A plot a against God's people
[0:00] Welcome to our Sunday evening service at Calvary Evangelical Church. My name is Jerome and I'm a member here at the church.
[0:13] Here at Calvary we seek to be a Christ-centred church, a God-honouring church and a Bible-loving and Bible-based church. We're an independent evangelical church based in Brighton, Sussex.
[0:28] Now if this is the first time that you've come across our online services or sermons, it's great that you're here. And it's my hope that you would be spiritually helped, that you'd be encouraged, that you would be built up and even challenged.
[0:44] You can listen to our other sermons on our Calvary Church YouTube channel where our pastor Philip Wells is going through a series in Hebrews in the morning.
[0:56] We've been meeting in the mornings for some time now and this has been a time of great encouragement. And it's lovely to see people face to face and it's lovely to worship God in person.
[1:10] But we do understand that there are some among us who are still feeling cautious and even anxious about coming to meetings. So we're live streaming in the morning because we want to make sure everyone benefits.
[1:24] We're not yet meeting on Sunday evenings but we want to maintain the practice of worshipping twice on a Lord's Day as much as we can in these times.
[1:36] So please contact the church or if you want to attend a morning meeting or find out more about who we are, look on our website or give us a call. Now it's our usual practice to preach through a Bible book and we're currently doing a series preaching through an Old Testament book, Esther.
[1:55] And we'll be looking at chapter 3 this evening. But before we look at tonight's text, let's still our minds and our hearts and let's focus on the Lord in prayer.
[2:09] Let's pray. Father in heaven, your word says, yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty.
[2:24] For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted head above all. Father, we come before you with thanks and we praise you for your glorious name.
[2:40] We proclaim this truth. Yet we pray that your kingdom would come in our nation, in our churches and in our hearts. Please, Father, in these troubled and difficult times, show us your mercy.
[2:56] Show us your grace. Please remember your people. We are weak and we are needy and we desperately need you. We pray that churches would be able to fully open, that your people would be able to worship you fully in spirit and in truth.
[3:15] And we pray, Lord, that this virus that's caused so much destruction and pain and misery would be stopped from spreading further, that infections would reduce, that any new variants would not take hold and hinder any progress in opening up.
[3:32] Lord, we do pray for wisdom for our government and for our leaders as they consider the next phase of opening in the months and days to come.
[3:46] Lord, I pray that your people would be comforted, strengthened and built up. And I pray, Lord, that gospel work would not be hindered. Father, we do particularly think of those among us or those generally who are really struggling at this time and feeling anxious and maybe feeling isolated and not able to get out of the home as much or to be among people as much and have very real fears because of all that has happened, Lord.
[4:17] We pray that you would draw close to them and help them in their need. We do pray, Lord, that these times would lead to greater growth for your kingdom.
[4:28] And we pray earnestly, Father, for an awakening. Father, there are so many so-called saviors vying for our attention.
[4:40] Lord, we pray that you would hold back the advancement of ideologies and views or religions or false religions that bring spiritual deadness and confusion and don't bring life and peace.
[4:54] Please keep us close, Lord, to the only one that can bring peace and fullness and joy, eternal joy. Keep us in communion with that one, our saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:08] Lord, we pray that you would bless this time with your presence and your prompting through your precious spirit. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.
[5:20] Let's sing our first hymn, God Moves in a Mysterious Way. God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform He plans his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm Deep in unfathomable minds Of never-failing scale He treasures up his bright designs And works his sovereign will
[6:22] You fearful saints Fresh courage take The clouds you so much dread A pig with mercy And shall break In blessings on your head Judge not the Lord by feeble sense But trust him for his grace Behind a frowning providence He hides the smiling face His purposes will ripen fast
[7:25] Unfolding every hour The bud may have a bitter taste But sweet will be the flower Blind unbelief Be sure to err And scan his word in vain God is his own interpreter And he will make it plain Our scripture reading this evening Is from Esther The book of Esther In the Old Testament And we'll be looking at chapter 3 I just want to mention
[8:27] I'll be reading from the ESV The English Standard Version And you may notice that I'll be saying King Ahasuerus And some of you may have other versions That speak of King Xerxes It's exactly the same king They're not different characters It's just different names So just to let you know After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman The Agagite The son of Hamadatha And advanced him And set his throne above All the officials who were with him And all the king's servants Who were at the king's gate Bowed down And paid homage to Haman For the king had so commanded Concerning him But Mordecai did not bow down Or pay homage Then the king's servants Who were at the king's gate Said to Mordecai Why do you transgress The king's command And when they spoke to him Day after day And he would not listen to them They told Haman In order to see Whether Mordecai's words would stand
[9:27] For he had told them That he was a Jew And when Haman saw That Mordecai Did not bow down Or pay homage to him Haman was filled with fury But he disdained To lay hands on Mordecai alone So As they had made known to him The people of Mordecai Haman sought to destroy All the Jews The people of Mordecai Throughout the whole kingdom Of Ahasuerus In the first month Which is the month of Nisan In the twelfth year Of King Ahasuerus They cast pure That is they cast lots Before Haman Day after day And they cast it Month after month Till the twelfth month Which is the month of Adar Then Haman said To King Ahasuerus There is a certain people Scattered abroad And dispersed Among the peoples In all the provinces Of your kingdom Their laws are different From those of every other people And they do not keep The king's laws
[10:28] So that it is not To the king's profit To tolerate them If it please the king Let it be decreed That they be destroyed And I will pay Ten thousand talents Of silver Into the hands Of those Who have charged Of the king's business That they may put it Into the king's treasuries So the king Took his signet ring From his hand And gave it to Haman The Agagite The son of Hamadatha The enemy of the Jews And the king said to Haman The money is given to you The people also To do with them As it seems good to you Then the king's scribes Were summoned On the thirteenth day Of the first month And an edict According to all That Haman commanded Was written to the king's Satraps And to the governors Over all the provinces And to the officials Of all the peoples To every province In its own script And every people In its own language It was written In the name Of king Ahasuerus
[11:28] And sealed With the king's Signet ring Letters were sent By couriers To all the king's Provinces With instruction To destroy To kill And to annihilate All Jews Young and old Women and children In one day The thirteenth day Of the twelfth month Which is the month Of Adar And to plunder Their goods A copy of the documents Was to be issued As a decree In every province By proclamation To all the peoples To be ready For that day The couriers Went out hurriedly By order of the king And the decree Was issued In Susa The citadel And the king And Haman Sat down To drink But the city Of Susa Was thrown Into confusion Here ends The reading Of God's Sober Word Let's now pray
[12:29] For the preaching Of the word Father Your word Is a lamp To our feet It brings Illumination To our understanding And our minds It brings comfort To our troubled souls Oh Lord It brings warmth And vitality Where there's Coldness And lifelessness Please Lord May you bless The preaching Of this word With your presence And with your leading And with your overruling Spirit May our hearts May our minds And may our wills Be changed Into greater Christ-likeness Lord And greater Devotion to you As our great God And saviour We pray these things In Jesus' name Amen Well several years
[13:33] Have passed now Since young virgins Were first sought And gathered In the harem At the citadel Of Susa In the Persian Empire One such young virgin Was a Jewish girl Called Esther Probably without Any choice in the matter Or any say in the matter This young Jewish virgin Experienced an Unimaginable Change Where she found Favour With the most Important And powerful Man In the known world At that time King Ahasuerus She was made Queen of the Persian Empire In the place of Vashti As we learned last week And we also learned Last week Of how Mordecai Her closest relative Her father figure Discoveres a plot To assassinate The king And he shows
[14:33] Great diligence And loyalty Towards the king And he shows A commitment To justice And uprightness In ensuring That that plan Is foiled And that Queen Esther Is told Now although In this book The name of the Lord It's not mentioned Once We see his Fingerprints All over the book We see His fingerprints In the character Of his people And how his hand Sovereignly guides And ordains And super intends All that comes To pass In this book God's providence Is something That we should be Very mindful of As the overarching Theme As we study This book And we consider God's Sometimes mysterious And unfathomable Ways Of working In time And history Now as we come To this evening's Passage in chapter 3
[15:34] I want us to consider It under three Thoughts A resolute Stand An evil Plan And a deadly Edict So my first point A resolute Stand From the offset We can't help But to be Puzzled By God's Providence Chapter 3 Starts with After these Things And we cast Our minds Back To the honourable And the righteous Acts of Mordecai At the end Of chapter 2 Yet in chapter 3 We learn Of this new Character This new Character On the scene This Haman The Agagite The son Of Hamadapha Who's promoted To the position Of prime minister Of Persia Now the king Advances him And he sets Him Above all the
[16:34] Officials who Were with him This Haman Is given a place Of special Pre-eminence And prominence And honour Now it's surprising That we don't Hear of the Promotion of Mordecai And my Natural instinct Was to Think Well this This just Isn't fair Shouldn't Mordecai Be richly Rewarded For his Loyalty For his Vigilance Mordecai's Life-saving Act is Recorded In the Book of The Chronicles And is Remembered Yet in God's Providence At this Time It's Consigned To the Dusty Shelf And Mordecai Is passed Over He's Unnoticed He's Forgotten He remains In the Humble Position The Position Of Little Significance And in God's Sovereign
[17:35] Will He's Not Honoured And he's Not Exalted At this Time As we Read about Haman in These Early Verses We Sense Something Ominous We Sense Something Foreboding There's Something Brewing Already We Sense Something That's Ungodly In This Man Now Was Haman's Rise To Power Due To His Political Expertise Was It Due To His Administrative Skills Was It Due To His Gifts Was It Due To His Qualities Or His Diplomacy Well We Don't Know We Don't Know But Haman Was Made Great In A Worldly Sense Prominence Power Ambition And Pride Craftiness And Wealth Are All Characteristics That We See In This Chapter They're All Characteristics Of Haman And They're All Characteristics Which The World Values Now
[18:37] It's Likely That Haman Used Flattery Manipulation Strategising Scheming To Get To The Position That He Got To And We're Confronted!
[18:49] With A Contrast Here We See A Contrast Between Mordecai And We See Haman And One Commentator Says The Bible Is Making Us See How God Changes The Arithmetic By Which We Evaluate The Relative Importance Of People And Things The World Values Prominence Power Position Seeking Preeminence While God's People Are To Be Humble Lowly Not Seeking Exaltation Not Seeking Recognition In This World Verse 2 Says That All The King's Servants Who Were In The King's Gate Bowed Down And Paid Homage To Haman For The King Had So Commanded Concerning Him All
[19:50] Were Bowing Down And All Were Honoring Haman Except One There Was One Who Took A Stand Showing The Courage Of His Convictions There Was One Who Took The Minority Position Mordecai Refused To Bow But One Can't Help Wondering Why He Shows A Similar Courage A Similar!
[20:18] Conviction A Similar Sensitivity To A Godly Conscience As Daniel And His Friends But It's Not As Clear In The Book Of Esther In This Text Why Haman Took A Stand Why In This Matter Did He Choose To Disobey The King's Command Was Mordecai Feeling Bitterness And Jealousy Towards Haman Was He Begrudging Haman Because Of His Promotion And Advancement To Power Some Suggest He Was Being Obstinate And Arrogant By Not Bowing Down Well I Don't Think So I Don't Think There's Anything In The Text To Suggest That Was Mordecai Not Wanting To Give Worship Or Bow Down Before A Mere Man Isn't That Level Of Reverence And Worship Due To God Alone Was Mordecai Concerned To Be Breaking The First And Second Commandments Making Haman A God I Think This
[21:18] Is Closer To It Certainly And I Think There's Something In Problem The Problem With This View Is That Haman Most Likely Would Have Had To Bowed Down Before To A As King And Queen And We Don't Hear Any Concern About This And Actually If You Look At Chapter Eight We Read Of Esther Falling To The King's Feet And Rising!
[21:43] Up Again As His Golden Scepter Is Held Out And Nothing Is Said Of This The Commentators I Old And New Were Unified In Their View That Mordecai And Haman's Ancestry May Have Had Something To Do With This They Suggest That The Reason May Be In The Text Itself Now Mordecai's Identity As A Jew Was Certainly Important And Part Of This You See After Much Questioning By The King's Servants He Told Them He Was A Jew He Disclosing His Identity The Thing That Previously He Had Told Esther Not To Do The Text Also Implies The True Nature Of The Conflict In Haman's Identity And In Haman's Full Name Notice!
[22:39] He's Called Haman The Agagite The Son Of Hamadatha Mordecai May Have Refused To Bow Down Because Haman Was An Agagite Who Was A Descendant Of Agag Agag Was A Name For The Kings Of The Amalekites Now Who Were!
[22:59] They These Were Nomadic People Who In The Wilderness Were The Archetypal Enemies Of The Jews They Were Some Of The Earliest Enemies Of The Jews Of The People Of God As They Came Out Of Egypt As They Came Through The Red Sea They Attacked Israel Unprovoked And They Would Pray Upon The Weak They Would Pray Upon The Vulnerable They Would Pray Upon Those That Were Lagging Behind In The Wilderness And Some Of You May Recall That Epic Battle In Exodus 17 Where Moses He's Up On The Mountain And He's Holding The Rod While Joshua And His Men They're Fighting In The Valley The Amalekites In The Valley And The Chapter Closes With A Declaration That The Lord Will Have War With Amalek From Generation To Generation We
[24:00] Read In 1 Samuel 15 How King Saul Devoted The Amalekites To Destruction But Spared King Agag And The Sheep And The Oxen In Disobedience To What The Lord Had Clearly Commanded And Instructed Later The Prophet Samuel Killed Agag With The Sword It Literally Says He Hacked Agag To Pieces Now Mordecai Was A Descendant Of Kish Of The Tribe Of Benjamin As Was King Saul So This Enmity It's Rooted In An Age Old Conflict Going Back Generations But More Than A Historic Hatred Between Nations Between Peoples This Points To A Far Deeper And More Profound Conflict Between The Kingdom Of God And The Kingdom Of Satan We Can Go Back Even Further To The Beginning And That Conflict Between The Seed Of The Woman
[25:00] And The Seed Of The Serpent But Why Did Mordecai Take A Stand Now Why Did He Take It Here And Now One Commentator Wonders Whether This Was The Right Issue For Making A Stand Didn't Mordecai Make Other Compromises With Enemies Of God's People He Had No Issue With Esther Going Into The King's Harem And Told Esther To Hide That She Was A Jew In Chapter 2 Verse 10 Up Until Now He Hasn't Been Like A Daniel It Would Appear That Mordecai Has Quietly Obeyed The Laws He Is Assimilated Into Persian Life And According To Some May Have Compromised Rather Staying Quiet About His People And His God What I Think What We're Seeing Here In Mordecai Is The Awakening Of His Conscience And A Realisation That He Has To Draw A Line In The Sand Now Some Have Suggested Victions Came
[26:01] Late Well I Think We Need To Be Careful Not To Read Too Much In The Text Doesn't Say That But What Is Certain What Is Certain Is Bowing To Haman Is Something That Is Too Much For Him To Compromise On And People Of God Is That Not True Of Us Some Of Us Are Like Daniels Some Of Us And Very Strongly There Are Some There Are Some Of Us Who Are Probably Closer To A Mordecai We're Assimilated And We're Trying To Be Faithful But We're Needing To Choose Our Battles Now The Christian Life Is Not A Life That's Built On Negatives Our Christian Life Is Not Built Upon What We Don't Do However There Are Times
[27:01] When We Have To Take A Stand We Think Of The Apostles In The Book Of Acts Against The Forces Of Jewish And Roman Power You Think Of Church History Many Took A Stand For The Advancement Of The Gospel You Think Of The Prophets You Think Of Our Lord Himself You Think Of The Reformers Like Luther Up Against The Roman Catholic Authorities At The Diet Of Worms Where He Said Here I Stand I Can Do No Other Think Of The Puritans Ejected From The Established Church And Forced Out Of Their Positions Because They Took A Stand On Gospel Principles The Christian Life Involves At Some Point Taking A Stand Are We Ever Taking A Stand It's A Good Question To Ask And It Will Be Different For Different People In Their Circumstances In Their Situations It May Be A Family Member Blaspheming Christ's Name And You Have To Say Something
[28:01] It May Be In The Work Place You May Be Expected To Participate In Things That Go Against Your Conscience It May Be That Your Children Are Being Taught Things At School That Go Against God's Word Or Not In Line With God's Word And You Need To Discuss This And You Need To Let People Know That You're A Christian And This Is How You're Raising Your Children And How You Conduct Family Life We All Ultimately Have To Take A Stand On The Gospel At Some Point Now We Do So With Wisdom We Do So With Gentleness!
[28:42] And We Do So With Discernment You Notice That Mordecai He Shows Great Resolve As He's Asked Day After Day And He Stands Firm He Stands Out And He Stands Alone It Can Be A Lonely And Unpopular Thing To Do Now It Couldn't Have Been Easy For Him To Stand Up Against The King's Command And The Most Powerful Man In The Empire Second To The King This Led To Severe Consequences As We'll See In The Next Point So My Second Point An Evil Plan We See In Verse Five That Haman Was Filled With Rage And Humanly Speaking This Is The Response One Would Expect From A Petty Egocentric And Proud Man His Pride Is Wounded And He Want To Revenge
[29:42] One Would Think It Would Be Enough For Him To Seek The Destruction Of Mordecai But As An Old Commentator Thomas McCree Puts It Nothing Less Can Assuage His Anger Than The Destruction Of The Whole People Revenge Is Insatiable Verse Six Says Haman Sought To Destroy All The Jews The People Of Mordecai Throughout The Whole Kingdom Of Ahasuerus We Cannot Help But To Compare Haman To Those Biblical Antichrist Type Figures You Think Of Pharaoh You Think Of Antiochus Epiphanes Who Is Prophesied In The Book Of Daniel You Think Of King Herod The Time Of Christ All Had A Hatred For God's People We Then Think Of Those In History Such As Nero Hitler Stalin Those Who Engineered The Most Evil
[30:43] And Brutal Persecutions But People Of God We Would Do Well To To Peel Back The Curtain To Peel Back And Look Behind The Veil And Understand The True Nature Is The Spiritual Warfare That Is Taking Place Here Ever Since Genesis 3 15 Satan Has Understood That The Promised Deliverer Would Come Through The Seed Of The Woman And Through The People Of Israel The Jews And We Need To Look Beyond The Instruments That Are Used And See The Real Arch Enemy Of The People Of God The Real Arch Enemy Is Satan This Is Not This Is Not Merely A Personal Matter Or The Rantings Of An Egomaniac Al Despot If Nothing Else We Learn Here That As The People Of God We Will Have Enemies And We Have One Arch
[31:43] Enemy Who Is Seeking The Destruction Of The Church Jesus Said We Will Be Hated For His Name Sake As Christians We Have The Benefit Of Knowing The Full Story And Although We Have An Enemy Who Is Like A Roaring Lion And Is Roaming Our Enemy He's On A Chain He Is Bound He's Under The Sovereign Control Of God Now That's Hard For Us To Understand Sometimes But It's True He's A Defeated Foe Haman He's Not Only An Egotistic And Proud Man But He's A Superstitious Man Who Seeks To Rely On Chance Or Some Kind Of Pagan Means To Help Him Execute His Evil Plan Now He's Probably Reflecting The Superstitious Pagan Practices Of Persian Culture At That Time In Verse Seven We Read In
[32:43] The First Month Which Is The Month Of Nisan In The Twelfth Year Of King Eh Hushwerus They Cast Pure That Is Lot Before Haman Day After Day And They Cast It Month After Month Till The Twelfth Month Which Is The Month Of Adar Again Again Here We See The Wonderful Providence Of God At Work Even Over The Casting Of Lots It's Not Chance It's Not A Pagan Deity Or Divination That Governs All Things But It's The Sovereign Hand Of Yahweh The Living God Haman Is A Slave To Superstition As One Commentator States Haman Superstition Is Superintended And Bounded By The Decree Of God The Month Of Nisan Is The First Month Of The Jewish Religious Calendar Which Began With The Passover So Just As The Jews They're
[33:43] Preparing To Celebrate That Great Deliverance From Egypt Haman Is Planning Their Destruction You Notice This Small Detail Till The Twelfth Month God Allowed For A Twelve Month Delay Which Provided A Kind Of Buffer Of Time In The Middle Of The Plot Enabling Esther And Mordecai And The Jewish People Time This Allowed Time For God's Rescue Plan To Unfold And Another Great Deliverance For God's People Proverbs 16 33 Says The Lot Is Cast In The Lap But Its Every Decision Is From The Lord Haman Now Seeks Counsel With The King To Persuade Him Of His Plan It's Shocking How Little Persuasion The King Needs And How Little Curiosity Or Exercising Of His Critical Faculties There Is He Shows So Little In
[34:44] Depth Thought Or Curiosity He Doesn't Question Or Seek To Investigate Now Haman He's Clever He Seeks To Present A Number Of Truths Half Truths And Lies In Verse Eight He Says Their Laws Are Different From Those Of Every Other People And They Do Not Keep The King's Laws So It's Not To The King's Prophet To Tolerate Them He Then Request Their Destruction So Haman Is Willing To Lie To Bribe To Manipulate And Play Upon The King's Pride His Arrogance And His Self Interest He's Portraying The Jews As A Traitorous And Lawless People Now Cast Your Mind Back To Mordecai's Conduct He's Demonstrated He's A Loyal And Law Abiding Citizen And The Jewish People Would Have Been Law Abiding And Orderly Citizens Can This Charge Be Made Against
[35:44] Us As Christians The Jews Were Accused Of Not Being Assimilated Now We Have We Have In Some Sense Different Laws As Christians Don't We We Have Different Moral Laws Spiritually We Have A Different Moral Code And A Different View Of What It Means To Be Human
[40:05]
[42:35] Time And Again Through The Redemptive Plan Of God The Book Of Revelation Describes This Antichrist Spirit In the Great Mystical Babylon The Mother Of Prostitutes And Of Earth's Abominations Drunk With The Blood Of The Saints Of Martyrs Of Jesus During Times When It Looks Like Things Couldn't Get Any Worse For God's People Knowledge Of His Providence Alone Is Not Enough To Sustain And Uphold Them Certainly We Do Need To Submit To God's Providence That's Hugely Important But We Need To Draw On His Precious Promises We Need His Presence To Carry Us Through The Trial We Need To Draw Strength From His Promises And Be Upheld By The Presence Of His Spirit Being Carried Along Isaiah 43
[43:36] Says But Thus Says The Lord He Who Created You O Jacob He Who Formed You O Israel Fear Not For I Have Redeemed You I Have Called You By Name You Are Mine When You Pass Through The Waters I Will Be With You And Through The Rivers They Shall Not Overwhelm You When You Walk Through Fire You Shall Not Be Burned And The Flame Shall Not Consume You For I Am The Lord Your God The Holy One Of Israel Your Saviour Hebrews 13 5 God Says I Will Never Leave You Or Forsake You In The Chaos In The Difficulties In The Storms Of Our Life Our God In Heaven Is In Control And He's Close By And He Carries Us Through A Kind Of Contrast Is Set For In Verse 15 In That The City Of Susa Was Thrown Into Confusion While The King
[44:36] And Haman They Sat Down To Drink So On One Hand We Have A Picture Of Febrile Frenzied And Fear Driven Confusion And On The Other Hand We Have A Picture Of Two Men At Peace Sitting Down One Commentator Speaks Of The Contrast Between The Pleasure Of The King And Haman And The Perplexity Of The City The Citizens Of The City Being In Confusion Indicates That There Were Those Among The Non Jewish Populous Who Sympathised With The Jewish Plight Now It's As If The King And Haman They're Sitting Down To Drink With Self Congratulatory Conceit They're Celebrating The Day Of Doom For The Jews Showing Such Little Sympathy Little Did Haman Know That In God's Secret Providential Purposes That This Will Make Mark The Day Of And People Of God We We See In These Passages
[45:36] An Important Biblical Principle The Believer Is Almost Always Bought Low Before They Are Raised Up It's A Biblical Pattern Of The Valley Before The Hill Top It's The Cross Before The Crown I Thought Of That Old Reformation Slogan After Darkness There Is Light In The Darkness There Is A Bright And Hopeful Future For Christians Because We Know The End Of The Story But We're Not In Glory Yet Is This Not The Pattern Christ Has Set For In His Humiliation And Death And Then In His Resurrection His Exaltation And His Session At The Right Hand Of The Father Romans 8 18 Says For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing With The Glory That Is To Be Revealed To Us So As We Read This Chapter And
[46:36] This Book Let Us Remember That Christ Is Our Great Victor And Conquering King Not The Hamans Of This World This Document Of Death Was To Be Issued As A Decree In Every Province By Proclamation To All The Peoples We Proclaim The Message Of Life That Is To Go Forth To All Peoples And Has Done For The Past 2000 Years And Will Do Until The End Of Time Church Do Not Be Dismayed Or Discouraged During These Times It May Feel That Satan And The Hamans Of This World Have The Upper Hand But The Gospel Is Prevailing And Going For From One Day All Will Bow The Knee To Christ And Unlike This City Of Susa And This Present City Of This World Where There Is Confusion There Will Be Peace And Freedom From Fear And The Battle Will
[47:36] Be Bought To A Final End And All Our Tears Will Be Wiped Away And God Will Dwell With Us In That Holy City The New Heavenly Jerusalem Forever More Amen Father We Thank you So much For This Your Word That We Have Heard This Evening And We Do Pray Lord That You Would Apply This Word To Our Hearts And That We Would Go Away Strengthened And Built Up Knowing That You Are The God Who Providentially Rules Super Intends And Governs Over All Things But You Are Not A Distant God You Are Not Aloof Governing From A Distant You Are A Very Present Help In Trouble Lord And We Thank You So Much For Your Glorious And Wonderful Promises That All Believers All Those Who Are In Christ
[48:37] Jesus Can Draw Upon And Feed On And Know The Riches Of Lord Please Bless Us With A Greater Awareness Of These Glorious Promises And We Pray These Things In Jesus Name Amen Well Our Closing Hymn Is Psalm 46!
[49:11] God Is Our Strength And Refuge Our Present Help In Trouble And We Therefore Will Not Fear Though The Earth Should Change Though Mountains Shake And Tremble Though Swirling Floods Are Raging God The Lord Of Hosts Is With Us Ever More There Is A Flowing River Within God's Holy City God Is In The Mist
[50:11] Of Her She Shall Not Be Moved God Is Help Is Swiftly Given Throws Vanish At His Presence God The Lord Of Hosts Is With Us Ever More Come Come See The Works Of A Maker Learn Of His Deeds All Powerful Wars Will Cease Across The World When He Shatters The Spear Be Still And Know Your Creator Uplift
[51:12] Him In The Ashes God The Lord Of Hosts Is With Us Ever More May The Grace Of The Lord Jesus Christ The Love Of God And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All Amen To