Such A Time as This

1
Such A Time as This

• Esther 412-14

2
Such A Time as This

• What do Bill Gates, Howard Hughes and Madame
  Chiang Kai Shek have in common?
• Answer THEY ARE ALL PERSONS OF THEIR TIMES!!
  Why?

3
Such A Time as This

• The facts
• Bill Gates and the Windows operating system.
• Howard Hughes and the airline industry in the
  Unites States.
• Madame Chiang Kai Shek and Second World II.
• They all have practically CHANGED OUR LIFE AND
  SHAPED HISTORY.
• HOW?
• THEY DISCERN THE TIMES
• AND
• CATCH THE TIDAL WAVES!!

4
Such A Time as This

• Purim is
• One of the most joyous festivals in the Hebrew
  calendar. Why? Because THEIR NATION IS SAVED
  FROM EXTINCTION.
• About Esther who DISCERNS SUCH A TIME, CATCHES
  THE TIDAL WAVES AND RIDES ON THEM she is the one
  saving her own people from being exterminated by
  the evil ones.

5
Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time

• We need to understand that HUMAN BEINGS ARE
  RELATIONAL BEINGS. What does this mean? It
  takes two to tango.
• Esther did not discern her position in history
  out of a vacuum he had the help of Mordecai.

 5 named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of
Shimei, the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried
into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, among those taken captive 7
Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had
brought up because she had neither father nor
mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther,
was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had
taken her as his own daughter when her father and
mother died. (Esther 25-7)
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Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time
The transition
Esther was brought to the palace (217)
Persian king Xerxes loved Esther (217b)
Esther was CHOSEN AS THE QUEEN (218)
Chapter 2
Mordecai discovered a conspiracy and was honored
by the king (219-23)
King Xerxes commanded that everyone should honor
Haman (31)
Mordecai did not kneel down to Haman and Haman
was angry (32-4)
Haman knew of Mordecais identity and sought to
EXTERMINATE ALL THE JEWS (35-10)
Chapter 3
7
Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time

• Two questions
• One Why did Mordecai not kneel down to Haman?
• Two Why did Haman want to conspire to kill
  Mordecai and his people?
• Answers
• One kneel down in Esther 32 has the idea of
  WORSHIPPING GOD would Mordecai worship
  Haman? Certainly not! Not to mention that he
  was a pagan!!
• Two simple it was PRIDE!!! He would not let
  anything get in the way of his pride probably a
  false sense of pride!!

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Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time

• Lets imagine for a moment what would you and I
  have done if we were Mordecai?

 1 When 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. 2 But he went only as far as the
king's gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth
was allowed to enter it. 3 In 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. (41-3)
Faithfulness
Extermination
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Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time
The interaction
Esther found Mordecai through her servants
(44-6)
Esther was informed of what happened (47-8)
Esther informed Mordecai of the difficulty
(49-11)

• Lesson It takes two to tango means that
  DISCERNING THE TIMES NEED A LOT OF INTERACTION.
• Bill Gates formed a small company in the 1970s
  called Microsoft.
• Howard Hughes had the vision of building fleets
  of large commercial passenger aircraft Trans
  World Airlines was the fruit.
• Madame Chiang Kai Shek, in her address to the
  Congress of the United States in 1943, shared
  what happened in China.

10
Such A Time as This Esther Discerns Such A Time
The Lone Ranger

• ESTHER WAS IN CONSTANT INTERACTION WITH
  MORDECAI!!!
• BEING A LONGER NEVER WORKS!!!

11
Such A Time as This Esther Catches the Waves

• We see that later in the Book of Esther that
  Esther stood up for her people she did catch
  the waves but what drove her to do so?
• SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN

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Such A Time as This Esther Catches the Waves

• Verse 14, For if you remain silent at this time,
  
• remain silent in the Hebrew language is
  stronger it means keeping oneself ABSOLUTELY
  SILENT.
• A dilemma or a challenge for Esther the law of
  the king or THE GREATEST GOOD, or

The extermination of her people!!!
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Such A Time as This Esther Catches the Waves
The great If then

• What if
• Bill Gates had not created Windows?
• Howard Hughes had not owned over 51 of TWA
  shares?
• What if Madame Chiang Kai Shek had not spoken at
  the U.S. Congress?
• How would we feel if we were faced with such a
  huge challenge as Esther did?

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Such A Time as This Esther Catches the Waves
We dont have time to argue about time!

• Hebrew concept of time
• ??? event
• (pronounced ate)
• Verse 14, who KNOWS but that you
• ??????? the word is used in Gen 41, Adam LAY
  with his wife (pronounced yahah)
• Mordecai was challenging Esther that SHE SHOULD
  KNOW WELL SUCH A TIME AS THIS AND NOT PASS IT BY!!

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Such A Time as This Esther Catches the Waves

• Mordecai wanted Esther to LOOK BEYOND THE
  SITUATIONS AND SEE THE GREATEST GOOD! STEP UP TO
  THE DIFFICULT CHALLENGE.
• Lesson catching the waves means that as we are
  challenged by God through one another, LETS STOP
  BEING WIMPY deal with the difficulties head-on
  with Gods help, of course!!! And good things
  will come out for everybody!!

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Such A Time as This

• We all have Such A Time as This. When it
  comes, keep in mind that
• We must discern such a time with one another
  we need one another.
• We must catch the waves, and
• Know well that they are for us, and
• Face difficulties with Go-given courage.
• Remember Gates, Hughes and Madame Chiang, and
  Esther even Lord Jesus?

What legacies would we like to have?