It is Enough
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Intro: The reprobate mind which is spoken of in Roman’s chapter one is not a mind that thinks deeply or broadly, it is not disciplined, nor is it productive. The reprobate mind is in constant pursuit of its own lusts. God’s word warns us of the dangers of living for our own pleasure.
Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
This is a believer here… Listen, she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth… Obviously this is not a life that is dead physically, nor did she lose her salvation.
And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
The pursuit of earthly pleasure reveals the reality of what is happening within.
What is revealed is the death of humility, the death of peace, the death of joy, the death of love, the death of growth, the death of charity, the death of faith, the death of listening, the death of yielding, and the death of any meaningful fruit!
It is the killing of our own life while we live, and all for the season of pleasure...
We live in a culture which is agenda driven. Where everything is about me, and to consider anyone better than myself is a laughable concept in our arrogant culture. It is like a tsunami of selfishness and pride…
We are fed the lie of self esteem, and we hear things like this, you just have a case of low self esteem… To that as a believer, I say, Amen… Biblically speaking, we must understand that our human nature tells us we are better than we actually are… In God’s eyes we are sinful, while in our eyes we are special.
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Pride goeth before destruction,
And an haughty spirit before a fall.
A man’s pride shall bring him low:
But honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
We live in a world, and for that matter we see in our churches, broken relationships, shattered families, and ruined lives, all sacrifices on the alter of self fulfillments and self interests. There is no price in this world that is to high to pay for ones self satisfaction.
This is a pride that keeps us from recognising any purpose in our lives, outside of our own purpose of self enjoyment, and in it, we see no need for those things which are spiritual or eternal, because we cannot fulfill those ourselves.
The product of this kind of pride is an environment to where people become blind to their true spiritual condition, and their absolute need for humility, repentance, and quit possibly salvation.
Esther chapter 3 -
If we remember from last week Esther was made queen in place of Vashti. The Bible tells us that she found favor in king Ahasuerus’ kingdom. We see by those things said of her that God exalted Esther to this position of power because of her character and humility.
Today we introduce a new character into our study… Haman - We will see very quickly that he is more full of himself than anyone else thus far, and we have seen some characters that are pretty full of themselves.
We are going to look at the example of Haman today, because Haman was a man that did not get what he thought he really deserved and it ends up having a disastrous affects on his life.
The introduction of Haman, Esther 3:1 In the very first verse we are introduced to this man Haman and we learn that this man was an Agagite, meaning he was a direct descendant of Agag… If you remember that years before this situation that Agag was the king of a people called the Amelekites. In Ex. 17 it was Amalek who fought with the Israelites and Moses chose Joshua to lead the people into battle while Moses held up his rod, while Aaron and Hur help up Moses hands and put a rock behind him to sit upon. From here we go 400 plus years when the Bible tells us that King Soul was commanded by God to destroy them, all of the men, women, children, and the flocks of the Amelekites. It ends up being that Saul doesn’t obey the Lord… This is the chapter before and Samuel who at this time is an old man gets involved...
Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
Why is this important...
And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said,
Amalek was the first of the nations;
But his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
The first of the nations meaning - Amalek was the first nation to attempt to destroy the children of Israel after their departure from Egypt.
He shall pour the water out of his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters,
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
The Lord here is blessing Israel, and stating that their nations King, (The Lord Jesus Christ) will be made higher than Agag.
The problem is that Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin and it was Saul’s responsibility to take out the Agagite’s. I hope you love the word of God… The Bible tells us in...
Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
God is going to use Mordecai to finish something that Saul refused to do!
God keeps long accounts, and here God is about to close the books on the history of this pagan, God hating people...
1. Our focus becomes impeded:
Esther 3:2-5 Mordecai refuses to bow… Why does he not bow, because he is a Hebrew, and further, he is a Benjaminite who knows what God has said concerning the Agagite’s. Doesn’t this remind you a little bit of Daniel and his friends in Babylon which took place some 70 years earlier when they refused to bow to the image of Nebuchadnezzar and do you remember what happened to them? It was reported to the king, and he then attempted to have them killed by throwing them into a fiery furnace.
These men wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t bend, and they wouldn’t burn...
Mordecai disobeyed the kings command to bow to a man who was cursed by God. Through Haman’s furry he attempts to start a mass genocide against the Jewish people, but do you know what happens. Mordecai won’t bow, he won’t bend, and he won’t be killed!
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Vs. 6 - Haman’s rath is initially against only Mordecai, but look at it, once he finds out who his people are, he wants them all dead… Do you think it is possible, I think it is probable, that Haman had been told stories about a Jewish man named Samuel who had hewed Agag into pieces? And now he has a agenda against this people to seek revenge.
Vs. 2 I want to remind us where they are, they are in Shushan, the capital of the great nation of Persia. Haman doesn’t recognize the thousands or maybe even tens or hundreds of thousands that bowed down, he was entirely focused on the one that didn’t. And it consumes him, because he wasn’t getting what he thought he really deserved. So the people do what most people do, and that is that they go and get themselves involved in everyone else’s business.
Do you know what Haman has? Low self esteem… I’d hate to live this way… When everyone is good to you but one person, and being totally consumed by the one… Pride makes us selfish, and selfishness makes us focus on the one thing we don’t have while forgetting all of the blessings from God.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Our focus get’s impeded when we think that we deserve more or better than what we really are.
Count your blessings one by one, and you will be surprised at what the Lord has done. When we get down and out we must spend sometime changing our focus from ourselves and putting it on God and all that He has already blessed us with.
2. Our Fury is Intensified… A revenge plot… Verse 6-7 A lot is simply a system of chance… While the Pur as described here is some sort of dice, cards, or coin in which one determines the outcome. It was a ancient eight ball. Haman picks the day, (13 day) and the month Adar (12 month)
The lot is cast into the lap;
But the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
From Daniel 6 on, the Jews have been accused of not following the laws of their Gentile kings… That is no different today...
Esther 3: 8-12 Haman, goes to king Ahasuerus with a plan, that plan is to kill all of the Jews in the Persian kingdom, and he will even pay for it to be done. So it please Ahasuerus and with his ring he seals it which is like his signature.
Verse 11 - What a picture here of God, giving Satan permission to work over a believer.
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
Here I believe we have a picture of the tribulation and God allowing the enemies of the Jews to work kill them,… How could God allow His chosen people to go through such a time as this? They asked for it...
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
They got what they asked for…
13 Day of the 1st month… Do you know what is significant of this? This is the day of the passover… The day in which God allows this to take place is the day before God brought about a plague on Egypt and frees them from their Gentile rulers.
From the Lord’s point of view, Haman was signing his own death warrant, just like Pharoah did when he drowned in the Red Sea.
Watch those 13’s in Scriptures...
Verse 13-14 (Post - is where we get the word for our post office, and post master, so one day, if anyone ever asks you why it’s called a post office, it’s right here in Esther chapter 3…)
Verse 13 - All Jews - Men, women and children… Do you think their is an agenda? Notice the rage here in the text?
When we feel like we are not getting what we deserve anger is the result…
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Was Cain’s response humility and repentance? Can you see how it becomes a problem when we grow unsatisfied with what God has given us? Is it not enough for us to be
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Luke 15 - The parable of the lost son, Do you remember what the brother who stayed home’s reaction was to his father accepting him?
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
We always compare don’t we… Never satisfied, we get caught up with what we don’t have, all the years I’ve served you God, and you bless them?!?
3. Our fault is ignored…
Esther 3:15- This verse should make you mad… The King and Haman sit down and have a drink, while the people are perplexed… What is going on with our government? Here is the thing, they couldn’t say anything, and if they didn’t obey, they die right along with the Jews.
Could you imagine what it must have been like?
Some probably thought, this doesn’t seem right, why are they doing this? But not willing to take a stand...
Some probably agreed with Haman, and say, I hate the Jews so let’s kill them.
Some probably said, this is wrong and we have to do something… And they started hiding the Jews to protect them from Haman.
Didn’t we see that same reaction during the Holicost in the 40’s?
Meanwhile the whole city is up in arms, the King and Haman are unaffected. Ahasuerus doesn’t even know what he did, while Haman, thinks he just did this great thing to better himself and his situation all at the expense of others.
That’s the opposite of the Christian life isn’t it?
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
When we stop trusting God with what we have, and start focusing on what we think we should have, we begin ignoring our own faults. Unaffected by how this hurts everyone around me, because this is what’s best for me. We just keep going on with our life and we don’t care about the casualties, well if they were just a little more concerned about themselves that wouldn’t of happened. Survival of the fittest right?
And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
But ye are departed out of the way;
Ye have caused many to stumble at the law;
Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
God forbid that we ever drive people away from the Saviour verses us drawing to the foot of His cross...
Imagine the sleepless nights of those Jews who feared for their lives. Imagine the sleepless nights of those Persians who loved the Jews…
If you don’t take anything else away today, please grab a hold of this… We are not nearly as good as we think we are.
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
If we don’t receive anything on this earth, Is Christ not enough?