We have here an analogy, a forshadowing, an allegory to some extent of how things work in The Kingdom of God when it comes to authority.
Like every allegory, it breaks down at some point but we see certain principles here that carry over.
In Colossians 2:13-15 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
We see Jesus overcoming the power of sin, death, hell, Satan and the grave on the cross. He disarmed the powers and authorities of Satan.
Throughout the Book of Esther there are inferences to this work of God which were completed on the cross by Jesus and continues to work out in the Kingdom of God.
There had been salvation through Esther and Mordecai for the Jews.
1. The Work of the Spirit through the Church Is Foreshadowed In Esther.
Esther 8:17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.
Acts 2:1-5 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Acts 5:11-14 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
There was respect and awe in the Persian Empire for its laws and edicts. They were unalterable.
When the church is the church love and grace will flow freely from it.
As the Holy Spirit works there will be a sense of fear, awe, respect for the LORD, His Word, His Kingdom.
We have a problem today in our country. The church and the LORD are no longer feared or respected. Part of a spiritual healing we so desparately need is a revitalization of that fear of God. That follows along with with repentance. They go hand in hand. Many believers are believing the lie today that says certain rights within our nation have higher authority than the Word of God. They end up supporting things which God, His Word, are adamantly opposed to. They end up caling evil good and good evil. There is little or no fear of God.
Interestingly with that fear of the Jews in Esther's time, many people who weren't born Jews, weren't Jewish in their nationality became Jews, believers in the LORD God Almighty.
The end result of the death of Annias and Saphira is the same: great fear, folllowed by many new believers.
Notice many people of other nationalities... This is the church!
Going into all the world... Jesus commands us to go.
People of every nation, language, tongue, tribe hearing the Gospel
Churches where there are many nationalities present, if it is being the church, will reflect that in the congregation.
God worked in all the nations in Esther.
His Kingdom encompasses all nations here on earth.
How appropriate that the church built in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem is called The Church of All Nations.
Today, His Spirit is working amomng all nations.
2. The Authority of the Church Comed From Heaven and The Word of God.
Esther 9:2 The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.
The church has no authority apart from Word of God and heaven. When it tries to exert authority apart from that the results are always disastrous! Less/More both are off center.
If Satan cannot beat the church he will join it and when he does the first thing is an attack on the authority of the Word of God.
We see this in his temptaion of Jesus.
We see it in the first temptation:
Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Getting us to question what God really said.
Telling us that God's Word is not absolute Truth.
Suggesting that God's restrictions are in some way His desire to withhold good from us!
We see Him exercising authority in His ministry:
Mark 5:12-13 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
So the authority the church has is from Jesus. Jesus Christ the King. The Kingdom of God is among you!
We cannot take authority over Heaven.
John 3:26-27 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.
Gifts of healing... praying for a person to be healed and they die.
Other gifts
1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 11 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. Deliberately, Have a purpose
Preaching the Gospel
Establishing Churches
It is about God andHis Word and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
3. Kingdom Authority Always Has God's Glory and His People's Good In View.
Esther 9:22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
We take authority for God's glory, for the good of His people.
A homeless ministry, a food pantry, missions trips, Christmas Shoe Boxes all come under this. It is God's people taking authority over things that hurt others. That is the pathway of grace. That is why in this kingdom there is no forced obedience.
Jesus opened the door to a kingdom unlike anything human sovereigns can provide. He calls the church to humble and honest service, not in a spirit of ineptness, but with Holy Spirit anointing that enables us to continue the things that Jesus began to do and teach. His kingdom is ours to embrace.
4. When Authority in the Kingdom of God is Handled Correctly His Servants Are Rewarded and Blessed.
Esther 10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.
Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
We go from prisoners in Satan's Dominion of Darkness to the Kingdom of Love and Light!
We serve Him now.
We will reign with Him on high.
Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Psalm 2:8 Ask me,and I will make the nations your inheritance,the ends of the earth your possession.
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
We serve the LORD, in His Kingdom, under His authority we fight the good fight of the faith.
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