If God Be For Us
Scripture Reading: Esther 9:1-5
1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the
time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day
that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite
occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. 2
The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could
withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. 3 And all the officials
of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work,
helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai
was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the
provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. 5 Thus the
Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and
destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
You probably have read this book of the Bible before, but if you haven’t it’s a quick
read and very compelling account so read it. There is so much symbolism in this
book, some which has only recently been revealed to me. Anyway, if you haven’t
read it or haven’t read it for a while, go ahead and read it. One interesting thing
about the book is that in none of its nine chapters does it even mention God, yet you
can see His hand working throughout.
Early on we learn that Haman is an Agagite. Now for the novice you may not
recognize the name from 1 Samuel 15. Agag was the king of the Amalekites who the
LORD had commanded Saul to completely destroy way back when the nation of Israel
was under her first king. Yet King Saul did not destroy him. We don’t know all the
details concerning how, exactly, his offspring survived but we do know that they did
indeed survive because hundreds of years later we see that his descendants, the
Agagites, are thriving. Haman was a very high authority in the king’s palace and had
set his sights on revenge against the Jews. He had been able to convince the king
that the Jews were so bad for the kingdom that they should be wiped out. He was
able to get the king’s signet ring and draft an edict that on the 13th day of the 12th
month, the enemies of the Jews would be legally allowed to kill and plunder the Jews.
You see, it looked like the enemy of God’s people had won, but he hadn’t.
Esther 7:5-10
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and
where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And
Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was
terrified before the king and queen. 7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the
banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before
Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against
him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place
of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was.
Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As
the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Now Harbonah,
one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which
Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at
the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged
Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath
subsided.
You see, long before the enemy devised his wicked plan to destroy the people of
God, God had been preparing things for just this time. The enemy had prepared a
wooden structure to destroy a son of Israel, a son of God by hanging him on it.
However, what ended up happening is that the enemy and all his sons; all that he had
created to come against God, ended up being destroy upon that structure. This is a
foreshadowing of the cross, which Satan thought would be his biggest victory but what
turned out to be his greatest defeat. Do you think that if Haman knew he and his sons
would be the ones to hang on those gallows, he would have had it built so well? Do
you think if Satan knew the power of the cross, he would have pushed so hard for
Yeshua to be crucified?
Many times things may look like God has forsaken His people, but scripture tells us
that He will never leave us or forsake us. The Jews were in exile in a foreign land and
for anyone looking in on them and likely even from where they sat it looked like He
had done just that. Yet, even while they were being oppressed God setting things up
for such a time as this. The enemies of God may think they are winning, things may
even look like they’re winning but they’re not. God will not be defeated.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a
spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will
deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And
this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the
air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a
God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save
with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our
hands.”
It didn’t look like one small boy would be able to defeat the giant of a man called
Goliath either. But David knew that it wasn’t the sword or the shield or the size of the
warrior that would determine the victor. It was the name of the LORD, for the battle is
His!
2 Chronicles 32:7-8
7 “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of
Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us
than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God,
to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the
words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
King Hezekiah was able to strengthen his people when they were in dire straits by
reminding them that their power did not come from flesh but from YHWH. We, as God’
s people, should also be strong and courageous when we go through difficulties. God
has not forgotten us. The victory is ours through Him no matter what. Even to the
point of death, if it comes to that, we have our victory in Him.
2 Kings 6:15-17
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was
an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to
him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those
who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his
eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and
he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha.
Sometimes I think we just have to do like Elisha does here for his servant. Pray that
God open our eyes so we can see the spiritual realm and know that there are more
with us than with them. I’m a big sports fan, especially for all the local teams, but my
husband will tell you that when it comes to the big games, I can’t watch. The last
championship series we had was when the Miami Heat were playing in the NBA Finals
and I couldn’t watch it like a regular person. Jeff would be in another room watching
and I would be watching something else. But every time I would hear Jeff cheer, I
would hit last channel on the remote to see what happened. I really wanted to watch
the game but I was just so emotionally tied to the outcome that all the back and forth
drama of it was just too much for me to bear. It was like I was insulating myself from
the heartbreak. I would always say that if I knew they were going to win, then I could
handle all the back and forth drama of the whole thing. I could likely even laugh about
things and really enjoy the drama of the whole thing. But with so much riding on the
outcome, I just didn’t want to invest myself emotionally into it. Well, this spiritual battle
we’re in has way more than an NBA championship riding on it. It has the eternal souls
of all mankind riding on it and that is infinitely more valuable than some yearly sports
championship. But guess what? I already know the outcome! I already know that no
matter what happens in battle, the victory is ours through Yeshua! How awesome is
that? If I had known for certain that the Heat would have the victory I could have sat
through every missed foul shot, every bad call, every big deficit and not flinched. And
that is the certainty that we have in this. That no matter what we may have to deal
with in this life; we win!
Romans 8:31-37
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against
us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge
against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is
Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us.
In this spiritual war we are in we have to be like young David as he came up against
the giant Goliath. Though everyone around us may be trembling in fear, we have to
know that we know that we know we are more than conquerors in YHWH! No matter
what the battle might bring; tribulation, distress, persecution, famine whatever might
come we must hold on to the FACT that we are the victors through Him. You’d be
surprised at how much that knowledge will help you get through the difficult things we
may have to endure.
Psalm 118:5-6
5 I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The LORD is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
Don’t worry a bit about what man can do to you. The worst he can do is to kill you,
and scripture is clear that to live is Christ and to die is gain. We’re not even loser in
death. Death has no sting for those who are in Messiah. We’ve got this! The victory
has been given to us by our Savior so don’t you worry about a thing.
Additional scripture:
Judges 7:19-22
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of
the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the
watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their
hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—
they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands
for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And
every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and
cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set
every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the
army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah,
by Tabbath.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: June 1, 2008
Scripture Reading: Esther 9:1-5
1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the
time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day
that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite
occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. 2
The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could
withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. 3 And all the officials
of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work,
helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai
was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the
provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. 5 Thus the
Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and
destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
You probably have read this book of the Bible before, but if you haven’t it’s a quick
read and very compelling account so read it. There is so much symbolism in this
book, some which has only recently been revealed to me. Anyway, if you haven’t
read it or haven’t read it for a while, go ahead and read it. One interesting thing
about the book is that in none of its nine chapters does it even mention God, yet you
can see His hand working throughout.
Early on we learn that Haman is an Agagite. Now for the novice you may not
recognize the name from 1 Samuel 15. Agag was the king of the Amalekites who the
LORD had commanded Saul to completely destroy way back when the nation of Israel
was under her first king. Yet King Saul did not destroy him. We don’t know all the
details concerning how, exactly, his offspring survived but we do know that they did
indeed survive because hundreds of years later we see that his descendants, the
Agagites, are thriving. Haman was a very high authority in the king’s palace and had
set his sights on revenge against the Jews. He had been able to convince the king
that the Jews were so bad for the kingdom that they should be wiped out. He was
able to get the king’s signet ring and draft an edict that on the 13th day of the 12th
month, the enemies of the Jews would be legally allowed to kill and plunder the Jews.
You see, it looked like the enemy of God’s people had won, but he hadn’t.
Esther 7:5-10
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and
where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And
Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was
terrified before the king and queen. 7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the
banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before
Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against
him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place
of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was.
Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As
the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Now Harbonah,
one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which
Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at
the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged
Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath
subsided.
You see, long before the enemy devised his wicked plan to destroy the people of
God, God had been preparing things for just this time. The enemy had prepared a
wooden structure to destroy a son of Israel, a son of God by hanging him on it.
However, what ended up happening is that the enemy and all his sons; all that he had
created to come against God, ended up being destroy upon that structure. This is a
foreshadowing of the cross, which Satan thought would be his biggest victory but what
turned out to be his greatest defeat. Do you think that if Haman knew he and his sons
would be the ones to hang on those gallows, he would have had it built so well? Do
you think if Satan knew the power of the cross, he would have pushed so hard for
Yeshua to be crucified?
Many times things may look like God has forsaken His people, but scripture tells us
that He will never leave us or forsake us. The Jews were in exile in a foreign land and
for anyone looking in on them and likely even from where they sat it looked like He
had done just that. Yet, even while they were being oppressed God setting things up
for such a time as this. The enemies of God may think they are winning, things may
even look like they’re winning but they’re not. God will not be defeated.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a
spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will
deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And
this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the
air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a
God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save
with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our
hands.”
It didn’t look like one small boy would be able to defeat the giant of a man called
Goliath either. But David knew that it wasn’t the sword or the shield or the size of the
warrior that would determine the victor. It was the name of the LORD, for the battle is
His!
2 Chronicles 32:7-8
7 “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of
Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us
than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God,
to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the
words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
King Hezekiah was able to strengthen his people when they were in dire straits by
reminding them that their power did not come from flesh but from YHWH. We, as God’
s people, should also be strong and courageous when we go through difficulties. God
has not forgotten us. The victory is ours through Him no matter what. Even to the
point of death, if it comes to that, we have our victory in Him.
2 Kings 6:15-17
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was
an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to
him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those
who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his
eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and
he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha.
Sometimes I think we just have to do like Elisha does here for his servant. Pray that
God open our eyes so we can see the spiritual realm and know that there are more
with us than with them. I’m a big sports fan, especially for all the local teams, but my
husband will tell you that when it comes to the big games, I can’t watch. The last
championship series we had was when the Miami Heat were playing in the NBA Finals
and I couldn’t watch it like a regular person. Jeff would be in another room watching
and I would be watching something else. But every time I would hear Jeff cheer, I
would hit last channel on the remote to see what happened. I really wanted to watch
the game but I was just so emotionally tied to the outcome that all the back and forth
drama of it was just too much for me to bear. It was like I was insulating myself from
the heartbreak. I would always say that if I knew they were going to win, then I could
handle all the back and forth drama of the whole thing. I could likely even laugh about
things and really enjoy the drama of the whole thing. But with so much riding on the
outcome, I just didn’t want to invest myself emotionally into it. Well, this spiritual battle
we’re in has way more than an NBA championship riding on it. It has the eternal souls
of all mankind riding on it and that is infinitely more valuable than some yearly sports
championship. But guess what? I already know the outcome! I already know that no
matter what happens in battle, the victory is ours through Yeshua! How awesome is
that? If I had known for certain that the Heat would have the victory I could have sat
through every missed foul shot, every bad call, every big deficit and not flinched. And
that is the certainty that we have in this. That no matter what we may have to deal
with in this life; we win!
Romans 8:31-37
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against
us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge
against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is
Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us.
In this spiritual war we are in we have to be like young David as he came up against
the giant Goliath. Though everyone around us may be trembling in fear, we have to
know that we know that we know we are more than conquerors in YHWH! No matter
what the battle might bring; tribulation, distress, persecution, famine whatever might
come we must hold on to the FACT that we are the victors through Him. You’d be
surprised at how much that knowledge will help you get through the difficult things we
may have to endure.
Psalm 118:5-6
5 I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The LORD is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
Don’t worry a bit about what man can do to you. The worst he can do is to kill you,
and scripture is clear that to live is Christ and to die is gain. We’re not even loser in
death. Death has no sting for those who are in Messiah. We’ve got this! The victory
has been given to us by our Savior so don’t you worry about a thing.
Additional scripture:
Judges 7:19-22
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of
the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the
watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their
hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—
they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands
for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And
every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and
cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set
every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the
army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah,
by Tabbath.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: June 1, 2008