Stay in the Fight
Esther 7:9-10
9 Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet[a] tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.”
“Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered. 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
As much as there is physical war on the earth, there is, even more, a real and violent war that's happening in heavenly places right now. While you may not be able to see it in our physical world, its effect and impact is clear and evident. As the war wages on, lawlessness abounds and the love of many grows colder by the day. While the intensity of this war is most definitely increasing and the enemy's schemes remain lethal, it is imperative that we as Christ’s Body refuse to shrink back or succumb to fear. The end of the war has been decided. You and I were hand selected, by our Great King, to fight during such a time as this. Our King Jesus has overcome this world and the worst the enemy has to offer. Now more than ever, it’s time for the Church (you and I) to dig our heels into every promise of God and boldly declare the truth and love of God into every place of culture Holy Spirit has established for us. This is the year the Church needs to relearn how to walk and fight in the full armor God has entrusted us with (Ephesians 6). We need the resolve to do spiritual warfare for the Kingdom in the manner God has called us to. We need to learn to battle past the point of being uncomfortable.
Like He did in Esther's day, if we choose to engage in the fight, the Lord will impale the enemy on the pole he was sharpening to impale us on. Again, like Esther we must resist the urge to be passive towards the warfare and Stay in the Fight until our King’s Word has come to fulfillment.
If you have not read the book of Esther recently, I encourage you to do so. As I believe, there are prophetic keys in this Scripture for whipping the enemy’s tail in this hour we, the Church, have found ourselves in. Here's some of the keys that I found.
Stay in constant relationship with God’s people. Esther was brought into King Xerxes' court as an outsider. In fact, if the pagan king and officials knew she was a Jew she would have never been permitted in the king's presence. She was a common Jew in a pagan court. Sometimes the Lord will promote you further than you're qualified to be, but it’s imperative to stay connected to the people of God as Esther did with Mordecai. You are not of this world, even if you are entrenched in it. There is no job title, position or activity that could ever be more important than your commitment to God’s Body.
Live from intimacy with God and take direction from His Word. God is always speaking and engaging His people with His Word. We, like Esther, have to be willing to get over our emotions and fear of what we can’t control, so we are able to listen to and take direction from the Father. One of the lesser known parallels of this story is Mordecai was a father figure that spoke truth, life, and direction into Esther's life. Like Esther, in the most critical moments of the battle, we must be willing to settle ourselves down so we are able to engage the Fathers words and heed His direction.
Stay engaged and refuse to give up. Passivity is the reward of the defeated. We, as the Church, need the same revelation Mordecai gave Esther in her weakest moment as she was just about to give up and run from the fight. You were born for such a time as this. You are not in the battle to be defeated. God brought you where you are, so He can use you to bring victory for His people!
What an honor to be alive, and called to the fight, at this time in human history. What a privilege to be enlisted into God’s army with you. I am believing and contending for God’s Kingdom to advance, like never before. I am praying for a harvest, crying out for righteousness and believing for revival, like never before. I refuse to quit and I’ll stay in the fight until my last breath on earth.
Love,
Pastor John