The Results of Yielding to the Providential Hand of God

Introduction:

We have spent the last two months going through the book of Esther.

And today, we come to the end of the book!

We started the time by saying we must see the HIDDEN HAND OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE in this Story….

A story, where God is never mentioned but is certainly present!

I have heard that the “Coincidences in Esther are the fingerprints of God’s hands at work” (Old Testament Survey, 538).

Here are some of those “coincidences” that happen in Esther…

Esther just happens to be Jewish.

Esther just happens to be favored by the king.

Mordecai just happens to overhear the plot against the king’s life.

A report of this just happens to be written in the king’s chronicles.

Haman just happens to notice that Mordecai does not kneel down before him, and he just happens to find out that Mordecai is a Jew.

When Haman plots his revenge, the dice (PUR) just happens to indicate that the date for exacting revenge is put off for almost a year! (

Esther just happens to get the king’s approval to speak, but then she happens to put off her request for another day.

Her deferral just happens to send Haman out by Mordecai one more time, …

… which just happens to cause him to recount it to his friends.

They, in turn, just happens to encourage him to build a scaffold immediately!

So Haman just happens to be excited to approach the king early the next morning.

But It just so happens that the previous night, the king could not sleep, …

… and he just happened to have had a book brought to him that recounted Mordecai’s deed.

He then happened to ask whether Mordecai had been rewarded, to which his attendants happened to know the answer.

Haman happens to approach the king just when the king is wondering how Mordecai should be honored.

Later on the king happens to return to the queen at her banquet that happened to be on this very day where just when Haman happens to be pleading with Esther in a way that caused alarm.

The gallows Haman built for Mordecai just happens to be ready when King Xerxes wants to hang Haman

All of these JUEST HAPPENS beg the question….did they really JUST HAPPEN or was their ORCHESTRATION of these event weaved into a story of REDEMPTION!

Of course it is an ORCHESTRATION brought by the PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD!

Today, I want to talk about the RESULTS OF YIELDING TO THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD

God’s hand is at work all around us and it is certainly PROVIDENTIAL

Remember, Providential….

Puts a PERSONAL TOUCH to His Sovereignty.

It is the INTENTIONAL INVOLVEMENT of GOD GUIDING US toward HIS ULTIMATE PURPOSE.

It is the PROVISION of a SOVEREIGN God working TOWARD HIS SOVEREIGN PURPOSES

And God is always faithful to His Providence in our lives!

Isaiah 41:10 CSB

10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

The question, I have for you today is….WILL YOU YIELD TO THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD!

1 Peter 5:6 CSB

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,

When we do such a thing, YIELD TO THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD, HIS MIGHTY HAND we can anticipate some MIGHTY RESULTS

And we can see this in the closing chapters of Esther.

I. A Miraculous DELIVERANCE

Esther 9:1–4 CSB

1 The king’s command and law went into effect on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar. On the day when the Jews’ enemies had hoped to overpower them, just the opposite happened. The Jews overpowered those who hated them. 2 In each of King Ahasuerus’s provinces the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them. Not a single person could withstand them; fear of them fell on every nationality. 3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal civil administrators aided the Jews because they feared Mordecai. 4 For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.

God brought a miraculous deliverance for the Jews!

They went from being EXILES in a land that was ordered to ANNIHILATE them…to being SAVED from destruction and brought into power!

We have talked about the Peripety this was….THE GREAT REVERSAL!

Not one person could withstand them.

We must remember, that when we YIELD to the Providential Hand of God….HE BRINGS ABOUT A MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE in our lives!

The Greatest Deliverance is one FROM DEATH TO LIFE…the great EXODUS THAT CHRIST HAS LEAD!

And the GOSPEL is the VEHICLE for this deliverance!

It is the Power of God unto salvation!

And He is providential in this deliverance

We are called to yield to this GREAT NEWS!

To respond to the Gospel and CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD!

And this just starts the GREAT and MIRACULOUS JOURNEY of DELIVERANCE!

I was not just saved the day I CALLED ON THE NAME JESUS!

I AM CONTINUALLY BEING SAVED AND DELIVERED!

I am being delivered from….

My own Selfish Nature

The power of Sin over my life…

That takes you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keeps you longer than you want to stay.

The broad path of destruction that that leads to death

I am being delivered to…

A righteousness given by Christ

The same power that raised Jesus from the Grave

The narrow road that leads to LIFE

When we yield to the providential hand of God, it results in MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE!

II. A Powerful COMMUNITY

Esther 9:5–14 CSB

5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them. They did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the fortress of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7 including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. 10 They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. However, they did not seize any plunder. 11 On that day the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.” 13 Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews who are in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s law, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hung on the gallows.” 14 The king gave the orders for this to be done, so a law was announced in Susa, and they hung the bodies of Haman’s ten sons.

I am amazed at just how powerful this Jewish Community became.

They went from threat of exile to NOW THE KING SAYING, WHATEVER YOU ASK WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU. WHATEVER YOU SEEK WILL ALSO BE DONE!

What a statement….what power has been given to them!

But i also recognize the POWERFUL COMMUNITY that the CHURCH IS!

So powerful that THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT!

And Jesus himself tells the church,

Matthew 7:7–8 CSB

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

THINK ABOUT THE POWERFUL COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE A PART OF!

When we YIELD TO THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD….OUR DESIRES ARE ALIGNED WITH HIS PROVIDENTIAL HAND….

And we RECEIVE what is ASKED

We FIND what is SAUGHT

The door we KNOCK on is OPENED!

If you want to see how powerful this community is, LOOK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

Acts 4:13 CSB

13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.

And later, it is said that these MEN HAVE TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!

Let us YIELD to the providential hand of God, that we might continue to be PART OF A POWERFUL COMMUNITY CALLED FRIENDSHIP cooperating with a POWERFUL GLOBAL COMMUNITY CALLED THE CHURCH!

Yall realize….last year TOGETHER…..we were able give $126,440 straight into the mission field!

DID YOU HEAR ME…..$126,440

That went to missions right here in Anderson County

It went to Missions in our ASSOCIATION…

That is planting a church in Cedar Creek Community

That is partnering with Missions in Colorado

It went to Disaster Relief and funding help and evangelism in places like the Carolinas and Tennessee

It went to church planters across the state

It went to Mission Efforts in Belize as you sent a team down there!

It went to Missionaries all over the world, several that we know and hear of how God is working

It went to help equip pastors with adequate biblical training

It went to MAKING DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, THE HOLY SPIRIT…TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT CHRIST COMMANDED!

Did you realize that you were part of SOMETHING SO POWERFUL!….$126,440 going straight into the mission field….not counting what God is doing right here in Blackfoot!

And if that is not amazing enough….We are a part of a FELLOWSHIP of Churches GIVE THROUGH THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM….

That combined together have given $191,851,947 to go toward missions in the states and around the world!

WHAT A POWERFUL COMMUNITY!

III. A Joyful REMEMBRANCE

Esther 9:15–32 CSB

15 The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not seize any plunder. 16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder. 17 They fought on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing. 18 But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing. 19 This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another. 20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus’s provinces, both near and far. 21 He ordered them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar every year 22 because during those days the Jews gained relief from their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them. He cast the pur—that is, the lot—to crush and destroy them. 25 But when the matter was brought before the king, he commanded by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews return on his own head and that he should be hanged with his sons on the gallows. 26 For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews bound themselves, their descendants, and all who joined with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days each and every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed. 28 These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life and their memory will not fade from their descendants. 29 Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote this second letter with full authority to confirm the letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters with assurances of peace and security to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, 31 in order to confirm these days of Purim at their proper time just as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established them and just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting and lamentation. 32 So Esther’s command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record.

The day that was meant to have seen the Jews ANNIHILATED….now has become a DAY OF FEASTING AND REJOICING!

The dice or lot that Haman used was called a PUR….and so the JEWS CAME TO CALL THE DAY PURIM

Mordecai tells them to REMEMBER THIS DAY EVERY YEAR!!

In fact, verse 28 says THESE DAYS ARE REMEMBERED AND CELEBRATED BY EVERY GENERATION, FAMILY, PROVINCE, AND CITY

And so every year, STILL TO THIS DAY, JEWS FAST THE DAY BEFORE and then on the 14TH DAY OF ADAR (Feb or Mar)…..THE FEAST AND CELEBRATE AND READ ESTHER

Its called the Megillah or SCROLL

And they read the whole book of Esther from a hand written scroll twice (Once in morning and Once in the evening)

I love the emphasis on the generations….SO THAT THEIR MEMORY WOULD NOT FADE FROM THEIR DESCENDANTS

The kids often dress in costumes and act out the story…

And every time Haman’s name is read….EVERYBODY GOES CRAZY AND BOOs HIM!

They make up snacks called Hamantaschen

They still do this today…first time in Israel was March 2017

When we YEILD to the providential hand of God, WE WILL HAVE A JOYFUL REMEMBRANCE!

Today, we have the opportunity for a JOYFUL REMEMBRANCE AS WELL…

Just as the pur was used in Esther to give a day of destruction….

There was purim used in the day of Christ’s crucifixion…

John 19:23–24 CSB

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.

HOWEVER, what they did not know what that this was all part of GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL HAND!

What they saw was them stealing the clothes of Christ

WHAT WAS HAPPENING….was JESUS WAS GIVING OUT HIS ROYAL ROBES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM!

This day of mourning is turned into a day of REJOICING FOR USE….BECAUSE CHRIST ROSE FROM THE GRAVE AND DEFEATED DEATH!

And WE REMEMBER THIS DAY THROUGH THE LORD’S SUPPER

Luke 22:19–20 CSB

19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

While the Lord’s Supper should be a HEAVY MOMENT

It should be a JOYFUL MOMENT

And we are about to have that MOMENT!

Invitation:

We have learned that YIELDING TO THE MIGHTY PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD…..LEADS US TO SOME MIGHT PROVIDENTIAL RESULTS!

I hope you have heard these results and that you LONG FOR THEM IN YOUR LIFE!

That you LONG TO CONTINUE TO SEE A MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE IN YOUR LIFE

That you LONG TO BE PART OF A POWERFUL COMMUNITY

That you LONG TO HAVE A JOYFUL REMEMBRANCE.

The question then is…….HOW WILL YOU YIELD to the PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD!

Now some people think that by saying God is Provident…..we don’t have to do anything because He is going to do what he wants anyways.

HOWEVER, that is not what SCRIPTURE TEACHES!!!

YES, HE IS SOVEREIGN AND PROVIDENTIAL….and HIS HAND IS WEAVING AND ORCHESTRATING A GREAT WORK OF REDEMPTION…

BUT HE CALLS YOU TO…..

Proverbs 3:5–7 CSB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

James 4:7 CSB

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Romans 12:1 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

John 14:15 CSB

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands.

1 Peter 5:6 CSB

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,