Calling All Esther(s) 8: Bride or Concubine

Proverbs 19:14

House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding and prudent wife is from the Lord. AMP

Whether individually or corporately, we may inherit things that can be to our advantage or disadvantage. They could be to our advantage if we are ready for them when we receive them. But if they come and we are not prepared for them, we run the chance of  not knowing how to handle them properly. 

The right course of action then is to be prepared ahead of time, so that when those things come, they do not run through our fingers like water due to negligence or mistreatment that comes from lack of knowledge which causes us to devalue those things. 

Instead, we need to learn to treat them or manage them the right way so they can grow and multiply. This applies to relationships as well as material things because as citizens of heaven, we are being made stewards of everything God gives to us and entrusts us with.

In the book of Esther, the ladies that were chosen to prepare for the possibility of becoming the queen that would replace Queen Vashti (who was dethroned publicly by the king), had to go through a process that could not be skipped or escaped. This ensured that the one with the right heart, a heart after the King and the things that mattered to him, would be chosen queen. 

The ones who were not chosen for the position had one thing in common: they were more concerned with themselves and how they looked to others when they were seen with the King and with all the material things they could obtain, instead of concerning themselves with how they would look in their hearts to Him. So, the things they asked for were given to them, but that opportunity also served as a test to see what they were going to ask for. This was a test of maturity.

Esther 2:12-13 says, “Before a girl could take her turn with King Xerxes, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments. These were ordered for the women. For 6 months she was treated with oil and myrrh. And she spent 6 months with perfumes and cosmetics. Then she was ready to go to the king. Anything she asked for was given to her. She could take it with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace.”

This was a sifting process, but the one that did the sifting was not the King himself—someone else did the sifting for him—Hegai, the eunuch. Because Hegai knew ahead of time what was most important to King Xerxes and what was required from the heart and the mind of the next queen. He was able to observe them and oversee them during their time of preparation to see who was developing the right heart for the task at hand because he understood the King and the kingdom.

Hegai, in this case, is one of the representatives in this book of the Holy Spirit who is our Counselor and Guide. Esther was chosen queen to replace Vashti since she had developed the right heart and showed all the signs of a mature “bride” for the King. But the other candidates became concubines and were never called to go before the King again. Esther, on the other hand, asked Hegai what would be best for her to take before the king. 

Because of Esther’s wise request, he took the opportunity and instructed her in the things that were important to the King and were needed for her to remain in her position as Queen. Esther accepted the suggestions, and this worked to her advantage because of her obedience and diligence to Hegai`s wise counsel which granted her the position and the promotion. That is because material things already came with the position and that is why Esther was not concerned about those things.

Esther 2:14-15 instructs, “Esther daughter of Abihail, Mordecai’s uncle, had been adopted by Mordecai. The time came for her to go to the king. She asked for only what Hegai suggested she should take. (Hegai was the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women). And everyone who saw Esther liked her.”

In addition, there were hidden secrets that needed to be discovered because they were classified information that only those close to the king would know. This is what Esther busied herself with finding out, not the things that were by-products of holding the royal title because they were already guaranteed. So once Hegai found the one with the right heart for this position, he knew what to inform the king ahead of time. 

Can you imagine Hegai making a gesture that only he and the king understood every time he would take a candidate to the king’s quarters?  Perhaps it was thumbs up or thumbs down. Which way do you think the thumbs would be pointing for you when it is your turn to go before the King of Kings in your time of intimacy with Him? This certainly is something to ponder because it still happens today.The Holy Spirit is watching our levels of obedience and our love walk as well as how much we concern ourselves with becoming mature believers.

Many people claim to love the King of kings and Lord of Lords, but are more concerned with seeking the by-products of the blessing of becoming the bride of Christ instead of going after His heart and getting familiar with the ways of His Kingdom. This is important to learn as we are called to be rulers that take dominion in the areas we are to influence by defending and advancing the Kingdom. 

The concubines obtained the material things they asked for, but did not pass the test that would get them the greatest price of all which was the King, nor could they be trusted with co-ruling with Him. That is why we are admonished to seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, so we can get to know the king, His righteousness which is Him as our greatest necessity, and the ways of His Kingdom that will help us learn to be co-rulers with Him by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Then all other things that are by-products of the blessing of becoming the bride of Christ (a mature believer) can be added on to us (Matthew 6:30-33).

As mentioned earlier in this post, The Holy Spirit takes us through the process and all the steps necessary that cannot be skipped or escaped. Except we go through the entire process, we could be disqualified from the position altogether and would also be stepping away from the protective hand of God, only to be taken through the fire of affliction due to rebellion which is a purifying fire that ensures the removal of the things that stand in the way of our maturity so we can learn to worship the Living God in Spirit and in Truth. Not to mention that those around us like our family members would also be affected by our choices like it happened to Achan and his family in Joshua 7:15, 24-25 which says, 

¹⁵ The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”

²⁴ Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. ²⁵ Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. 

To him alone be all the Glory.∎

Calling All Esther(s) 7: A Voice in the Spirit Realm

In this newest unedited excerpt from my soon-to-be released book my intention is to help the believer understand the pitfalls that could cause them to not walk in power and authority so they can take ground back from the enemy. It is essential that we maintain a relevant walk with God where we can recognize the move of His Spirit and the strategies of warfare available to us. This comes from steady intimacy in communion with Him and following the leading and guidance of the Spirit , so we don't die spiritually causing us to not be able to discern how He is moving at a given time. Obedience to His promptings is essential without delay because we don't know what we could be obstructing for ourselves or others when we choose to disobey or delay the commands of the Lord for us. Presumption can cause us to pay a hefty price that is unnecessary when what we need is to seek the Lord in all our ways, so He can direct our steps.

Jesus had a powerful voice of authority in the spiritual realm as well as in the earth realm because of His obedience to the Father to walk with Him on the pathway of prayer and intimacy with Him all the way to the Cross. Paul also had this authority in the spiritual realm because of His obedience to God’s pathway for him in all the suffering he endured because of the level of revelation, knowledge and understanding that helped him write several books in the New Testament. He went through those challenges because he was being made a powerful voice that would advance the Kingdom of God in his time after his conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-4).

Acts 19:13-16 gives an account of what happens when we do not hear the voice of the Lord for our destiny, not only to do the works God has planned for us to do in the earth realm, but to know who we are in Christ. This is important because the spiritual realm knows whether or not we know who we are in Christ and whether or not we know and understand the power of our words of authority to stop the works of the enemy just like Jesus did.

¹³ A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” ¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. ¹⁵But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered NLT.

One day as I was meditating on this passage and wondering about the possible causes that kept the sons of Sceva from casting out the evil spirit, I asked the Lord to reveal to me what went wrong. The Lord responded that one of three possibilities could cause this reaction of the evil spirit:

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·      1.    One could have been that the seven sons of Sceva that were attempting to cast out this demon were acting out of presumption without having paid the price to be known in the spiritual realm as a voice of authority and power at every level of their process because perhaps they had apostolic callings, but had not completed their process or were still early in their journey towards the fulfillment of their promised calling from God. They had chosen instead to look good in the sight of others and grab hold of that promise without having done their “homework” of spending time with the Lord in order to grow in wisdom and stature as well as learn warfare at every level. In addition, this demon was of apostolic caliber and resisted those walking in apostolic levels in the body. Jesus was an Apostle of apostles and Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles. This demon knew Jesus and Paul had paid the price for their callings and they were recognized at this level unlike the sons of Sceva.

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·        2.  Another possibility was that these men could not cast out the demon because they were walking in disobedience and served other gods instead (their disobedience caused them to walk in idol worship). They had not overcome the influence of the demonic spirit in their lives, therefore were not clean enough to come against it effectively. An example of this is King Saul, who disobeyed God’s command to eliminate the Amalekite race (who represented the anti-Christ spirit) and as a result lost his office and his calling in the natural realm, and power and authority in the spirit realm. The demons he could once come against were now finding him powerless to defend himself. David had to come to his rescue with anointed worship because he walked in the center of his calling and in right standing with God. It also did not matter that the sons of Sceva’s father was a priest. They had to pay their own price and walk each in a personal relationship with God of honorable reverence and dependent obedience.

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·        3.  The last possible explanation the Lord gave me was that the sons of Sceva were not familiar with or ignored the ways of the Lord and were going out without proper spiritual covering. They were also not obedient to the authority of God and the authority figures placed over them and followed their own pathways away from God’s will for them and therefore walked in a state of spiritual death. Thus, they had no authority in the spiritual or earthly realm to do anything to advance the Kingdom of God with their lives. They did not know how to lay down their lives for the cause of the Kingdom of the Most High God. All of this the spiritual forces of darkness know and recognize. To God alone be All the glory.