Esther: "...And if I perish, I perish"

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 “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:  “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."”  [Esther 4:15-16]

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 "...And if I perish, I perish"

The Jewish population was stunned as the news broke through out the land, as the execution order for all the Jews was decreed. There is always sadness where evil regins. Mordecai put on mourner's garb and lamented through the city until he came to the king's gate, beyond which he could not go because sackcloth was not allowed in his majesty's presence. He knew that he was the main object of Haman's hatred. The fate awaiting his nation had been unwittingly prompted by him.

Since custom forbade Ester to leave her confinement in the palace, she sent a servant to take some garments to clothe Mordecai so that he might not be seen in sackcloth by the king and lose his life. But Mordecai refused to disguise his anguish. When Hathach, Ester's personal servant came to find out why he continued in mourning, Mordecai told him the whole story.

Esther responded to Mordecai by reminding him that it was a capital offense to appear before the king uninvited, unless he spared the intruder's life by extending the golden scepter. She told of a futher complication which would make such action doubly dangerous: She had not been summoned by Ahasuerus for thirty days, indicating that she may have somehow incurred his displeasure.

 Making her decision, Esther instructed all the Jews to fast with her for three days. Then she would go before the king.

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

"Although my danger be great and evident, considering the expressness of the law, and the uncertainty of the king's mind, and the severity which he showed to my predecessor, Vashti, yet rather than neglect my duty to God and to His people, I will go to the king and cast myself cheerfully and resolutely upon God's providence for my safety and success."

The Christian's attitude in difficult and trying circumstances should not be one of fatalism but of optimism, especially when it comes to approaching the heavenly throne for grace to help in time of need. We have bold and confidant  access; the sceptor of God's forgiveness has been stretched out to us at Calvary.



...deliverance...will arise from another place

 “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”  [Esther 4:12-14]

 

 Mordacai



David inquired of the LORD

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 “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. ”  [1 Samuel 30:6]

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 David inquired of the LORD

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.  So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.  David’s two wives had been captured. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him,  and David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
   “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind.  Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat—  part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
   He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago.  We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”
David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
   He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.  David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.



Who wait for the LORD...will gain new strength

 “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”  [Isaiah 40:31]

 

 Flying Eagle



 

Light and Darkness

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 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  [1 John 1:7 ]

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 Light and Darkness

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Now it follows that in order for a person to be in fellowship with God, there can be no hiding of sin. Light and darkness cannot exist in a person's life at the same time, any more than they can exist together in the room of a home. If a man is walking in darkness, he is not in fellowship with God. A man who says he has fellowship with Him and habitually walks in darkness was never saved at all.

On the other hand, if one walks in the light, then he can have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with his fellow Christians. A man is either in the light or in darkness. If he is in the light, he is a member of God's family. If he is in darkness, he does not have anything in common with God because there is no darkness in God at all. Those who walk in the light, that is, those who are Christians, have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ continually cleanses them from all sin.

All God's forgiveness is based on the blood of His Son that was shed at Calvary. That blood provided God with a righteous basis on which He can forgive sins, and, as we sing, "the blood will never lose its power." It has lasting efficacy to cleanse us. Of course, believers must confess before they can receive forgiveness.

Then again, fellowship with God requires that we acknowledge the truth concerning ourselves. For instance, to deny that we have a sinful nature means self-deception and untruthfulness.

In order for us to walk day by day in fellowship with God and with our fellow believers, we must confess our sins: sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of thoughts, sins of act, secret sins, and public sins. Yes, true confession involves forsaking of sins: "He who covers his sins will not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Are you walking in darkness or are you walking in the light?





Light of the World

 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  [John 8:12]

 



Jesus feeds the five thousand

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 “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.”  [Luke 9:16 ]

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 Jesus feeds the five thousand

When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”  (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

This incident is filled with significance for disciples who are charged with the evangelization of the world. The five thousand represent lost humanity, starving for the bread of God. The disciples picture helpless Christians, with seemingly limited resources, but unwilling to share what they have. The Lord's command, "you give them something to eat" is simply a restatement of the great commission. The lesson is that if we give Jesus what we have, He can multiply it to feed the spiritually hungry multitude.

The world could be evangelized in this generation if Christians would surrender to Christ all that they are and have. That is the enduring lesson of feeding of the five thousand.
The Great Commission

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”





Five Barley Loaves And Two Small Fish

 “Andrew, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”  [John 6:8]

 

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 “I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”  [1 Corinthians 15:50]

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 Born Again-Born of the SPIRIT 

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Nicodemus was recognized a s a teacher among his people.  The Bible does not say why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. The most obvious explanation is that he would have been embarrassed to be seen going to Jesus, since the Lord had by n o means been accepted by the majority of the Jewish people.
Nicodemus acknowledge the Lord to be a teacher sent by God, since no one could perform such miracles without the direct help of God. In spite of all his learning, Nicodemus did not recognize the Lord as God manifest in the flesh.  He was like so many today who say that Jesus was a great man, a wonderful teacher, an outstanding example.  All of these statements fall very far short of the full truth. Jesus was and is God.
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus longed for the time when the Messiah would set up His kingdom on earth, when the Jewish people would be chief among the nations, and when all their enemies would be destroyed.
Now the Lord informed Nicodemus that in order to enter this kingdom, a man must be born again. Just as the first birth is necessary for physical life, so a second birth is necessary for divine life (The expression born again may also mean "born from above" or "divine"). In other words, Christ's kingdom can only  be entered  by those whose lives have been changed.
Unless one is born of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  This spiritual birth is produced by the Holy Spirit of God when a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal savior, that he died for your sins on the cross? Are you born of the SPIRIT? If not, "now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14







Born of the SPIRIT

 “Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”  [John 3:5]