","modified_gmt":"2019-12-07T06:15:39","slug":"esther4_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/esther4_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Gain Confidence to Approach the King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Esther 4:1-17\u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Esther 4:1-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Esther 4:1-3 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0\u00a0In King Xerxes\u2019 kingdom, you were not allowed to get close to the king if you were mourning or grieving.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why Mordecai could not go past the king\u2019s gate while wearing sackcloth and ashes, the traditional garb for someone in grief.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m so thankful that\u00a0in the kingdom we live in, where Jesus is king, we can approach our King just as we are.\u00a0\u00a0If we are grieving, mourning or burdened, we can come to Him just the same.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0In fact, our King welcomes us to come to Him with our burdens.\u00a0\u00a0He says, \u201cCome to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest\u201d (Matthew\u00a011:28).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You can \u201ccast your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you\u201d (1 Peter 5:7).<\/p>\n

Esther 4:4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-9:\u00a0\u00a0Esther, it seems, was the last Jew in all of Persia to hear about the king\u2019s edict to exterminate the Jews.\u00a0\u00a0Apaprently Esther\u2019s life as queen was so secluded and cut off from the outside world that she had to get second hand information from someone on the outside in order to find out what business the king, her own husband, was doing.\u00a0\u00a0In contrast I\u2019m reminded of what Jesus says in John\u00a015:15:<\/p>\n

John\u00a015:15\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for\u00a0everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the Bible Jesus is called the groom and we, His church, are His bride.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God that\u00a0we have a husband who is the King of kings and who doesn\u2019t hide his business from us the way Xerxes did with Esther.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Rather, King Jesus involves us, His royal bride, in His business.\u00a0\u00a0We are in fact His business partners, His co-workers, and He lets us get involved in the family business.<\/p>\n

Esther 4:10-14 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai,
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-14:\u00a0\u00a0Mordecai urged Esther \u201cto go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people\u201d (v8).\u00a0\u00a0But Esther hesitated.\u00a0At first Esther came up with some polite excuses, talking about how difficult, complicated and dangerous it would be for her to approach the king.\u00a0But Mordecai reminds Esther that the reason why God elevated her to the throne as queen was not for her sake alone.\u00a0\u00a0He speaks arguably the most famous line in the book of Esther, which would be the tipping point for Esther to agree to go and talk to the king: “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?<\/em>” (v14)<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0We all need a Mordecai, someone who is not afraid to tell us the hard truth and to urge us to do the hard but necessary thing.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Praise God for the Mordecai\u2019s in your life.\u00a0\u00a0God uses them to propel you into your God-given destiny.<\/p>\n

Esther 4:15-17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-17:\u00a0\u00a0Esther courageously agrees to risk her life to go and talk to the king.\u00a0\u00a0To prepare for her meeting with the king, she decides to fast three days.\u00a0\u00a0She also asks Mordecai to assemble the Jews in Susa to fast as well.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When getting ready to make a major decision or to start a major project, one of the most powerful things you can do is to fast and pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is fasting?\u00a0\u00a0Fasting is abstaining from food so that you can focus on drawing near to God.\u00a0\u00a0Fasting is not a hunger strike.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not twisting God\u2019s arm.\u00a0\u00a0Rather, fasting is about going out of your way to give God more room to work in your life.\u00a0\u00a0As much as I love to eat, I can say that some of the greatest and most important breakthroughs I have experienced in my life have come during times of fasting and prayer.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why at Thrive we have times when we fast together as a church.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s one way we get ready for the new things God is doing.
\nSo if you\u2019re needing to make a major life decision, or you are getting ready for a new season, or you just want to draw closer to God and get out of a rut, you can make the powerful choice to fast and pray.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You that You don\u2019t expect me to leave my cares and burdens at the gate before I get close to You.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for being the King who is willing to hear my concerns and bear my burdens.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You also for letting me in on Your business and letting me play a part in what You are doing.\u00a0 Thank You for the Mordecai’s in my life who encourage me to step into my destiny.\u00a0 Because of all of these blessings, thank You that I can approach You with confidence.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Esther 4:1-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Esther 4:1-3 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.\u00a0
\n3\u00a0\u00a0In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0\u00a0In King Xerxes\u2019 kingdom, you were not allowed to get close to the king if you were mourning or grieving.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why Mordecai could not go past the king\u2019s gate while wearing sackcloth and ashes, the traditional garb for someone in grief.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m so thankful that\u00a0in the kingdom we live in, where Jesus is king, we can approach our King just as we are.\u00a0\u00a0If we are grieving, mourning or burdened, we can come to Him just the same.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, our King welcomes us to come to Him with our burdens.\u00a0\u00a0He says, \u201cCome to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest\u201d (Matthew\u00a011:28).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You can \u201ccast your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you\u201d (1 Peter 5:7).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6642"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6645,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6642\/revisions\/6645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}