5 LESSONS LEARNED FROM Esther

King Xerxes was the man in charge – feared by his enemies and his subjects.

Esther was an orphan.

King Xerxes lived in a palace and had lavish banquets lasting several months.

Esther was taken in by her cousin, Mordecai, and his family.

When King Xerxes gave a command, he would not countermand it – even if he regretted the decision.

Esther was a humble Israelite who followed her cousin's instructions.

They were an unlikely pair. Yet God's plan was for Esther to be queen, and queen she would be.  

God was making provision to thwart an evil plan that hadn't even been spoken yet. God knew there was a man named Haman who would eventually convince the king to kill the Jews. And so before Haman was even promoted to a place of authority, God arranged for Esther to be chosen as queen. 

Don’t you love that God is always out in front of the enemy? He knows the plan of the enemy before it’s even formulated!

Haman's plan to execute all the Jews in King Xerxes' provinces eventually surfaced, and Mordecai came to Esther. She began to fast and pray.  She asked God what He wanted her to do about it. 

Lesson 1: When you need direction, fast and pray. 

But not only did she fast and pray, she instructed her own servants, family and fellow Jews to do so with her. She instinctively knew that it is better to ask for help than to try to go it alone. 

Lesson 2: We need each other.

Esther's first notable action as queen was to enter the king's court without invitation. No one entered King Xerxes' court without an invitation. Not unless they desired to die. But Esther was courageous. She took a step of faith, and found favor with the King.

Lesson 3: Walking by faith isn’t for the faint of heart.  

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NLT)

Lesson 4: God will make His way happen with or without us. 

The Jews would have relief because God spoke it. Esther's family lived because she chose to be a part of God's plan. We have the privilege to choose to be a part of His plans! 

Esther used wisdom and grace to gain favor with King Xerxes. She fasted, prayed, and waited on God for a plan to form. Then she went before the King to tell of Haman's plans to kill her and her people. 

Lesson 5: Sometimes God's plan for us takes time. 

We love to hear about the promises of God, but waiting for them to happen is not our favorite part.

Before she was needed, God put her in the place she needed to be. And then when it was time for God to use her, she courageously walked by faith and saved not only her family, but also all the Israelites living in King Xerxes' provinces.  

Humility. Courage. Faith. Timing.

Where has God placed you?  And for what time and purpose?  Whose life depends on you to make the right choices? Will you?

by Brandi Burton 

Chosen

He had no clue that the day his father sent him in search of their lost donkeys, he would encounter the prophet Samuel instead. The idea that he could one day be king of Israel, that he would be chosen to save Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, probably never crossed his mind. But in his search for donkeys, he found divine destiny.

Chosen- adj: selected from several; preferred; elect

Choose- verb: to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference; to prefer or decide; to want or desire

Selected among all the tribes of Israel… Saul became Israel’s first king. Anointed, chosen. And things went well for a while...until a single choice changed everything.

In 1 Samuel 13, we find that Saul waited for Samuel for 7 days to offer the sacrifice before battle. The Philistines were many and were ready for battle. Saul’s men were hiding and scattering from fear. (Some of them even joined the Philistines!) But instead of building the faith of his men, Saul let fear overtake his faith and he took matters into his own hands…he performed the sacrifice meant for the prophet.

You can almost hear Saul’s desperation as he tries to justify to Samuel why he didn’t wait.

“My men were leaving me…”

“You didn’t come when you said you would…”

“Look at those Philistines!”

But deep down, Saul knew that the choice he had made was wrong. He got complacent. He let the crown ON his head go TO his head.

Just because he was chosen, didn’t mean he was free to do things his way. On the contrary, he was the one the people looked to for leadership. He was to set the example. He, of all people, was to walk uprightly and obey God’s commands.

I Peter 2:9 says we are a chosen people. And like Saul, even though we are chosen, we still must make the right choices. We must follow the commands and guidelines laid out for us in the Bible. We must walk uprightly. We must fulfill our destiny. We must build God’s kingdom!

Saul was chosen, but forfeited his purpose. You have been chosen…what choices will you make?

Brandi Burton

The Things That Are Not

Scientists said it couldn’t be done. Chuck Yeager had different plans. On October 14, 1947, he took a flight that broke the sound barrier and its “invisible brick wall.” The doom and gloom experts who predicted that both the pilot and aircraft could not endure such speed without damage were mystified. Yeager attained an air speed of 700 miles per hour in his Bell Aviation X-1 airplane. Three weeks later he accelerated to an incredible 1,612 miles per hour. So much for the impenetrable barrier.

In his autobiography, Yeager reflects, “After all the anxiety, after all the anticipation, breaking the sound barrier was really a letdown. The sonic barrier, the unknown, was just a poke through JELL-O, a perfectly paved speedway.” The historical, myth-destroying event turned out to be a walk in the park. All the hoopla surrounding breaking down flight barriers existed only in people’s minds. Yeager continued, “Later, I realized that this mission had to end in a letdown because the real barrier wasn’t in the sky, but rather in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight.”

What so-called “invisible brick walls” are stunting your ability to grow? BEWARE: The “human barriers” contrived in your mind produce impenetrable personal limitations. This is the reason most people do not succeed in attaining those lofty spiritual goals they have set for themselves. People spend so much time dwelling on the barrier that they fail to realize that the barrier is between their ears. The real spiritual growth that should be transpiring in people’s lives is aborted because the enemy got into their mind and convinced them that they couldn’t survive any longer. They became so fixated on what happened, what may happen, and whatever impossibilities may exist, that they forgot the rest of the equation.

In a relationship with God, the probability for normal success is non-existent; that is, if you are truly a child of faith. The sound barrier was a barrier only because man had never punched through it. What we have available to us in the context of God’s covenant is far greater than any barrier that Satan could attempt to use to circumvent God’s promise and plan. God has no boundaries, yet much of what we will possess we have yet to even see.

When we purpose to extend our expectations and release a floodtide of faith, it is automatic that resistance will follow. I wonder how many people had dreamed of becoming the first man to break the sound barrier before Chuck Yeager stepped forward to prove that it could be done. As someone once said, “Those who live in fear live in chains.”

You should not be afraid to push away from the shore or even step out of the boat entirely. God speaks those things that are not as though they were. I have heard it said many times: “There is nowhere that you can go that He hasn’t been first.” How true it is. There is no problem you will ever encounter that He does not already have the solution for. That’s why He’s God.

On your journey to God you will encounter many barriers -- walls that the Devil will build to hem you into a field of mediocrity. You must look beyond the wall and see a fresh field of revelation. God did not put you into the oven of purification for you to come out half-baked. Stay in God’s process. It gives way to the power.

Friends and family members are likely to become the loudest voices of criticism and can easily stir up a fog of confusion. It’s now that you have to choose which voice you will listen to. The crowd of low expectations rarely celebrates with one who has set a pace of excellence and holiness. The wilderness is a lonesome place but the place of promise is not.

Your refusal to accept anything less than what God has for you is the step of anticipation that will take you across a flooded Jordan. Don’t pay attention to the barrier, or it may just become a facilitator of fear. With faith and determination, the things that are not will become certain reality.

Bishop J. Todd Nichols

Excerpt from Bishop's book Transfigured.  You may buy it at www.greaterfaithchurch.org/store 

The Box

Where Scripture is concerned many tend to misinterpret symbolism and mishandle timeless principles. Since the Bible is the benchmark for all truth, it’s imperative that its parables, precepts and promises are not skewed. Take for instance the Ark of the Covenant. To the common seeker reading Scripture for devotional purposes, or the uninformed believer sifting through 4000 years of biblical history, things can get a little dicey with interpretation. It’s easy for things to get lost in translation.

Space would not permit me to elaborate on the vast expanse of the meanings behind the symbolism of the entire Tabernacle. Even the Ark itself cannot be unscrambled within these 700 words. But here are a few things we need to know about the Ark of the Covenant, as it relates to our own lives.

The Ark, or “Box”, as it is defined in the Hebrew text, was made of Acacia wood. Acacia wood was not wood that was found in abundance in the land of Canaan. It was primarily found in the Sinai wilderness. The Ark was constructed in the wilderness, and then overlaid within and without with pure gold. On the top of this “Box” was a lid capped with a crown, which was overlaid in pure gold as well. For this blog we’ll leave the cherubim on top of the lid out of the discussion.

The Ark’s purpose was two-fold. First, it was to protect the Word of God – the two tables of stone inside the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. Second, it was to keep God’s covenant intact. There were no magical powers about the Ark. Without the Word of God inside it was just another box. God’s Word contained in that gold box brought God’s protection, provision, and blessing to the nation of Israel. If you weren’t keeping the words of the “Testimony” contained in the Ark then you became a recipient of His wrath – just ask the Philistines.

The people of Israel were not allowed to lay eyes upon the Ark. Only one man, the High Priest, one time per year was allowed to lay eyes upon the Ark, and that only with God’s glory upon it and lamb’s blood applied to it. This was God’s way of preventing them from being tempted with idolatry. He did not want them to worship the Box, a graven image. The Box was the container of the Word and the throne of His glory.

Everything in the Tabernacle represents something about the nature of Christ, especially the Ark. Christ in His flesh – the acacia – was proven in the wilderness and pure as gold, within and without. He was the Word in flesh and the shedding of His blood was the antitype of the blood on the lid of the Ark. The crown of thorns on His head symbolized His total submission. The blood of Christ, which came from His head and downward, now covers mankind. You will never wear a crown of gold until you can first wear a crown of thorns.

In reality, your heart is that Box, made of wild acacia. Yet if you hide God’s Law in your heart, it will make it pure as gold, within and without. His blood is not just a covering for your heart, but it is literally a covering for His Word in your heart. His Word in your heart covered by His blood brings His glory upon you. As it was with the “Thorny Acacia” in the wilderness with Moses, the Lawgiver spoke to the Law receiver out of the Acacia that burned with fire but was not consumed. This pointed the way to the Box of the Covenant, made of Acacia, overlaid within and without with pure gold and covered by blood, and the voice of God spoke from the cloud upon the Mercy Seat. The fulfillment: God covers the wild nature of believers (Acacia) with the pure blood of Christ and fills us with His glory. The same voice speaks from that same cloud through us in other tongues out of the abundance of our heart. YOU are the Box.

Bishop J. Todd Nichols

For more details on this topic watch “The Box” via the link below. 

http://subspla.sh/13l3y5B

Haunted by Fear

In some cases, fear is amusing and sought after. Think roller coasters. Your pulse starts to pound and your palms begin to sweat as the seat you're strapped in slowly climbs to the top. It reaches the top, stops for a split second, and then plummets toward the earth. Some laugh, some scream, some cry. But regardless of the response, if you’re like me, you’re scared. And it’s that thrill of fear that keeps us coming back. We pay to be scared!

(In addition to theme parks, think about how much money Americans spend each year on things like haunted houses and scary movies.)

In other cases, fear is very real and very serious. Fear can cause us to make rash decisions or stop us from making right ones. Fear can paralyze us.

Some are affected by the fear of failure and difficulties…some by the fear of weakness and insignificance…others by the fear of being unloved and alone. In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul gave us the instructions to vanquish the aforementioned fears. 

Fear of failure and difficulties?  “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance” (Romans 5:3).

Fear of weakness and insignificance?  “And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:4).

Fear of being unloved and alone?  “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:5).

Paul was telling the Roman church that God has equipped us to live out His plan for us.

Fear has a tendency to creep into our minds before we even recognize it. We let the "what ifs" in our lives leave us feeling debilitated. What if I forget what to say? What if I don't know what to do?  What if I do it wrong?  What if...

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners (Romans 5:6). He came at just the right time! And He will always be with us when we need Him! Don’t be haunted by fear!

Jesus died for you so you don't have to be afraid. He conquered your fears when He walked out of that tomb. So again I say, don’t be haunted by fear!

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). This should give us liberty to live within His hope! Don’t. Be. Haunted. By. Fear!

Brandi Burton

Soul-Winning

My mind is mulling over thoughts on soul-winning. By no means am I the expert;

just thinking out loud.

Soul-winning is a unique mixture of science, theology, timing, wisdom, and faith – and is truly an art with regards to creativity.

Every human being has a unique fingerprint which serves as a reminder that EVERY person is different. Not only are they different from every other person but the season in which they find themselves is unique and ever-changing. It is for these reasons that people become frustrated with soul-winning and give up. First, let me say, don't let rejection in the area of soul-winning steal your passion. Not only are there others who are waiting on you to come to them, the one who rejected your advance may accept the seed you planted when the season changes.

There are so many variables that it can be very confusing. Prayer and a well-trained ear to God's voice will help with this of course. Keep following God and you will see that your success rate will climb over time.

That being said, God gave principles in His Word that eliminate the need to be perfect in every scenario, though he did tell us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as a dove."

One principle is found in Matthew 13 where Jesus told the parable of four soils: stony, thorns, wayside, and good. Some have said that this means that only 25% of what you sow will end up producing because only the seed on good ground produced. This statement doesn't have enough evidence to support it because Jesus did not say that the same amount of seed FELL on all four terrains. And even among the seed that fell on good ground some brought forth 30, some 50, and some 100-fold. The problem was not with the seed or the sower. What Jesus was telling us is that the same seed can be sown by the same sower and produce up to 100-fold in some and nothing in others. We still have to be the sower. God is the only one that can give the increase, but if the individual where the seed has been sown rejects the seed, not even God will go against nature to force increase.

Another principle about this story: Jesus did not teach anywhere in this parable, how to sow. Jesus himself did not differentiate between methods. AND Jesus himself was not scientific in His approach. Jesus said things like: "Come and follow me." "Take up your cross and follow me." "If you can't eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you cannot be my disciple."

Following the last statement above, the Bible says, "Many turned away and never followed Him again." He didn't change methods and He didn't quit reaching for people because He experienced one church split after another.

Of course, every Scripture about soul-winning can't be covered here but rest assured that nothing in the Scripture will contradict these principles. I think (which means it's an opinion), we need to remember a few things about soul-winning.

1. ANY method that brings people closer to God should be taken note of, not criticized. 

2. There is NO perfect method. Try what you feel like The Lord is giving you and if after a while it bears no fruit, find out why and if it can't be improved stop doing it.

3. Don't use criticism for someone else's method to justify your lack of effort or results. If a person is winning souls it doesn't matter whether you think their results should be better or that not enough of them are staying in the church.

4. Jesus said, "If they reject you they reject me." Don't take rejection personal. It's not about you anyway. Jesus never said, "If you sow a seed and they reject the seed it means they don't like you."

5. Stop making excuses. Stop saying you're not that kind of person. Stop speaking negative faith. Sow the seed. Water the seed. And water the seed again and again. Then leave the rest up to God.

6. God would not have commanded and commissioned you to do something that He would not anoint you to do.

7. Use any method you can get your hands on. Every person may not respond to the same method but when you find a method that reaches a certain demographic, use it, use it, use it...never stop using it or at least stop being critical of people who do use it.

8. Yes, I know that soul-winning includes making disciples. So don't stop there, keep working with them. Keep encouraging them. Check on them, teach them, befriend them. Be there for them.

My opinion is that the church is spending more time discussing methods than proving them. Jude gave us 2 simple approaches: "Some save with compassion...others save with fear." 

If Jesus were alive today the pundits would be reporting mostly negative headlines. "He has managed to get twelve men to follow Him but none of them are wealthy so, if His method only reaches 'those' kind of people we don't recommend using him as a role model for soul-winning. In addition, He managed to get thousands to follow Him but He just lost 90% by preaching about cannibalism. Let's wait to see who builds the next mega church full of wealthy people and we will copy what they are doing." Signed, religious pundit who has never done anything for God.

The bottom line is that God will bless and anoint ALL who choose to participate in the act of soul-winning. If you are one of those that says that relationships is the best way to win souls and that's the only method you use, I won't be critical, but I feel sorry for the people around you. That means ONLY the people you have the time to build relationships with will have a chance to be saved. Don't lock yourself in a box. Use ALL methods. Reach souls and don't let rejection and slow results impede your passion. People are waiting to hear what you have to say. Open your mouth and tell someone. Plant the seed, water it with prayer and tears, and let God give the increase.

Have a blessed day!

PS - Pray this prayer for best results: "Lord lead me to the hungry and lead the hungry to me." (Learned this from Bishop Chester Wright 16 years ago. It works.)

Bishop J. Todd Nichols

I Am Here

She rushes the kids out the door and rockets the car toward the church…hoping they’ll be on time, and that the kids’ nightly backseat brawl won’t feature broken limbs. She’d never meant for life to be like this.  She had become a single mom of three, working for minimum wage with bankruptcy looming. This week had been especially tough…a week of sleepless nights…a week of wondering how they'd make it. She nods to the greeters as they enter the auditorium and take their seats on the back row. As the band begins to play, the vocalists to sing, she glances around at those who are worshiping…she bows her head, silent tears begin to stream. In the midst of the music, the worship, the weight of worry…she hears a whisper, “Daughter, I am here.”

He had started this business alone, built it from the ground up; that’s what made it so tough. He walks in and puts on a smile, pats the backs of faithful employees, shakes the hands of valued customers...not letting anyone know that this time next week, his doors will be closed. He gets a few minutes alone in his office and reaches into the desk drawer. He lays his hand on his Bible and sighs…  “God, where are You?  I can’t do this alone.”  And the same voice whispers to him, “Son, I am here.”

Jesus had sent the disciples away after the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Afraid, they rowed frantically trying to get out of storm’s way.  Mark 6:48 says, “He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves.  About 3 o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.”  It doesn’t say that Jesus came right away.  He saw their troubles.  He knew they were worried. But he waited until 3 o’clock to come their way; and would have passed them by, but they cried out, supposing he was a spirit. He responded, “Don’t be afraid! Take courage!  I am here!”

I am here. It was enough to assuage their fear, enough to lift the burden of worry.

Whatever your situation, hear the voice of the I AM…

Facing bankruptcy? I am here.

Battling depression? I am here.

Bound by addiction? I am here.

Drowning in loneliness? I am here.

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you.”

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him.”

I don’t know where you’re at today, but I know He’s there. 

by Brandi Burton