Recently, I was reading the book of Esther 5:1-8 and in do so, God revealed a profound truth to me. In the story, Esther approaches the king to inquire if he would join the feast she prepared for him. Her objective was to make a petition to him so that she could save her people from certain death. As I read this I thought: how brave of her, to go to the king without him calling for her which meant death if he was displeased. Then God addressed me with the question, “Are you willing to die in the fight?” I had to think again about Esther. She came to the king to seek solace for her people but knew if he did not raise his sceptre to her, he could have ordered her execution. Although Esther prepared herself by fasting and calling all of the Jews to fast with her there was a chance that things could not go in her favor.
Esther, for the advancement of the kingdom of God was willing to die if it meant her people would be saved. She allowed God to use her as a type of Christ. Her response to Mordicai was, “if I perish, I perish. I’m going to see the king” As I thought about her response, it made me realize that many Christians today say they love God but are they really willing to make the ultimate sacrifice? Are we willing to die to things that keep us separated from God in order to advance His Kingdom in the earth? Or are we just satisfied with our surface worship that doesn’t have substance? Are we just willing to continue to give God our lip service until something catastrophic occurs in our little world? And lastly, what should we be doing to show God we are truly ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to spread the Gospel?
On thing Esther’s example taught me is that we all need to pull in to get closer to the Lord. I learned through prayer that God loves intimate, one on one time with us. We need to sacrifice time with friends, children and even spouses to get a bit closer to Christ. Without spending significant time with God, we will crumble under the pressures of life. Esther knew God and because she did, had no doubt that God would deliver her people from the evil verdict that loomed over them. She harnessed the ultimate belief and hope that God would save her (II Thess 2:16).
We also have to humble ourselves even more toward God. Esther was humbled and willing to die at her husband’s hand for her people. The modern day believer, from what I’m witnessing is deluded into believing that trouble should never knock on their door because they are saved….it’s a fallacy! As children of God, we’re called to war in the spirit and our relationship is described in military terms for a reason. If a soldier is not willing to fight, prepare and do battle he is sent home. He is not ready to fully embrace his call. In order to be victorious in our battles we must trust God because He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).
It is time for the church at large to recommit to dying in the fight. We have to let our carnal desires go and spend more time with the Lord. When is the last time we’ve fasted, led a brother or sister to Christ, spent an afternoon in the word or a few hours in prayer? In spending time with Him, he will teach us not only how to wait for His timing (James 4:4) but also we will become more like Him. Our carnal nature will become subject to the Christ in us. Let’s endeavor to get closer to Him in this season. If we choose to do so, our carnal man will die which will allow us to win the battles the enemy of God throws at us. We will be more than conquerors while spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in the earth.
What carnal desire or habit are you willing to sacrifice and thus die in the fight to evangelize the world?
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Tag: sacrifice
GIVE HIM YOUR ISAAC
Last night, my husband and I enjoyed the symphony with friends. As we watched, I was mesmerized by the melodious sounds resonating from the stage. Each musician was precise, accurate and totally engaged in their work. Every ounce of their discipline was evident as their offering of harmony delivered to our audience one perfected piece after another. In our lives we can see a mirrored scenario. We each harbor th
e potential to offer beauty in any endeavor we pursue. God offers us success, but after our journey in Christ commences we have to grow spiritually in order to wisely manage it. Without maturation we become a stagnant, useless carcass unable to fully manifest His glory among men in the earth. There are many zealous believers that desire to be used mightily of the Lord but in order for this to occur, there is a process of preparedness that has to be completed. In Genesis 22, Abraham was in the process of being re-constructed. He was on the cusp of being spiritually challenged in a way he never expected. In this look at Abraham, most believe God only wanted him to offer his son Isaac as a test of loyalty. The passage illustrates obedience to God in the midst of what human discerning may deem illogical direction. While this is definitely one perspective, God revealed something deeper concerning this conundrum to me.
In order to remain in a place of spiritual flexibility, we need to regularly be made uncomfortable! The reality that God places us in such situations may not be popular but is indeed a fact. Abraham fell into a place many of us find ourselves amidst. He was complacent. He served God, observed the holy days and offered the appropriate sacrifices when he was required to do so. He trusted his “safe” spiritual place yet his routine actually worked against him. Oh how we are more like him than we realize! We attend the worship service, pay the tithe, hear the sermon, wonder what restaurant has a dinner special and repeat the process the following week. Our God is a God of progressive change yet believers desire an ordinary seasonal predictability that offers false security. When God directed Abraham to offer his son Isaac for the sacrifice, he was shaken from his place of comfort and catapulted to an area he’d never known. Extreme faith! Abraham knew that the law of Moses offered him only judgment if he didn’t obey. However his blind obedience didn’t challenge his faith. Committing scripture to memory didn’t’ do it either. He needed something more. More than ritual, he needed a relationship with the Lamb.
Genesis 22 presents us with the ideal that the body of Christ has to endure a periodic agitation. If we are looking for the miraculous in our daily lives, we have to submit to an abrupt, sudden and permanent change in our spiritual thinking which is orchestrated by the Father. Our “Unknowing” will lead us as it did Abraham to a place of abundant faith. Abraham moved in his extreme faith when he said in verse five that he and the lad will go worship then return. He didn’t know if God would resurrect Isaac or continue to require his son to remain the sacrifice. All he could comprehend was that his humanity which is representative of wood is fallible. He knew somehow, someway that God would not let him down in relation to his son which he now perceived as the sacrifice. His child was the perfect offering before the Lord at that moment. This type represented Jesus’ death for all of humanities sins. Even more perfect than Isaac’s child. Isaac, in his quest to find the spiritual perfecting he needed, he had to give God his Isaac so he could discover the Lamb.
In verse six the question arose, “Where is the Lamb?” If we desire God’s perfect will we have to surrender our Isaac and find the Lamb. Just as the musicians who performed for me sought perfection through repetition, we too must repeatedly seek God in the realm of massive, unwavering faith. This will only come through allowing Him to place us in uncomfortable situations so that we can believe for more than we ever dreamed possible. This can only occur for us once we’ve attained grace from God through His Lamb.
If the church is to make a broader impact in the world and persuade the lost, we need to be ready to give up our safe places that offer us monotony. These are our Isaac’s. It encompasses those spiritual hiding places of hindrances or feat that challenge our growth. We can not continue to forsake the initiation of intimacy if we desire mammoth faith in Jesus. Any other misplaced confidence in our ability only encourages us to depend on ourselves instead of God.
As the symphony drew to a close the question again resonated within me. What is your Isaac? What is that sure thing, that carnal connection which I always know will come through for me? What do I always depend on that is not Christ? The body of Christ needs to realize a new dispensation is here just as Abraham had. The miraculous will not happen with believers hiding in the shadows with the fear they will offend someone with their salvation. It will not happen if we keep pacifying ourselves with church work nor will it happen through pretending to be full of wisdom. Our goal as believers is to show the world a more radical place of belief; not hide in the pews. We should be able to illustrate to the unbeliever that we have all power on earth to fulfill our prophetic assignment. Just as the musicians, we must be precise, strategic and totally engaged in the work of the Lord for the perfecting of the saints. Every ounce of our disciplined living should be evident in all the areas of our lives offering harmony to those around us.
What is your Isaac? If you yearn for more out of your relationship with God, let Him exacerbate your circumstances to propel you to a broader place of faith. Give Him your Isaac and watch God use you in a mighty way in the body of Christ.
Be encouraged child of the most high God~!
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Dr. Denise Joyce Williams lives in Florida with her husband who is a career soldier. Her articles have been featured in CALLED and WOW magazine. Her book entitled, “The Healing Of A Broken Vessel” was released by Publish America in March 2009. The book can be found: http://www.publishamerica.com. She can be reached via her ministry website http://www.thebrokenvessel.com. She’s currently penning her next book entitled “The Chambers Of The Heart”.
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