“Who knows but that you have come to your … position for such a time as
this?”
– Esther 4:14
My wife
team-teaches second grade at Victor
Valley Christian
School . Last month,
when I popped into her classroom, I overheard something that really struck me. Her
team teacher, who is also a pastor’s wife, was giving the Bible lesson to the
kids. She told them, “In this class we don’t call them Bible stories, because
they are true. We call them Bible TRUTHS.”
We must never
forget that. Whenever we refer to a Bible “story,” it’s not something that can
be lumped in with “The Lion King” or “Aladdin.” Bible stories are in a league
of their own, because they are true, and they are part of God’s word. So, with
that in mind, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories in the whole
Bible: The story of Queen Esther.
In a search
that played out like a real-life version of The Bachelor, Xerxes, the king of Persia ,
conducted a kingdom-wide search for a
bride. From the most beautiful young maidens in the kingdom, he chose a lovely
Jewish woman named Esther to be his bride, and she became Queen of
Persia in chapter 2 of the Book of Esther. But there was a problem. Because of
the hostility toward Jews in Persia
at that time, Esther’s cousin
Mordecai ordered her not to reveal her nationality and family background. Esther was
on thin ice … and then, in chapter 3, a scoundrel by the name of Haman became
the second most powerful leader in Persia . Haman hated Esther’s cousin
Mordecai—so much, in fact, that he plotted not only to kill him, but everyone
in his family. Haman tricked the king into signing an edict saying that on the
13th day of the 12th month of that year, every Jew in the
kingdom of Persia would be killed.
In Chapter
4, Mordecai sent word to Esther, telling her to go into the king’s presence to
beg for mercy for her people. Esther was hesitant. She sent word back to
Mordecai, explaining that anyone who approached the king without an invitation
could be put to death on the spot—and it had been a month since Xerxes had sent
for her. Mordecai sent back this memorable reply: “Do not think that because
you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For 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 your royal position for such a
time as this?” (vs. 13-14).
“For such a
time as this”—these are the six most famous words in all of Esther. She was
afraid to do what Mordecai had asked. She didn’t want to suffer. She didn’t
want to die. But Mordecai’s words won her over. Esther believed that God had
raised her up “for such a time as this.” So, she took a stand—and she
successfully stood up for her people.
As our
church moves to a new location, there’s a really important question that we
need to answer: Why are we moving? Numerous reasons spring to mind. The drive
up George Boulevard
to our current location, surrounded by abandoned air base housing, is scary. Our
church isn’t growing in its location. We’re not getting many first-time
visitors, and many feel the drive to get here is too long. The list goes on and
on. But there’s really only one answer that matters. Why are we moving? Because
we believe God said so.
Now, let me
be clear. None of our staff or leaders heard the audible voice of God say,
“Move your church to the Ralph
Baker School
in September 2019.” None of us received a late-night visit from the Angel
Gabriel. We didn’t even get an email from Roma Downey from “Touched by an Angel.”
But each of us has a relationship with
God. Each of us talks with God regularly. And we believe God has been clearly
leading our church in this direction, and He opened many doors to prove it.
The Lord
has been so amazing over these past eight months. There’s a reason He brought
us a buyer for our building two years ago. There’s a reason that a brand new
school in a strategic location was available for rent at just the right time.
There’s a reason I was introduced to the superintendent of the school district
in February. There’s a reason that the decision-makers at the school have been
so supportive. We believe God was clearly calling us to take a leap of faith
and move on from here to make a greater impact for Christ in our community.
For the
past 25 years, the former airbase chapel has been Ground Zero for some great
ministry. We’ve baptized 582 adults, teens and kids. We’ve blessed low income
families with more than 5,000 backpacks. Thousands of lives have been touched
by the ministries that have taken place over the past 25 years. We have made an
impact in our community from a very challenging location, and I believe God is
saying to our church, “Well done!”
But God has
also made it clear that we cannot settle for the status quo. What He’s been
doing over the past 25 years has been preparing us for this next season. We
believe God has called our church to its new home for such a time as this. And
could it be that all of the challenges, trials and difficulties you’ve
experienced have been God’s training ground—preparing you for such a time as
this?
Dane Davis is the Lead
Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am
Sunday, October 6th at the new Ralph Baker
School in
Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.