ORLANDO CHINESE CHURCH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER, 2001
Esther
The book of Esther often left me wondering why a girl of good character like Esther would marry a man like King Xerxes who, although materialistically wealthy, was poverty-stricken in character. This book definitely was not written as a guide in advising our daughters how to choose a husband or our sons to divorce his wife if she did not feel like showing up at his party. What then is the significance of King Xerxes' marriage to Queen Vashti, his separation from her followed by the marriage to Esther?
In the course of our studies, brothers and sisters tried to determine who each character in the book of Esther represented. Some suggested that Esther symbolized Jesus, Mordecai a type of the Holy Spirit and King Xerxes represented the natural man. As I thought about this, the marriages in the book still didn't make sense until this thought came to me that perhaps the marriage did not symbolize two individuals but only one: ourselves. With this analogy, a person would then be made up of two characters: a husband and a wife.
At birth each of us resembles the union of King Xerxes' and his first wife, Vashti. The natural man is married to one who's name means 'the best'. The best in scripture points to the law of the Lord which the psalmist called 'perfect' in Psalm 19 and which Paul stated as being holy, righteous and good in Romans 7. Jesus upheld the law by coming not to abolish, but to fulfill it. Yet although the law is perfect, we realize that the law in itself cannot help us. When King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, she refused to come. Instead of bringing him honor, she brought him shame. Likewise the law, although perfect in every way, exposes our sinful nature as Paul realizes in Romans 7:7: "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law." Like Vashti, instead of helping us, the law defeats us as Paul also claims in Romans 7:10: "I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death." And so, a person from the moment of birth is married to the law which can do no more than to point out his sins and show him he is deserving of death. This leaves us to feel within ourselves the fury and anger of Xerxes in Esther 1:23 subject to a perfect yet unyielding Vashti. If we ever stop to listen to our own thoughts, we might catch ourselves in an inner conflict resembling that of a marital strife.
Yet God in His great mercy does not leave us in a hopeless marriage. God offers each one of us a new hope and a new marriage. Just as Vashti's position was given to one who is better, we also are offered the hope and opportunity of a better marriage. That marriage is to Jesus, the Son of God who died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead. By believing in Him and following Jesus, we die "to the law through the body of Christ, that (we) might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God." (Romans 7:4) Instead of belonging to Vashti, we now belong to Esther. Instead of belonging to the law, we now belong to Christ because "the former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God"(Hebrews 7:18-19). And indeed King Xerxes and Esther's union drew them much closer to God as they co-worked with Mordecai to protect, serve and benefit God's people.
The marriage of Xerxes and Vashti, followed by the marriage of Xerxes to Esther, is a copy of our lives before and after following Jesus. When we see the beauty and perfection of Esther, we are reminded of Jesus, who is "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Hebrews 7:27) When we compare Vashti and Esther, we cannot but leave our former ways and be attracted to Jesus, for our former marriage left us a wretched man. And who would rescue us from this body of death? "Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25)
Shadow or Christ
Matt. 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
We had opportunities recently to visit a number of churches in different cities. Some churches offer a printed program for the Sunday worship and some do not. Some simply provided a listing of the special events for the month and the people to be involved. I happen to be studying the Book of Acts at the present time and have a few thoughts to share.
From Pentecost on the focus of the early New Testament church has always been the resurrected Lord in all their meetings. The preaching was always centered on God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The saints were zealous for the Lord and some even became martyrs of their faith. The entire meeting was always centered on worshipping and honoring God. Their meeting was always blessed with the presence of the glorified Lord. No attention was given to special promotional programs, and no need for gimmicks. God's presence was evident in all the meetings and ministries, whether evangelical or missionary in nature. The apostles and the saints were always mindful of God's presence and were completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit, which united them with Christ in all that they did. Christ was everything and the standard for everything. He was the beginning and the end, the creator, the head of the church, and the Lord of their lives. There was no need to labor on fresh ideas for attracting people to the meetings.
Of course every meeting should be orderly since "our God is not a God of chaos, but a God of order and peace." To have an orderly meeting, some arrangement is necessary. Such arrangement can be made by a few responsible brothers and, if necessary, printed and distributed to those attending the meeting. But whatever the arrangement, it must be guided by the Holy Spirit. Personally, I like the idea of having a printed bulletin on a monthly basis. With this arrangement the effort will not be too laborious, but it may be more flexible than a weekly program.
One thing we need to watch out for is not to pursue what are new, fashionable, or entertaining and make them the primary focus in the program. Perhaps by doing so the meetings might have variety and excitement and may appear "just right". The meetings may even become more popular for drawing a crowd. One could indeed make the meetings attractive, but if the content of the meetings has very little about Christ, we have in fact substituted God's presence with a program. Instead of focusing on Christ, the focus will be on the program. This is a completely different focus in contrast to the focus of the New Testament gathering of the saints. Such outward success has a very strong appeal to today's churches. As a result, many churches have unknowingly replaced God's presence with a program and forgotten that Christ is our all in all.
If we maintain that the goal of our worship is the presence of the Lord and Christ alone is the object of our worship, having a printed program may facilitate an orderly meeting and make our worship more effective. On the other hand, if we allow what is secondary to become the primary focus of our worship, it will be a big loss indeed and we will miss the true objective of our worship. (Yen)
Thanksgiving Mother, already eighty-five this year, has been going to church since her baptism one year ago. Recently, due to some heart problems, she was feeling weak and without appetite. With much worry, my younger sister asked me to pay them a visit; so came my three-week's time-off to Taiwan.
During my visit, mother's health improved and her spirit was lifted. But, only three days after I was back to the U.S. she fell. Thank God she was all right and was not hurt badly. However, to my surprise, she fell down again two days later. This time she broke her hip and required surgery. I was very anxious before the surgery because of her old age. I was concerned of her reaction to anesthesia in relation to her heart and kidney problems. A few hours before the surgery I was told that she went into such a deep sleep that we all started to really get worried. Surprisingly she woke up and told us that she had been to heaven, which was so beautiful and bright with many people praising God and singing "Hallelujah". She wanted to stay but somehow she returned. My sister believed that mother returned because the Lord wanted her to share the Gospel to her non-believing children. When my sister called, I was just praying for the surgery. I was so comforted and happy when I heard about what happened. God had indeed blessed me with peace and had guarded my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. I was no longer sad or anxious, but knew that God would protect and look after mother because of His love. Her surgery indeed was very successful, completed in just one hour, and it did not take her long to wake up from the anesthesia either. Thank and praise the Lord who is always merciful to a weak little one like me. He is my constant help, and his presence is our strength and our help. (Suyin)