Esther 1:1-5
Esther 1:3” King Ahasuerus gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence.
King Ahasuerus hosted a ‘rave party’ for his officials and army that lasted for 180 days, that is 6 months. Imagine! In fact there were two kinds of feast:
1 ) one for nobles for 180 days, which is 6 months. Imagine partying for 6 months.
2) Second party: 7 days for all the people , both great and small - verse 5
Ah! I can see resemblance of our present culture compared to the culture of Persia and Media. Don’t you see that? Alcohol, food, party, pomp, lust, adultery…. so on...The authority of 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, given into the hands of Ahasuerus has made him puff headed and proud. Very few people can take gigantic positions and still remain calm and composed. When too much money comes in, you would be like this king planning for luxury, vacation and travel , but today God is calling you to fast and pray. Warning!
Prosperity: When you are too full, you tend to become lazy and relax but when you have limited then you are on your foot to make ends meet, since you will have rents to pay, fees, provision, petrol and so on. We see today like never before the mushrooming of food centres, exotic spread of food, plethora of restaurants, buffet, besides this we have reality shows exhibiting culinary skills, street food mela, tempting food advertisements and what not! I am at a loss of words to write on this...Not many would want to attend night prayer, fasting prayer even if it is zoom meetings, though I keep pleading and calling, people ignore me. You have become like King Ahasuerus! Remember God can remove the job too that is preventing you from getting close to Him.
What does all this reveal? Progress? Satan has managed to divert our attention to food and luxury, anybody listening? The devil started his game by tempting Eve to eat the fruit and he succeeded, he still continues his clever strategy of food. We need to have a balance in our life. Bible says, Proverbs 23:"Proverbs 23 2”If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat.” I encourage you to fast today!
Food festivals:We see today like never before the mushrooming of food centres, exotic spread of food, plethora of restaurants, buffet, besides this we have reality shows exhibiting culinary skills, street food mela, tempting food advertisements and what not! I am at a loss of words to write on this...
What does all this reveal? Progress? Satan has managed to divert our attention to food, anybody listening? The devil started his game by tempting Eve to eat the fruit and he succeeded, he still continues his clever strategy of food. We need to have a balance in our life. Bible says,
Proverbs 23:
1)While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you.
2)If you are a big eater,
put a knife to your throat;
3)don’t desire all the delicacies,for he might be trying to trick you.
4)Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.Be wise enough to know when to quit.
5)In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
Not many will like me talking about lavish spending on food, with food being brought to the door step with just one call or text, we have become a bunch of lazy gluttons. Living and earning just to eat.... You can throw stones at me for saying this...Alas, even church gatherings and leaders meetings revolve around food... Where is fasting????
High profile party:. The army of Persia, Media and the nobles, governors, were all invited for party for 180 days. Phew! The intent of the enemy is to keep you for a longer period with time with him so that you get addicted to the life style. Anybody listening? The enemy draws you into his web, you need to have self control and also be daring enough to refuse. The Bible says:
1 John 2:16, NIV: "For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world." ...
Stick with godly people: Revival kings like king Hezekiah said, “come let us celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy in the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 30:23. This kind of celebrations brought joy to the entire nation whereas the booze party that king Ahasuerus hosted brought curses and confusion in the city. Anybody listening? Today there is ‘party’ at the drop of a hat: before marriage, after marriage, baby shower, baby born, then birthday, increment, promotion, engagement, bachelor party and what not! People hunt for ways to splurge and fritter money away. This is the spirit of King Ahasuerus working today that is taking people downhill into debts.
Even church gatherings and meetings are no paradigm of virtue, even ‘there’ people desire rich food, why so? Many church leaders order expensive food during church meetings and pay the money through offerings, isn’t this atrocious? Let us come out of all this evil……Let us learn to fast...fast....and pray.....Let us teach the people to wake up early, pray in tongues, worship the Lord and get intense with God.
The Lord said:
Joel 2:15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the LORD's ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'"
Deliverance Promised
18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people.
Second set of party:. Here the king calls all the people present in Susa for a party, both great and small for 7 days of booze party. Here comes another deeper call of temptation, when the enemy calls you to his palatial home and pampers you with poison.
Look at the elaborate details of the interior settings of the party, the Holy Spirit has put everything down for you not to skip but read it diligently.
Esther 1:6–7 (ESV): 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king.'
Do not desire the life of the rich, it is a snare that would trap and kill you. This opulence has not spared the Church and the believers, in fact, their lifestyle is in par with the secular world and they name it ' blessings'. The devil is a liar!
People in the Tinsel cinema industry invite their close friends for parties and flaunt their interiors at home, this is again uploaded on social media. Now the common man stretches himself through loans and apes the entertainment industry and gets into financial mess. Are you able to discern the strategy of the enemy to destroy you?
GODLY generation:. It is in this culture of drinks and idols that Esther and Mordecai lived. Mordecai had learnt the art of fasting and had also taught the same to Esther. Both of them used the weapons of fasting and prayer to combat the enemy. So we need to ape the lifestyle of godly people and grow spiritually.
SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE WORLD THAT DESIRES TO GRATIFY FLESH AT ANY COST:
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you. 18 "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Numbers 16:21,26,45
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment…
Ezra 6:21
And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
Back while I worked for a multinational bank, the above scriptures helped me separate myself from the crowd and sit on the terrace staircase and have my food during the lunch, this does not mean I moved away from them – since those were the days I had just got saved so I needed the space to grow in the Lord. Later that same place became my place where I started my ministry – my luncheon prayer cell, through which many got saved and took immersion water baptism. In the year 2004 January I submitted my resignation from the bank job and joined as full time servant in the Lord's vineyard.
God bless you!
