Write a Decree As You Please

Write A Decree As You Please

Esther 8:8, 10-14 NKJV

[8] You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.”....[10] And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds. [11] By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, [12] on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. [13] A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. [14] The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Shushan the citadel.

      

    We are coming to the resolutions. Today's word is a command from the King. The King told Esther: Enough of crying; Write a new Decree as you please. Now pause. That's a blank cheque. When given a blank check, it implies you have been granted carte blanche, meaning complete freedom to act or spend as you see fit. In the context of a physical check, it's a check with a signature but without a specified amount. This can mean you have the authority to spend any amount or make any decision you deem necessary. That's what happened to Esther and Mordecai.

   Here are a few verses demonstrating God's blank cheque : immense generosity and willingness to provide and protect for His people. 

   John 14:13-14 (NIV): "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

​Psalm 37:4 (NIV): "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

​Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." ​These  are the promises of God for abundant provision and willingness to answer our prayers. When we pray, we write our own decrees. Today, write as it pleases you. Good morning.

Will He Also Assault The Queen

Will He Also Assault The Queen?

Esther 7:8-10 NKJV

[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.

     What has just happened deserves a deep spiritual, psychological and neurological explanations. King Ahasuerus didn't just change his mind concerning Haman. Haman's demonic influence over the  King had  just lifted. The prayers and fasting worked. When a satanic influence lifts, the person's mind is then opened to consider other options. The Kings State of confusion is demonstrated in his walk out into the garden. One of the most powerful drivers of a change of mind is cognitive dissonance. This is the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values, or when their actions don't align with their beliefs. So the walk out was to sort out his mind and what he should really believe about Haman. It must have been a real painful decision for the King.

From a neurological perspective, the decision-making and change of the King's mind may be explained as a process of "evidence accumulation." Our brains continuously gather information for or against a particular option. A choice is made when the accumulated evidence for one option reaches a certain threshold. This Haman thing had gone beyond the threshold.

    When the King returned, Haman had fallen across the couch. He was begging for his life, but the King saw a different picture. His eyes of understanding had a different perspective. His utterance brought the eunuchs. Harbonah told the King about the gallows, and that sealed the deal. "Whosoever diggeth a pit shall fall in it",  Proverbs 26:27 and Ecclesiastes 10:8. God knows how to handle your case. Call unto Him. Good morning.

The Parallel narrative

The Parallel Narrative 

Esther 6:4-10 NKJV

[4] So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. [5] The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” [6] So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would. the king delight to honor more than me?” [7] And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, [8] let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. [9] Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ” [10] Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”

     You are a witness to the development of two stories. It's called  a parallel narrative in story telling. If there were two reporters on this they would, probably, have different headlines for the day's Newspaper. Perhaps one would focus on the near death experience awaiting Mordecai, the Jew, and the other would have been on the honour about to happen to Mordecai, the Jew on saving the king. The two stories are the realities of the two contrasting spiritual universe...one from God, the other from the devil. 

     Everyone operates in the dictates of one of those universes. The narrative may be parallel, but the authority of God's universe is more pervasive and powerful. So God flipped the coin on Haman. Read v 6 again. That's the flaw  of the enemy: " Now Haman thought in his heart.." His dirty heart thought wrong. His universe collapsed. Salvation came to Mordecai. God has not forgotten you. There's a parallel narrative about to spring on your case. God's in charge of the story. I know how this will end. God is about to change your story.

     The enemy thought it had Jesus, but there was another story developing from the throne. God has your back. Believe me. It's not a hoax. When the plots are disentangled, you're on the winning side. Don't give in. Hold on more. The Parallel narrative is in your favour. Good morning.