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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/brandon-doll/sent-by-god-for-such-a-time-as-this/
Esther, please, chapter 4, verse 14. Mordecai speaking to Esther, "'For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, that 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.
And I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go unto the king which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish. I would like to consider for such a time as this.'". The gospel of John, please, chapter 17.
John 17, "'I have given them thy word,' verse 14, "'and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.'". Verse 18, "'As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.'".
Verse 22, "'And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.'". Lord, bless to us the reading of his word and what we've listened to already. Do you suppose it is just by chance that you're upon this earth at this time?
Did you ever think about it? Or could it be by the design of God and by the purposes of God, you and I are here for just such a time as this? Have you ever thought about it? Esther is a lovely story. It is a powerful story.
It is a moving story of a whole nation of the Jews that was about to be destroyed because of the plan of a wicked man. And Mordecai finds out about it. And so you know the story how the word gets to Queen Esther, and she says, "'If I perish, I perish.'.
But Mordecai gives her the question, "'Maybe you're in the kingdom for such a time as this, just for right now.'". And I would like to bring that to 2019, to this conference, to your life, and to my life.
Does God have me on this earth for such a time as this? What's your answer? Better be yes. Better be yes. God made no mistake by the timing of our life on this earth. God made no delay. God made no hurry-up mistake as the furtherance of His kingdom proceeds.
We've been reminded of the body of Christ. We are the people of God, and here we are, and we're here for such a time as this. And I wanted to go to John chapter 17 because verse number 18 has something very, very special to me.
It says this, the Lord Jesus says, "'As thou hast sent me into the world, even so, or in like manner, so have I also sent them into the world.'". Let that sink in just for a moment. The Lord Jesus is saying, just like you sent me into the world, so have I sent them into the world.
And He's speaking, yes, of the disciples, but we didn't read it, but He is also speaking for them that shall believe on Him through their word. And so that's you and I. So we are here at the right time, sent by the right one.
Do you believe that? What is there for me to do for the kingdom of God? What is it that I can do for God? Make no mistake about it, brethren. We are here for such a time as this. That's kind of scary in one way.
When you think of all that's going on in the world that we live in, and the changes that have taken place in just recent years, and all of the mess, and all of the things that there are to deal with, but you have been sent and I have been sent for such a time as this.
Now, I want to look at three ways that the Lord Jesus Christ was sent. Very quickly, just give you the outline form. Before I get to that, I want to say this. We were sent at the right time, we were sent for His purpose, and we were sent for His glory.
Those three things. We are here at the right time for His purpose and for His glory. Not our glory, but His glory. For the work that He needs done, that He is pleased to use us for at such a time as this.
And so three things about the Lord Jesus that you and I are sent just like Him. First one is this. He was sent as a son. He was sent as a son. We are the sons of God today. We have been sent into this world as the sons of God.
We bear the name, don't we? What is there in that name? The children of God, the sons of God, and here we are. Let me just point out this. There are many that take the name of Christian, and they take the Lord's name in vain.
I don't mean that they swear, and I don't mean that they make an oath by the Lord's name, but I simply mean this. That by saying that I am a Christian, that I belong to God, and I do not live like that, and I deny His lordship, and I deny His authority, that is in essence taking the Lord's name in vain.
When my wife married me, she took my name. I trusted her with my entire life. I entrusted her with my name. But if she would go and do something that was contrary to what I believe or contrary to what God believes, and she would dishonor that name, and that happens.
And that happens not with my wife, all right? Okay, you're awake. That happens in lives. But to say that I am a Christian, and can I put it just this bluntly, to live like the world, I'm taking the Lord's name in vain.
We are sent as sons. We are sent with dignity. We are sent with authority. We are sent with relationship. We are sent into this world as sons. Marvelous to think that we're here at such a time as this.
Sons of God, positionally, for His glory, for His purpose, at the right time. What's the second one? He was sent as a servant. We touched a little bit about the servant yesterday. But He was sent as a servant.
He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give His life a ransom for many. You see, He was sent as a servant. And just as He was sent, we are sent. Did you know that our sending is just as real as His?
It's just as real. And that never dawned on me before, just a couple months ago. That my sending into this world is just as real, just as valid as Christ being sent into this world. Let that grip your heart today.
It'll change your life. Dear young person, let that get ahold of you. That your sending into this world is just as real as Christ. Now, you're not going to accomplish what He accomplished, but your sending is just as real.
How was He as a servant? He was submissive. He was submissive. Are you submissive to the will of God? He was dedicated. Are you dedicated as a servant to do the will of the Master? He was humble. Humble.
He understood that He was here for the glory of the Father. And you and I are here for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the glory of God. And that'll keep us humble. It's not for our own glory.
And He was consistent in His service. He turned not to the right hand, to the left. We're living in a day of inconsistency, partly because of distractions. Our mind is fluttering here and there and everywhere.
You sit down to read your Bible. If you don't put your phone on airplane mode, you're not going to get anywhere. We're distracted. We're inconsistent. We're going from place to place. Most of us, even in everyday life, have to be in three places at once.
And you know what I'm talking about. How consistent is that? We've got this responsibility that is due at the same time as this one. And then there's the Lord. And then there's the family. And maybe there's school and maybe there's work.
Maybe it's four places now. Time flies. But the servant was absolutely consistent. Consistent. He communicated. He communicated. How's your communication with God? How is your communication? The Lord Jesus, He went up into the mountain to pray.
He got apart to pray. He prayed all night. I was enjoying recently some of the different times that He opened the Word and He read the Word. He was in constant communication with the Father. Our communication isn't constant.
But it sure is nice when it's close, isn't it? Day by day by day. Lord, what will you have me to do? Where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to say? Oh, my plans aren't your plans. You changed them this morning.
That's okay. Let's go where you tell us to go. He was sent as a servant. A servant. He was the loved son. He was the loyal servant. And He was sent. I need to back up for a second. I skipped part of what I wanted to say.
It says that He is not of the world. He's not of the world. And He says that twice. And He says that we are not of the world. And so as a son, He's not of the world in His nature. In His nature. You and I have been born again.
We've been given a new nature. And we're not of the world in our nature. As the servant, He is not of the world in His occupation. His occupation. His occupation was first and foremost to serve God. Every day, everywhere, everyone.
That was His purpose. That was His occupation. Was the will of God and the service of God. Now, I know you and I have jobs and we have responsibilities. But keep in mind that as the servants of God, our primary responsibility, we're not of this world in our occupation.
And those of you that were in the corporate world or are in the corporate world, you'll understand this. They'll take your best and they'll use you and they'll wear you out and they'll throw you away and they'll get someone else a little younger next time.
And they might give you a sweatshirt or a ham on the way out the door. Thanks for 50 years. We're not of this world in our service, in our occupation. Finally, He was sent as a sacrifice. And there's much that could be developed in these things.
And as a sacrifice, He was not of this world in His character. His character. He was altogether different, wasn't He? His character was nothing to be compared to the people that He rubbed shoulders with.
He was not of the world in character. He was heavenly in character, was He not? His culture was heavenly. His character was heavenly. His calling was heavenly. He was not of this world in His character.
Dear brethren, we're not of this world in our character. Sometimes we admit it's hard to tell because we are no different than the world oftentimes. And that is not right. Because we are sent just as He is sent to be a sacrifice.
To be a suitable sacrifice. What does that mean? That means someone that God can use. Someone that is fit for God's service. Someone that is clean. The sacrifice must be clean. It must be without blemish.
Now, we know that we are not perfect. We don't pretend to be. But someone that God can use as a sacrifice. When He came, He came to die. That's why He came. And I think of Esther. If I perish, I perish.
What was she thinking of? If you were Esther, what would you be thinking of? Well, you'd think about what was about to take place. Your kinfolk, your loved one, your nation, yourself is about to be destroyed.
But there's something that I can do about it. I can approach the king. Is your assembly growing leaps and bounds? How are the people in your assembly doing spiritually? You say, what can I do? Yeah, I see some young people leaving.
I see some middle-aged people giving up. I see my people dwindling. You're in God's kingdom for such a time as this. Every single one of us. She said, I'm going to approach the king. If I perish, I perish.
And there we are. We're sons. We're sons. We're servants. We're sacrifice. Some young person says, what can I do? What can I do to help? Serve someone. Serve someone. If there's an older person in your assembly, go see them.
Go see them. Take some donuts. Take some scratch cupcakes. You guys got a wonderful source here. It's a great tool. Get a half a dozen. Eat three and share three. Whatever. Serve someone. Serve the people of God.
A cup of cold water is at service. Absolutely. A visit. Absolutely. You see a young person and they're off by themself. Go sit by him. Go sit by him. Say hi. What would have happened if Esther would have never done anything?
I mean, it more to Kay I tells us. God would have given increase it, but her generation would have perished. God will always have a remnant. God will always have a people. But God has privileged us and God has allowed us.
And I'm going to put it even stronger. God has sent us for such a time as this. And the generation in which we serve to help his people. To call in the lost. Because we've been sent. Your sending dear believer is just as real as his.
Never forget it. We're here for such a time as this.