A PETITION FOR PERCEPTION

Over and again, we find Paul recording his passion for the people of God in his petitions offered for them. In Colossians 2:2-3, we hear his prayer for the churches of Colossae and Laodecia. His plea is for their perception of God—His ways, His will, and His work. 

His prayer is for them to have encouragement in the great realities of God. To know Him and experience the Infinite One is to drink from a fountain that flows forever. What could be more fulfilling?

He pleads for them to be enmeshed in the glorious love of God—hearts knit together with love for Christ and His church. Being in union with the Lord enables us to be bound to one another.

His petition is for them to be educated in the grand mystery of God. 

Here is the source of this mystery. This truth once hidden during the Old Testament is now unveiled in the New Testament—fully revealed in the person of Christ. To see Him is to see God. To hear Him is to hear God. To know Him is to know God. 

This leads to the scope of this mystery. The Apostle speaks of “full assurance,” and “all the treasures.”  These come to us in theological instruction—that is “understanding” and “knowledge.”  These truths inform our thoughts and inspire our zeal. This leads to practical application—“wisdom.”  This is truth that informs and inspires us to go beyond what we know to how we live. It impacts our head, heart, and hands.

As a preacher, I need to be praying this for my congregation. As a member of the church, you ought to be seeking to perceive this reality in the revelation of God in Christ. May this Lord’s Day find the pulpits proclaiming the great treasures of truth and the pews filled with eager listeners soaking it in, intent to live it out!

OUR APPOINTMENT

Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b)

The name of God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, yet He is on every page—offstage, directing this Divine drama according to His will.  God is conspicuous by His absence—His unseen hand guiding events to His intended purpose.  It is a fascinating epic: a palace party; a drunk despot demanded his wife to do a dirty dance; her refusal, removal and replacement through a beauty contest; Esther, a Jew who hides her identity and becomes the new queen; her cousin Mordecai overhearing a plot to assassinate the king and exposing it; the villain Haman, working to not only kill Mordecai, but all the Jews, not knowing Esther’s race—the stuff of a Hollywood story, but this is Holy Scripture!  It is at this point that Mordecai appeals to Esther to take action.  She is risking death to approach the king unbidden, yet to remain quiet is to face not only her death, but the death of all her race.  She throws caution to the wind, and replies, “and if I perish, I perish!” (4:16b)  It wasn’t coincidence that brought her to that place and time—it was Providence.  So God  has an appointment for you and for me!

We have AN APPOINTED TIME.  Ours are perilous times, but it is no quirk of fate that these dark days are our destiny.  It was not 200 BC, nor the first century AD, neither the Middle Ages, but the twenty-first century that is our time.  It seems that human history is moving to its climax and the Lord’s return rapidly approaches.  So, Jesus called us to work diligently for “the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4b), and Paul commanded us to be, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  (Eph.5:16).  Time is a precious commodity allotted to us in a specific number of days.  We must invest it wisely, for someday we will stand before God and give an account of this stewardship.

We have AN APPOINTED TASK.  God strategically placed Esther for an assignment to carry out.  You may be sure that the Lord has a plan for you!  As a potter shapes the clay, so He has molded you according to His master plan through circumstances and experiences with your unique blend of capacities, gifts and talents in preparing you for His sacred mission.  Moses and David were readied to shepherd God’s people by tending a flock of sheep.  Peter, James and John were fishermen before being summoned to fish for men.  Paul was a Jewish scholar, conversant with Greek thought, and born a Roman citizen, qualifying him as no other to bridge the gap between Jew and Gentile in the church and spread the Gospel to all people throughout the Roman Empire.  Thus, God has been preparing you for your work in this world.

We have AN APPOINTED TERRITORY.  It wasn’t luck that located Esther in Persia.  You might have been born somewhere else, but God has you where you are to make a difference on the spot of soil you occupy with the family, friends, fellow workers and students, and in the community where you reside.  There is a circle of relationships we connect with—and do so for the cause of Christ.  We are here, “for such a time as this!”