For the people of ancient Persia, life had turned bleak overnight. Because of an evil scheme, every Jewish person in the land was living on borrowed time. It would take a miracle to thwart the plan and convince the king to change directions. Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl uses this life-threatening conflict to ask a penetrating question. one that's just as relevant today.
Does one person really make a difference? Chuck's answer may surprise you and move you to action. We begin in Esther chapter 3. Chuck titled today's message, Thinking and Saying What's Right, Regardless. The Jews have been threatened with extermination.
Look at verse 13 of chapter 3. And you'll see it in one verse. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate. All the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day. The 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month Adar.
And to seize their possessions as plunder. That's the plan. It has the makings of the worst kind of Holocaust. What a day. for a heroic Patriot.
to step forward. And her name is Esther. Follow the story as we find the response of the people beginning at verse 1 of chapter 4. They are lost in mourning and weeping. When Mordecai learned all that had been done, He tore his clothes.
put on sackcloth and ashes, And went out into the midst of the city and wailed loudly. and bitterly. Then Esther summoned Hathak, From the king's eunuchs, I'm sure one of the runners, one of her trusted assistants. Whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn. What this was and why it was.
She doesn't know. Mordecai knows that he has put The issue on the line for Esther, and he knows if she acts on this. It could mean her life. This is no time for rumor. In fact, the last of verse 8 says Order her to go into the king to implore his favor and to plead.
with him for her people. Tell her that's what she's to do. Esther said. Verse 11. All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know That for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court.
who is not summoned He has but one law. That he be put to death. Unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king. for these thirty days.
I'm not sure I can do that. It's a dilemma. You see, Mordecai knew, Esther. He had reared her. He had trained her.
He knew how far he could push. He knew her character.
So do all wise parents. Who at times must be the reason Their children Develop character. You have occasions in your life, brief vignettes, little windows of time. for you can step forward. And tell your children to be brave.
Step forward and do it. There are times when you must call upon your children to stand alone. and to trust them to do it. Mordecai is at that moment. And he receives Hathak's answer back.
And he tightens a A sash on his Sackcloth. Verse thirteen He told him to reply to Esther. Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, Relief and deliverance will arise. for the for the Jews from another place, and you and your father's house will perish.
And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? I love that. He says He really follows three tracks. First, if you do nothing, don't think you will escape death. You do or die.
But second, don't make too much of this. God is not limited to you or me. It may be in his plan to have us removed, but his people will not die. He will use someone And so, third, how great it would be if he would use you. Could it be that you have attained loyalty for such a time as this?
Yeah. Could it be that you have been given this promotion, my friend? For such a time as this, Could it be that God brought you into this situation for this moment and for this hour? What a great speech. Winston Churchill was a master at such remarks.
In a speech to the British In the House of Commons, June 18, 1940. I wish I had that great British accent to read his words. Let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say this was their finest hour. And not quite four months later, to an even greater broken Great Britain, death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey, hardship our garment, constancy our valor. And our only shield.
We must be united. We must be undaunted. We must be inflexible. Stand. Don't stop!
Stand alone. Fight to the end. Great moment. It's a Patrick Henry's give me liberty or give me death. It's a Nathan Hales.
I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. It is patriotism at its finest. And he's He says to Esther, this is your hour. Stand. Speak.
Die. But whatever you do, don't be silent. Verse 15. Makes you love her all the more. Then Esther told him, You see, something has changed now.
She said time to think. She's had to weigh her words and now his counsel. Esther told them to reply to Mordecai. Go. Assemble all the Jews who were found in Susa.
And fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days. Night or day. And I and my maidens also will fast in the same way, and thus. I will go into the king.
Look at those great words, I will go. I will go. I'll do that which is not according to the law, and if I perish. I perish. Is that a great answer, or what?
Is this a great woman? Is she going to make a difference? If I perish I perish. If a guard drives a sword through my body, I die doing the right thing. She has changed.
From fear to abandonment and faith, from hesitation to confidence and determination. From concern for her own safety to concern for her people's survival. It can happen in a life just like that. From a message just like this. And you find yourself realizing.
There is a cause. Do you recall when young David was taken from the sheep? And asked by his father to bring a few cheeseburgers to the fellows in the field at the Valley of Elah. There was this uncircumcised Philistine roaming like that giant across the way. Taunting and blaspheming the God of Israel.
Young David comes and serves the burgers, and the guys are munching on them. And he asks what's going on, and he says, Let's do something about it. And his older brother, remember Eliab? Oh. Older brothers tend to do this.
Oh. So you're going to be the big time hero, huh? How are all those little sheep doing while you're out here in the field with us? And David Says Is there not a cause? And he whips out this.
Out. Whoop, wait, wait. Slingshot. Hits him right between the running lights. And the giant falls.
Of course there is a cause What are we doing sitting around in our tents with knees knocking? There is a giant out there who hates the cause of the living God. What are you men doing here? I mean, I'm just naive enough to believe Our God will fight for us. And if I perish I perish.
You know what Esther realized? She realized there was an enemy. Oh, she realized other things, but she especially realized that. I think for the first time, the softness of the palace became uncomfortable. And she realized that there is being bred in this country.
The plot of the adversary. And that does something to you. Eugene Peterson, in his great work Five Smooth Stones, writes. Wherever there is a people of God, there are enemies of God. A realization that there is, in fact, an enemy forces a reassessment of priorities.
The moment Hayman surfaced, Esther began to move from being a beauty queen. to becoming a Jewish saint. From being an empty-headed sex symbol. to being a passionate intercessor. From the busy indolent life in the harem to the high-risk venture of speaking for and identifying with God's people.
Enough of the easy life, it's time to put my name on the line. I am Jewish. And I stand for my people. If I perish I perish. It occurs to me that if Esther had lived in the days of Isaac Watts, She could have paraphrased his hymn: I am a soldier of the cross.
I am a follower of the Lamb. And I will not fear to own his cause or blush to speak his name. Yeah. There are foes for me to face, and I will stem the flood. This vile world is no friend to grace.
Help me on to God. This isn't a book about Persian history. You've heard me say that every time we've gotten together. This isn't to help you put together the events in the life of Ahazuerus and Amon. And to harmonize them with Mordecai and Esther and a few other Jewish characters, along with the Gentiles.
This is a book about life. This is a book about standing alone. the personal involvement of each individual Remember my opening comment? In an overpopulated world, it is easy to underestimate the significance of one. Let me make it even more personal.
In an overpopulated world like this time, it is easy to underestimate the value of you. Your vote. Your convictions. Your determination to say I stand against this. I'll tell you, it makes a difference in your family.
When they see a dad, And or a mother do that? I was only nine years old when my dad broke the picket line. and the machinist union back in the days of the war When the Union had the audacity To go on strike. My father's patriotism. and love for his family was greater than his loyalty to some union.
And I remember his driving our 41 Ford home. with broken windshields. and eggs running down the side of the car, now dried. because he was willing to be called a scab. for his convictions.
And it left an impression on this nine-year-old boy. And my 11-year-old sister and my 12-year-old brother. We learned it's important enough to stand alone. even when friends don't understand. Even when co-workers disagree.
The major issue arises from this message. What does it matter if I get involved or not? It matters all the world to your character. Yes, God has other ways. He has other people.
He isn't frustrated because you and I may be indifferent. But how wonderful it would be to think that we have been elevated to this position or to this generation for such an hour as this. May I ask some specific questions about issues What is your involvement? in helping dysfunctional families. How about those who are homeless and hungry?
How about those who are addicted to drugs? And or drink. And what do you do for the orphans? What do you do for the sake of morality? or to stand against pornography.
or to support the cause of a pro-life movement against abortion. Where do you stand as it relates to prejudice? The absence of masculinity. The whole extreme feminist movement, sexual abuse. How about um The subject of the races as they are moving in greater numbers into our community.
helping them with the language. of this country. and the culture. What about the developmentally disabled? Is it a pat on the head?
A soft, piteous comment to those that are in a wheelchair, and we pass on our own way. I met a man this past week. I spent lunch with him who has decided to get off the fence as it relates to the developmentally disabled. He is now editor of a magazine that comes out quarterly, doing a marvelous job. He's been to seminars.
I was thrilled to say ours was one of the few evangelical churches listed in the entire seminar. What do you do to fight the cause of crime, the mistreatment of children? You say, well, I don't march. I don't march against the law. I don't believe in blocking the way to an abortion clinic.
All right, have you opened your home to an unwed mother? I'm not asking you to do it someone else's way. I'm saying do something. Be counted. Say I vote against it.
I stand for this, against that. Normally you don't have to be obnoxious about it.
Sometimes you have to make such a stand. that it does get some kind of attention. But whatever may be your way of expressing it, for God's sake, express it. If you perish You perish. Big deal.
Absent from the body? At home with the Lord, at least you'll go home a patriot. Two principles emerge from this passage. They tie together. They won't be easy to hear.
First. Not until we believe one person can make a difference. Will we be willing to risk? Not until we believe one person can make a difference will we be willing to risk. You remember the third stanza of that hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory?
Set our feet on lofty places. Gird our lives that they may be armored with all Christ-like graces. in the fight to set men free. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage that we fail not man nor thee. That we fail not man.
Or the Don't be so careful protecting your own backside. Don't worry that much about what they will think. You don't answer to them, you answer. To him. He will help.
He will give you wisdom. Courage. Grace, the hymn is a prayer. Grant us these things, and we need them. It isn't as easy as my simply naming a list of evils and wrongs.
Yeah. It involves getting Well, here's my next point. Out of the realm of theory, I was going to say. Point number two. Only when we move from the safe harbor of theory.
to the world of reality. Do we actually make a difference? Only when we move from the safe harbor of theory to the world of reality do we actually make a difference. When it comes time to vote, we vote. We don't think how good it would be to vote.
We don't simply inform someone the best way to vote, we vote. We vote our conscience. We vote believing we have been informed correctly, and we vote. We go to the trouble. We pay the price.
Men and women have died that we might have the privilege. When an issue arises and we stand against it, we say, I stand against it. Don't wait for this church to say it for you. Don't wait for this pastor to give you a policy or permission. Doesn't mean I don't have one.
It means I don't make edicts. for this church, nor will I begin to. You are a thinking citizen, an individual who knows Christ. Do something about it. Say something about it.
Okay. Stand alone. It's the deed that matters. One man writes, Grant Us the will to fashion as we feel. Grant us the strength to labor as we know.
Grant us the purpose ribbed and edged with steel to strike the blow. Knowledge we ask not, knowledge thou hast lent, but Lord, the will. The will. There lies our bitter need. Give us to build above the deep intent, the deed.
The deed. We evangelicals are great on evangelical theory. Great on theological theory. Great on moral theory. The deed.
The deed. We are not rewarded for our theories. We are rewarded for the deed. Does one make a difference? Uh Did Christ God so loved the world that he did something.
He didn't select a committee. He didn't theorize how great it would be for someone to come to our rescue. He didn't write a book about it, not then. Later. He did something.
And the Son of God said to God the Father, I will go. And he took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the fashion of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the death, even the death on a cross. He did something about it. And that's why we can be saved.
We don't believe in a theory. We believe in a revolutionary faith that comes from the person of Christ who died that we might live. Listen to this. He didn't just think how good it would be to die, he. Died.
That we might live. and die with him. May we bow together. The current one. Please close your eyes.
The question is not, what do you think of Christ? The question is, what have you done about what you think? The issue is not how do you feel about the message of the gospel. The issue is, what have you done? about the gospel.
Christ has come into the world to save sinners. There is one God and one mediator, one, only one, between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. Have you come to God through the mediator? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? Have you said, even though I may perish, Even though I may be an outcast.
Even though no one will understand, my family. My friends I will this day Do something. About this matter of my sin. Until you do, you are lost. Lost.
Whosoever believes In the Son of God. No longer has the wrath of God upon him. but is accepted in the beloved. Come today. You may be the only one hearing the message today.
That needs to respond by faith to Jesus Christ. Be courageous enough to respond. God of grace and God of glory. Set our feet on lofty places. Gird our lives that they may be armoured with all Christlike graces.
Uh in the fight to set men free. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, that we fail not man. Are they Enable us to be true to our convictions, our Father. Give us. The intelligence to think.
And then the courage to act. May we set aside our own conveniences. the preferences of our own indifference. May we break a mold. And as a result, May your name be glorified.
For Jesus' sake. Amen. As Chuck Swindahl said a moment ago, Esther's story transcends theory. Her conviction and her compassion for the Jewish people were expressed in tangible deeds. And as her story continues to unfold in the days ahead, we'll see how Esther put her reputation and even her life on the line.
You're listening to Insight for Living and a message Chuck titled Thinking and Saying What's Right, Regardless. If his message stirred something in you today, a conviction to stop waiting, to step forward, to be the one person willing to stand up. We hope you'll pursue that. The book of Esther is full of those moments, and Chuck wrote a full-length biography about her life story. It's 12 chapters long and follows the biblical account in vivid detail.
including the standoff that Chuck described today. You know, the cultural chaos in today's world doesn't call for passivity. Our world needs more esters who are willing to stand up and say what's true. People who are ready to say the right thing regardless. You'll get a fresh perspective of Esther's life when you read Chuck's biography titled Esther, A Woman of Strength and Dignity.
To purchase a copy, call 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/slash offer. Insight for Living is supported in part by monthly automated gifts from our monthly companions. If you're one of those, we couldn't provide Chuck's teaching without you. And if you'd like to take that step today and join this family of loyal supporters, we'll say thank you for your first gift by providing chapter 5 from Chuck's book on Esther. Chapter 5 is titled Thinking and Saying What's Right, Regardless, and it features one of the most dramatic encounters in Esther's life story.
Becoming a monthly companion is simple, and the compounding effect on your monthly gifts is dramatic. To become a monthly companion right now, call us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash monthly companion. Yeah. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindahl describes Queen Esther's finest hour.
Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Thinking and Saying What's Right, Regardless, was copyrighted in 1989, 1990, 1997, 2005, 2018, and 2026. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindahl Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide.
Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
