The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Reliance - Modes of Deliverance

Episode Date: February 25, 2024

God Bless Steven Menking!

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther sent Mordecai over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet, and wept, and pleaded with him, to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and

stood before the king. And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred? Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of

the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked. The king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the

king's service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods. On one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, in the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, a copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples,

and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses, that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's demand, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown, and a robe of fine linen and purple. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was a gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday, and many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred. The Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm, and no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces. For the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, as they pleased to those who hated them. In Susa, the citadel itself, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, and also killed Parshah and Datha and Dalfan and Asphatha

and Paratha and Adaliah and Aradatha and Parmashta and Arisai and Aradai and Vizatha, the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they laid no hand on the plunder. That very day, the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was reported to the king, and the king said to Queen Esther, In Susa the citadel was reported to the king. And the king said to Queen Esther, In Susa the citadel, the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the 10 sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your wish? It shall be granted to you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.

And Esther said, If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict, and let the 10 sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows. So the king commanded this be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder. Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies, and killed 75,000 of those who hated them,

but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth month of the day of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, and made that a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages who live in the rural towns hold the 14th day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting as a holiday and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another. Lord, we love you. We bless you. We praise you. You are mighty and powerful

and holy and righteous and true. Jesus, you are good and your mercy endures forever. We pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would be upon us, that it would guide us into all truth and righteousness. Holy Spirit, be with us now. We bless you. We praise you. We thank you for your ministry of comfort, for your ministry of strengthening, for the faith that you give us, for the words that you establish in our hearts. And we pray that you would help us

to understand your word. Help us to understand these passages of scripture and help us to strengthen our resolve and to strengthen our faith and reliance in you. We bless you, God. We thank you for this day and every day that you give us. In Jesus' name, amen. This lengthy passage of scripture that I read from chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Esther is something that, in my view, tends to get glossed over a bit. Apart from all the technicalities and the names that I'm mispronouncing, I'm sure, there are a handful of things here that we want to address. Now, I'm going to focus on a subset of this scripture, and I'm going to talk about a couple dynamics

that I think are important for us to understand about how God delivers, how God heals, how God provides, how God creates a breakthrough. And hopefully that will be something that enriches our discipleship and our own understanding. There are difficult components to this passage, particularly because of the violence it entails. And to touch on that first, there is one thing that we know for sure, that sin has made this a violent world, that the forces of spiritual darkness want nothing more than for people to tear themselves and each other apart, that the will of God is not for any to perish, but for all to be saved. But that people do reject that. And as a result, there are conflicts that arise, both spiritually and in the natural. And we have to understand that the picture painted by history is not all roses and sunshine.

The vast swath of humanity throughout the entirety of this creation post the fall has lived with the threat of violence, with the threat of significant dangers of a variety of degrees. And billions of people live in that same condition today, where on a day-to-day basis, their lives or their livelihoods are in danger. Now, in our society, that is something that most people, thank God, don't have to face in the exact same way. But that is not the reality that needs to be spoken to here. The reality is that the Bible was written for all people at all times. The Holy Spirit can use all of the Word of God, and it is all profitable for instruction, for teaching, and to point the way to God. And so we don't want to say that God is unjust, but we do want to acknowledge that there is great sin and turmoil, even in this case, in the deliverance of God. Even as we would potentially cheer on the miracle of

the Red Sea, there is death associated with that. Even as we call for Jesus to return, upon his return, there will be significant destruction. We know that the universe that we are operating in, inside of a creation that has fallen because of our sin, that there is a continual process of death and decay, and that in many places, when you look at it, it is necessary for the continuation of life. But there is life abundantly and in the fullness of it in God himself. And there will be a new heavens and a new earth. And in the New Testament, we understand that the eternity of ever-expanding joy that we have a hope in to spend in God's presence is something that will make even the most radical turmoil of this life seem minuscule, unimportant, negligible in comparison. And for many people, that is extraordinarily difficult to imagine or to understand because

they are aware, both from potentially firsthand experience, but just in general with the frankly nasty nature of this world. And we need to acknowledge the relevance and importance of the problem of evil as being such an obstacle for so many people. It is genuinely a troublesome and difficult and challenging obstacle to experience malevolence and evil and violence and pain and to then say, well, how could God allow this? How could a loving God permit all this to happen? And for many people, the logic of various theodicies just don't make a dent in that structure. And we need to pray that the Holy Spirit would soften those hearts. And we need to pray that there would be a breakthrough of understanding, a moment of clarity. And likely all of us know people who would have this general

thought and would rule out God out of hand simply because of this discrepancy in their mind between the way the world is and the way they imagine the world would be if God were all loving. And one important component to point out is that eventually there will be a new heavens and a new earth that will persist and be maintained and never end. And that will be more like what the world should be. That is an indication in these people's hearts that they are longing for something, that there is this incongruity between our current state and what would quote unquote make sense. And it is the hope of Christians who have entrusted their lives to Jesus and his salvation for the atonement of sins that God will make all things right and that God will be justified and

that we will be justified in Christ because of Jesus's accomplishments, of being our substitute, of being our high priest, of taking on the sins of the world. But in the meantime, when we are so focused on the world around us, we cannot help but to observe tremendous levels of evil. And that can be debilitating, even for Christians who are motivated to serve God. It is heartbreaking what happens to people, even the people who love the Lord and who follow him. And it is one thing for us to simply say, oh, well, we need to see this through an eternal perspective. We need to see this through God's eyes. All of this is well and good. But there's something within us that cries out for peace. There's something within us that cries out for safety and comfort and security.

And in this world, tremendous amounts of effort are put into establishing these things psychologically, financially, relationally, etc., etc. But the ultimate source of that hope comes from a longing for the fullness of restoration with God. Yes, we know that as Christians we are born again. We are seated in heavenly places. Jesus is our high priest. We can come boldly to the throne of grace. We have these tremendous spiritual privileges and abilities because of what Jesus has done. And exercising those are an effort to expand his glory. And when we fail to exercise those, we are giving up an opportunity to glorify God. So we should not shy away from not only understanding, but following through on all of

the spiritual privileges that we have. It is something that we should not take for granted, that Jesus is our high priest, that God hears our prayers, and that the prayers of a righteous and fervent man will avail much. And so when we examine this situation, when we examine the book of Esther and we see this dynamic where an edict has been written that can't be unwritten, that declares the Jews for destruction, what we see is a deliverance, but it's going to be unlike the form of deliverance that one might expect. In modern Christian America, we might think, well, what's the way that this deliverance is going to come? Let's say we had complete and total faith that deliverance will happen, that this danger will be averted, that everything will be right in the end.

So there are a handful of different ways, I think, well, at least a handful, there's probably more that I can't think of right now, that people could take this. Well, one thing would be to say, let's analogize to the current moment. Let's say you are under significant threat. There is someone, something, some system coming against you, and it has been declared that you are going to be victimized and overpowered, and you don't have the power to overcome this yourself. And so you call out to God, you throw yourself upon his mercy, and you receive from God a promise that everything will work out, that you will be delivered. But you don't have a specific understanding of how that's going to take place.

Maybe this is a situation at work. Maybe it's a situation in relationships. Maybe it's a situation in a political context. Maybe it's all of the above. But think to a moment for yourself about a threat that you face, large or small. Let's say you got a word from the Lord specifically about this threat that you will be delivered. Now, what are the ways that that could happen and what would our default assumption be? One particular thing would be to say, God is just going to make this all go away.

I'm not sure how. Maybe if there's someone coming against me, then something might even happen to them or the circumstances align where they can't execute their plan, God is going to intervene on my behalf. And from scripture, we know that we are to be still and to know that he is God. We know that the Lord will fight our battles. And so we can point to scripture and say, okay, given these scriptures, that is how I expect it to play out. and say, okay, given these scriptures, that is how I expect it to play out. Another scenario, another option would be the evil or the bad or the persecution or things are going to come at us and that God is going to give us the strength to maintain and to persevere and to even increase in the faith because of these things. Oftentimes,

when the chips are down and we have to make important decisions, we can be given an extra measure of courage because when it's less long-term planning and more right here, right now, what do you stand for? And you're firm in your principles. There is a certain type of clarity to that that can help us be more steadfast with the leading of the Holy Spirit. But we can point to examples in the New Testament, looking at Paul saying he's glad that he has been imprisoned. We can look at the history of the church and see how the blood of martyrs that has been spilled has been a forerunner of tremendous expansion of the kingdom of God. We can see that in the case of Joseph, his brothers sell him into slavery, but

Joseph even himself says at the end that God meant it for good because it was through that that he was in a position to save many lives. And we can say we don't ultimately understand all of the nooks and crannies of the plan that God has or the different scenarios that could play out. And so who are we to do or say anything? We can simply sit and have confidence in the Lord, not that he is going to take away the persecution or whatever is coming against us, but rather that he is going to use that entire experience through our lives to strengthen our faith and to stand as a testimony and to impact the people around us and to bring glory to his name and to show forth his power. Now, in both of these situations, and I don't think that those perspectives are wrong to take.

I think there is biblical basis for saying God is going to deliver me and the trouble will go away. There's biblical basis for saying God is not necessarily going to remove this trouble, but that God is going to use this in a way that benefits others, and myself potentially, through the strengthening of my own faith, according to various passages where we're talking about how we should even have joy in the midst of tribulation. So the other aspect of this that I want to highlight here, motivated by Esther, is the idea that sometimes when trouble comes, the command for deliverance, the understanding and the confidence that God is going to work on our behalf, that God is going to fight our battles,

does not consist of us sitting back and passively praying that the Lord would intervene without the need for us to do anything, or passively sitting back and saying, come what may, the Lord will be glorified. Now, again, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with either of those approaches, but we see here in Esther an example where the deliverance was something that was active. God made a way for the people to defend themselves. God didn't strike down all of the enemies of the Jews supernaturally. He also didn't allow the Jews to be overpowered and using it for the glory of God that way. In this particular case, because of the structure of the system, Haman's edict that the Jews should be destroyed could not be overturned.

And so a countervailing edict was sent out, giving the Jews permission to defend themselves and even to take plunder, which in this case, we can see in the text that they didn't do. Now, when we look at this, we can certainly fill in the gaps. It seems like, yeah, there's a pretty big fight going on. And we do have numbers for the enemies who the Jews struck down. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a battle in which there were casualties on both sides. This was a war, and it was predefined to last for a very limited timeframe. And it was an ethnic war, for lack of a better term, because it was specifically directed against one particular people group. against one particular people group. And so God's deliverance here came in the form of opening a structural door where if the Jews defended themselves, they had legal permission to do so. It's a little bit intricate and a little bit complicated, but there is an important principle

for us in terms of our discipleship. And for me, the idea here is that when we are in trouble and we pray to the Lord, and even if we have full confidence that the Lord will deliver us, that should motivate us to following the leading of the Holy Spirit so that we could understand, is this the kind of situation where we should be seeking and working actively to find all avenues out of it? Or is this the kind of situation where it is completely out of our hands and there's nothing we can do? Because there are problems on either side if we make a misjudgment here. And there are a handful of different components and parameters, but obviously if it's the kind of thing where God's will is for us to be more passive, to be still and know that

he is God, or to understand that the thing that is attempting to overtake us, even if it does some damage, is ultimately going to glorify God in the end, whether that's short-term, long-term, or anything in between, or all of the above. But it could be that God's will is for us to take substantial active measures of self-defense. It could be that we are to continue to pray without ceasing. It could be that we are supposed to wield the full armor of God and the offensive weapon that we have of the word of God. It could be that we are being called to a greater impact, to taking more substantial spiritual action in these cases.

And potentially, as God leads and as God calls, other types of actions, physical, legal, psychological, other types of things that we are called to do. Because if the scenario is supposed to play out where we are passive, if that is God's intent, we are to sit back and see what's going to happen, and we take things into our own hands, that mistake can be extremely costly. Number one, it would be disobedient to the will of God in that situation. And ultimately, you can think of some counterfactuals for the New Testament. So what if as soon as Paul got into jail, he was plotting a prison break?

Paul didn't do that. And you could rationalize something like that. he even had the opportunity to do so. He was kept in custody for many years and there were various officials who were in a position and I forget exactly at what point of his journey this was. I believe it was while he was held captive in Jerusalem before he appealed to Caesar. He was in prison for two years. He had some

freedom of movement. It's like more of a house arrest situation. But the governor was hoping that someone would come bring him money and say, here's some money, let this guy out. But Paul didn't seem too keen on or anxious about being released. He was able to understand what God's will was for the situation and not take things into his own hands in that regard. Now, alternatively, if we adopt that position by default and we simply say, all right, we are going to, And we simply say, all right, we are going to, you know, we're going to be passive and we are going to pray and we're just going to hope that hope that nothing hope that God delivers and that something happens and we don disobedient. If God is calling us to something and we ignore that call saying, well, God is just going to take care of it. We have to think, well, maybe the way that God was going to take care of it was through some action that we were going to take. So my point is that there is no one size fits all solution for how to deal with these sorts of troubles. And if the back and

forth here, if unpacking all of this stuff makes it seem so complicated and difficult and like, how are you supposed to know what kind of mechanics in these different situations are going to point us in one direction or the other? Well, that's the way it should be because at the end of the day, anytime there is trouble, we have multiple different examples from scripture about how God intervenes and makes a way for people in different situations. And so we're not going to have exactly the same scenario as any one of these biblical examples. And what that means to us is that whenever we face challenge, we're not going to be able to, you know, tactically, strategically, rationally, all of the above. We're just not going to be able to figure everything out in the way that we want. It's not something that is going to work out for

us. So what should that motivate us to do? Number one, we have to be aware that all of these options are possible. God is going to work all things together for good for those who love him. That is a promise in scripture. It will not return void. It may not be fulfilled in the way that we want, in the timeframe that we want, but it will be true in the weight of eternity. It will absolutely be true in the weight of eternity. God is not like a man that he should lie. God is true and faithful and righteous and just, and we can and should and must have total confidence in that. So what should we say? Well, we've stumbled into a scenario where the guidelines are too difficult for us to work out. And while we need to be aware of all of the biblical options, while we need to study to see what courses of action are available to us,

ultimately, we need to go to the Lord in prayer, cast ourselves upon his mercy, claim the promises that Jesus has given us and that the word has given us, and then say, word has given us, and then say, Lord, I am at your disposal. Here am I, Lord, send me. Whatever you want me to do, I will do. Show me how you would have me to manage this situation. Is this the kind of thing where I can sit still and pray and know that you are God and that you are going to supernaturally fight my battles for me? Is this the kind of thing where this is a trouble that as it comes will be damaging to me, but will be used for your glory in a variety of different ways? Or is this the kind of situation and tribulation where substantial action is required of me in order to fulfill your will for how you are to be glorified in this instance. And again, we're not necessarily going to get perfectly clear guidance on all this

beforehand. The situations are complicated, things can change, and so it is incumbent upon us to not get locked into any one stream of thinking and to ultimately not rely on our own reasoning. As Proverbs tells us, we should rely on God and on the Holy Spirit. And what that tells us is that when we get into trouble, when bad things happen, when bad things are coming against us, for whatever reason, we need to go directly to the Lord for wisdom, for insight, for strength, for faith. He is our rock. He is our shield. He is our fortress. He is our defender. He is our protector. And he will uphold his end of the bargain. How he does that cannot be determined by me or by

us in advance in any of these scenarios. How it plays out in Esther is different from how it plays out in Acts. It's different from how it plays out in Exodus. It's different from how it plays out in a variety of different situations. So that should call us brothers and sisters to be extraordinarily diligent, to press into God, because without that ongoing guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit, the likelihood that we're going to make a misstep is substantial. And even not going to the Holy Spirit immediately and often and not seeking the presence of God and not worshiping and staying in the Word and understanding the options, but ultimately giving God the free reign to do whatever He wants to in our lives, that in and of itself is a mistake. It's not that we are

accidentally going to get things right, so to speak, even though it might seem that way. If there's four options and it's 25% chance we're just going to pick one for whatever reason, we might get it right. But this isn't gambling. We don't want to do that. And not getting the guidance from the Lord in and of itself is a mistake. Even if we accidentally, quote unquote, did the right thing by virtue of our reason, we would have stepped out of what God has for us. So let's not fall short of taking into account all of the resources that we have in God, all of the spiritual blessings that we have in God. And let's simply throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus and say, Lord,

this trouble, this tribulation, this trial, this difficulty, it is too much for me, but I know that you will be glorified as a result of it, however it resolves and whenever it resolves. I am willing to follow you around, through, away from this, wherever you want me to go, Lord, whatever you want me to do, I will do because I know that you are faithful to give me the tools that I need, the spiritual strength, the faith, the wisdom, the provision to get through it. I know that you will provide and that you are faithful. I know that you are good and your mercy endures forever. you are faithful. I know that you are good and your mercy endures forever. And though anyone or anything comes against me, I know, God, that you are stronger, that you are mightier, that you are glorified. And when we come to the Lord in that posture of deference, but of faith and confidence

in him, while still retaining our willingness to be sent, our willingness to act, our willingness to take any action that we are led into by the Holy Spirit, that is the kind of appropriate, biblical, flexible, and righteous response that will allow us to stand firm in our faith come what may. So we shouldn't be taking things into our own hands, but we also shouldn't be failing to act if the Holy Spirit is calling us to in response to trial. So whatever you are going through, whatever is coming against you, the place you should go is to God. Don't try and circumvent things with your own reasoning, with your own plotting, with your own strategy, with your own tactics. Go to the Lord, receive

from him what you are supposed to do and do it. It is as simple as that, but that is one of the hardest things that we can internalize and actually execute upon. Because when we get in trouble, our decision making can go by the wayside in many different ways, in many different cases. So say all that to say this, God is good. His mercy endures forever. If you are in trouble, go to him. There is no preset solution other than having faith in God, pursuing him, seeking, knocking, asking for wisdom, praying for mercy, demonstrating love for others, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and being willing to take whatever action he is calling you to that is necessary in that circumstance. If our prayer is, God,

I know that you will be glorified. Use my life to bring you glory. Come what will, come what may. Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever. Show me what to do. Give me the strength to do it. Equip me and send me and confirm it with established peace in my heart. And brothers and sisters, the Lord hears that prayer. He answers that prayer. Even if we don't love or like the answer because we know what is going to come as a result in the natural, in the spiritual, when we are following the will of God, and we know that we're following the will of God, and we know that we know that we're following the will of God, we can walk at peace in confidence and with the power of God in hand so that he will be glorified and his kingdom will

be expanded. So there's no preset solution. There's no cookie cutter answer. Trouble is trouble. It will come. We are promised that. And many of you are going through it right now. The only answer is to have faith in the Lord, seek his face, and to understand what he would have you to do, whether that's sitting back or standing up, whether that's continuing in prayer or continuing in prayer and action. And we have to be willing to do these things, not relying on our own strength, but relying on the

strength of the one who made us, the strength of the Holy One, the strength and the righteousness of Christ. So be encouraged, brothers and sisters. Trouble will glorify God. It will, because that is promised in scripture. How it will is something that is up to God to determine. Our role is to have faith, to press in, and to receive direction and the strength to carry it out so that we can continue in obedience to the will of our perfect and loving God. Jesus, thank you for this time. Thank you that you are reliable. Thank you, Lord, that in times of difficulty and trial, you will give us courage. You will give us wisdom. You will give us the answers that we need about what we need to do. Help us, Lord, to purify our hearts,

increase our faith and confidence in you. Give us all of the spiritual resources we need to put ourselves in a position of obedience during every moment of our lives, and especially times of difficulty, Lord. God, we have been with you on mountaintops, and we've been with you in the valley of the shadow of death even, and you have been faithful you on mountaintops and we've been with you in the valley of the shadow of death even, and you have been faithful through it all. You will not stop now. And with our hope placed in you for our eternal salvation and with our goal towards your glory and seeking your will to be done, we bless you, God. And we know that you will be faithful to answer the prayers, our prayers, the prayers of our brothers and sisters, so that and we know that you will be faithful to answer the prayers, our prayers,

the prayers of our brothers and sisters, so that we would know what your will is for each situation and that you would give us the strength and the faith and the ability to carry it out. You will never abandon us. You will never leave us. You will never forsake us. And you are our God. In Jesus' name, amen.