When God Wants Someting Done He Is With You Uintil It Is Done Series

WHEN GOD WANTS SOMETHING DONE

He is with You until it's Done

Esther 3-4

In this book of Esther, we see that faith is the universal currency in the Eternal Bank of Jesus Christ.

This is a book that never mentions the name of God.

Yet, He is all through it.

At least in the Hebrew script, but He is visible only in the language of the faithful.

It was much as it is with us today. Only when we are IN Christ, 'born again' by the Spirit, can we:

 see the truth of God, or

 fully understand and experience all of life, and

 write checks on all that God is and all that He has.

Those checks may not return as cash, but rest assured, they will provide

 what we need,

 when we need it, and

 it will be enough and more than we need.

Before getting back to Esther, let's consider an example of God's "on time" response to a believer's need:

In his book, Miracles in Black, Dr. John C. Wengatz tells of an African preacher who was to take over a new mission station serving a remote tribe of cannibals.

It was the dry season when Joyo Mbaxi took over, but soon the tropical rains would be coming, but no rains came.

In time, everyone was suffering. Many were on the brink of starvation.

In all the years they had worshiped their ancient gods, the rains had never failed them, and so Joyo was told: Leave the country and take "the white man's God" with him.

He refused to go.

The chief, flushed with anger, warned Joyo, "If your God is as good as you say and so powerful that He rules the sky, why doesn't He send us the needed rain?

If the grass is not wet by sunrise tomorrow, we will drink your blood and eat your flesh!"

That was probably the first time Joyo had heard a motivational speaker!

But recalling Elijah's experience, when he prayed about rain, Joyo went to his hut and prayed. All night the agitated warriors mulled about wondering: Refreshing rain or parched parson in the morning.

Just before daylight, thunder rolled in the distance.

Soon lightning flashed across the sky, and rain drenched the entire region! Joyo became a celebrated representative of the real God.

Elijah's God still lives! He is found in the faith of all believers! God still answers prayer!

James 5:17 reminds us: Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

In Psalm 34:8, David urged us: O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.9 O fear the LORD, you his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

IF, we are in the will of God, and pray as we are led by His Spirit, we have all of the resources of God at our disposal.

If, we are out of the will of God, as were many of the 15 million Jews in Persia at the time of Esther, we too are out of touch with God's providence and His provisions.

Esther and Mordecai reminded them that God can be trusted.

As we start Chapter 3, let's remember God's promise to Abraham: ...to bless those who blessed the Jews and curse those who cursed the Jews...

Remember Balaam, the Midianite Prophet? He refused to curse the Jews, Not even for a house full of silver.

Why? Because God told him that: they had been blessed.

Step 1 of God's plan to deliver His people from Persia was to get Esther accepted as queen. He did!

Today, we come to Step 2.

It begins with the appointment of HAMAN as Prime Minister. Haman was an Amalekite, one of the many enemies of the Jew's.

Esther 3:1-5 Sometime later King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite (Amalekite), exalting him and setting his position above that of all the officials who were with him. 2 As a result, all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay him homage.

This was not a matter of pride or disrespect. It was a matter of faith. Mordecai bowed only before God. Everyone else, he treated as equal.

3 Then the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s commandment?” 4 And after they had spoken to him day after day without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew.