An Esther cannot be neutral

The Lord put it on my heart to share something with you that would be appropriate for this Sunday when we begin our week of fasting and prayer, but that would also be a word of encouragement and vision for the rest of the year, for all of us. And when I asked the Lord specifically, Father, give me a word for the people, the image of Esther suddenly came to my mind. And actually, I had not even visualized how this service was going to develop, but I definitely believe that the image of Esther, a woman who was called to intervene at a critical time in the history of her people, is very appropriate for everything that God has been speaking to us in this meeting. And I just want to leave you with one subject, let's say, an assignment, a task, and that is that this week read the book of Esther, read the book of Esther and use it as a point of meditation for your life.

How many receive that assignment from their pastor? Amen. Read the book of Esther, ask the Holy Spirit to open that book to your understanding and meditate on that book on two levels, meditate on that book on the personal level of your own life, what does that book tell you about your own life? And also meditate on that book at the collective level of this nation and this time in the history of humanity, and see Esther as the church of Jesus Christ and what God is also saying to us through his word, as a collective, as a church, as a nation at this time in history. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom in this regard.

But what touches me the most about this book is that it presents God's people in a time of crisis as we are right now in this time of human history. God's people are captive for their sins, just like the church, I believe it is impotent and captive in a generic sense of the word, in a nation and a continent, and at a time in history when the church does not have much power actually to influence and influence in a very powerful way the structures of the world. We are in the minority, in a sense, in our ability to influence what is happening in this nation and in its social processes.

As the people of Israel were captive and powerless in Babylon and in the entire Persian kingdom and in all that area where they had been exiled. And in that context that seemed so negative, however, God was working behind the scenes and preparing an outcome and protecting his people and advancing processes that were going to be a blessing to his people. As in Esther's time there are also political and collective powers that are in control in many ways of what is happening. King Ahasuerus was not a man who necessarily feared God and in that kingdom of Ahasuerus a man also rises up, his name is Haman, who is a symbol of the antichrist, a man who hated the people of God, a bloodthirsty man, full of of pride, of arrogance, of desire for his own glory, and that he wanted to destroy the people of God.

I believe that there are in these times antichrist spirits that have taken possession of the world and the earth and even our own country to a certain extent, that they need to be, I am not referring to a particular person, but to a total system, I believe that it militates against the values of the Kingdom of God and the values of the Gospel and the spirit, values of secularization, rationalism, humanism, human pride and all these things. And Haman for me represents that spirit that hates values and that wants to destroy and kill, and steal, and that is vicious against the Kingdom of God.

God also raised up another man named Mordecai who for me represents the spirit of piety, the fear of God and the reluctance to bow down before the powers of the earth and to be faithful to God. Mordecai refuses to humble himself and prostrate himself before Haman who is gaining ascendancy before the king, who is gaining more power every day and is becoming the favorite of King Ahasuerus and who has the strength to assert his hatred against the people of God. Mordecai represents, in my opinion, those interests of the church that want to keep the Gospel alive in the midst of difficult situations and that refuse to give in and that is why they carry the hostility of that kingdom of darkness.

And God is seeing beyond, I believe that at this time when we see what is happening in the world, one tends to be filled with fear and anguish, right? In this nation lately there have been some processes and some changes so terrible that one already feels tempted to give up the fight and plunge into discouragement and despair almost and simply ask the Lord, get me out of this cruel world and take me.

I always gave my pastor brothers and the churches I work with that, you know what? Despite the fact that I see all these things happening in the world and in our nation, I have never felt tempted to despair or discourage myself, on the contrary, my heart is filled with a healthy expectation that God has the best in front of us. , and that there are purposes that God is setting the stage so that just as the background is black and murky, so also be his manifested glory.

How many know that God thinks strategically and that God prepares the pieces? When I saw that vision years ago, which is the origin of our name, Lion of Judah congregation, I saw that great infestation of demonic powers over the city of Boston and on top of that great one as you have surely heard several times, of that great demonic presence in the air, I saw the face of the Lion of Judah, I saw his eyes sure, confident, and full of authority looking over that stage, under him, and my heart was moved to say three times, you are the Lord, you You are the Lord, you are the Lord. And in my spirit I felt that this lion, looking with those eminently human eyes and full of grace and authority, exercised all the authority he needed on that scene, he didn't flinch, he didn't get upset, he wasn't scared, he was in control. .

I have always believed that God is in control, and that God is doing things the way he wants, at the right time. Haman believed that he was going to take the people of God ahead, but God was already preparing in advance, he put Mordecai in a precise place so that he could listen to a plot against the life of the king, denounce it, and set the stage so that in the precise moment, the reminder of that event came to the king's mind and he had a very important role to play.

But he also put Esther, a young woman whose only gift seemed to be having a beautiful body and face, and God created her to put her in a precise position. And God placed it there waiting, like a bullet, waiting to be fired at the right time. Esther entered the king's palace, became the king's favorite, because God gave grace to her too and prepared her there, left her there like a weapon, with the trigger ready to fire it at the right moment.

Who knows how many Esters right now are being prepared by God? In the universities of this nation, in the cultural spheres, right now perhaps in this church there are Esters, men and women, who are being prepared for a time like this. In fact, I would say in a sense that this church, as well as other churches, are also being prepared for a time like this.

And the last thing I'm telling you is that when the precise moment came when all these elements came together and came together and the moment of crisis arrived, Mordecai called Esther, he told her, Esther, the people of God are going to be exterminated and Your intervention and your access to the king is absolutely key, you cannot be neutral, Mordecai told him, because if you think that you are going to escape because you are the consort of the king, do not think that you are going to escape.

And let me tell you something brothers, that is true, for example, in Nazi Germany, when in the 1930s the people of God were being exterminated, the Jews were being exterminated, many Jews in Germany thought that because they had become German citizens, and because they had changed their names and some had ceremonially converted to Christianity, without having any desire to do so but simply to fill in, and had even obtained exemptions and all kinds of safeguards and guarantees of their lives, they thought the Nazis were going to pardon their lives and that they were going to be able to escape the fate of their other brothers. It was not so. when the time for extermination came, everyone with Jewish blood was exterminated, everyone they could get hold of, no matter their condition, how much money they had, how much they paid the government, whether or not they were loyal to Hitler, it didn't matter to them. Because when the devil hates, he hates with totally irreconcilable hatred. And Satan doesn't know how to stop, when his bloodlust is awakened he goes on and on and on and on.

We sometimes think that if we keep our mouths shut, if we win over people, if we don't say much, if we are sympathetic to society that this is going to silence the plot against the values of the Kingdom of God. make no mistake. We believe that, for example, with the advance of homosexuality, that perhaps our children, our grandchildren will be forgiven. Brothers, this is a toxic contamination that who knows who is going to touch one day if we don't stop it, and then we have to, as Mordecai said to Esther, we can't think at any time that this is just for a little while, this is something that goes on, goes on, goes on and will go on invading all the structures of society like a cancerous virus, we cannot be neutral. We are involved in that fight, so the church of Christ cannot be neutral, it has to be prophetic, it has to be clear, it has to be insistent, it has to be biblical, we have to improve our lives every day, ask the Lord May it help us to be whole every day.

But secondly Mordecai said to him, who knows if God has put you here for an hour like this. And I believe that God has put churches like this, minority churches, churches that are working with North Americans, and with Europeans, and with Asians and with the structures of this society and that city as well, he has put humble and simple churches like León de Judah to be like Esther, members of an oppressed race but that God has brought us for the preservation of life. And that is why we have to preach the Gospel, that is why I am desperate that God make this church an instrument for his glory in this city and that we are not neutral.

I prefer to sin on the side of excess towards God than on the side of excess towards false neutrality. Do you understand what I mean? I'd rather make a mistake trying to defend the values of the Kingdom of God than be too neutral and give the devil a chance that he doesn't deserve. I prefer the holy error to the carnal, neutral error. The false neutrality of the person who is simply afraid of being clear about things. We have to speak the truth, live the truth, and live in these times like a sharp sword. Don't waste your time.

I'm done with this, don't waste your time. Don't waste your energy. Get educated, read, love the Lord, tithe, offer, of your energies, bring your children to church, participate in the things of the Lord, take your discipleship classes, turn off the television, unplug it for times and dedicate your time to building yourself and read the word of God. Fill yourself with the Holy Spirit, come to church regularly, serve the Lord, give your money to the Kingdom of God and to the things that build life. Live an intentional life.

You are like Esther, you are in a time right now where your life can make a difference in what happens to the children of God throughout the earth. You are an instrument for the preservation of life and therefore you cannot live life neutrally. These are times where you have to make agonizing, clear, heroic decisions and live like a hero, live like a warrior with your sword always in hand, because these are difficult and dangerous times. Soon the night comes, you have to work now. Then we can rest, then we can buy all the condos we want in the universe, we'll invent them, we'll create them ourselves. But now is the time to live like Esther, a time in which God has placed you in a strategic place, in your neighborhood, your work, in your family, in other places.

I was in Colombia, one of the things I was able to do was celebrate the wedding of a couple from this church. And that couple decided to get married after living together for many years because they wanted to honor the Lord, they wanted to organize their lives. And that is worth a lot to me, and that is why I made the commitment to go and bless them, because they are people whose lives I have seen transformed and changed in a radical way, him and her. And they wanted to witness to their unconverted family about Jesus Christ and I went there not only to marry a couple, but also to ask the Lord for an opportunity to witness to an entire community of people who do not know the Lord.

And the Lord gave us that opportunity, he gave it to me twice. He gave it to me the day we had our wedding at the ceremony where we were able to speak briefly but clearly about Jesus Christ. And the next day, they are here and they remember a very special moment in the middle of that beautiful Colombian countryside on the outskirts of Colombia, God provided a moment in which I was able to briefly, again proclaim Jesus Christ and invite all those people to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and God did something beautiful at that moment, it became a precious time of ministry and many of those hearts were softened to receive Christ as Lord and savior.

And we live in those times, brothers, in which everything we do has to have meaning, has to have a purpose. Everything we do, God wants us, like that couple, to be concerned about our relatives, our communities, our environments where we are and that we are wondering how I can be an instrument for people to come to know Jesus. How can I use my resources strategically? They decided to have their wedding there in their country because for them, they wanted this testimony of their life and what God is doing, the changes that God is making in their life, to be evident to that community to which they belong. They thought strategically.

And I believe that this is what we have to be doing, like Ester, you have to ask yourself, what does God want from me? What is it that God wants me to do? God has put resources in your hands. Esther perhaps thought, I am only a beautiful woman and that is all, and I am only fit to be a king's concubine. But Mordecai said, no, no, no, you have been raised up for something very exalted.

And I believe that each of you is like that. Don't underestimate the value you have, the power you have to affect your environment. You are a spearhead in the hand of the Lord, you are an instrument for God's grace. God willing that in our church, each one of us lives with that sense of urgency and clarity that God has a purpose for us. I believe that this is the call and that is the word of God for this community this year and these coming months. Let's live Esther's life, a strategic life, a conscious life, a life of urgency, a life of absolute dedication and performance to the great purposes that God has.

May God allow this church to make a difference, may this community make a difference, and may it be part of God's redemptive purposes in this nation and throughout the earth. Amen.