I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Esther. Now, Esther. Find Psalms and go back to Job
and the next book before Job is Esther. The book of Esther,
chapter 1. Esther, chapter 1. The amazing thing about God's
Word, this is the amazing thing, it's all God-breathed. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable for instruction,
correction, rebuke, reproof. Tonight, we're going to look
at the first four verses of the book of Esther. Let's read those
first four verses, then I will ask the Lord's blessing. Now,
it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus. This is Ahasuerus,
which reigned from India, even into Ethiopia, over 107 and 20
provinces. that in those days when the king,
Ahasuerus, sat on the throne in his kingdom, which was in
Shushan, the palace, in the third year of his reign, he made a
feast unto all his princes and his servants, the power of Persia
and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces being before
him, when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the
honor of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and
four score days." Let's pray together. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, how we thank you for this precious time to read
your word. Would you bless this word to
our hearts? And Lord, may we be careful to
give you the honor, the glory, the praise for Christ's sake. Amen. Now here's an account of an actual
event that happened there was really a man named Ahasuerus. And the scripture set forth that
he reigned in a province that went from India to Ethiopia. It was a large tract of land. I looked it up. How big? It was 2,500 miles wide. United States, I just looked
up, just to kind of get a comparison, 2,800 miles from one side to
the other of the United States. So it was a big piece of real
estate. And this king, Ahasuerus, had
a feast. And verse 2 sets forth that in
a place called Shushan, now that's where his throne was, that's
where the place of his palace was. And that palace was in a
place, probably centrally located, I didn't really look it up, but
it was a place that Ahasuerus, scripture says, sat. having probably
conquered all of his enemies at that time. History reveals
that in a few years he went to war with some Greeks and it didn't
go well for him. But at this time he was in a
place of relative peace. And then verses 3 and 4 set forth
that in the third year of his reign, He made this extravagant
feast and it lasted 180 days. Now you can only imagine the
expense of having a feast for this large city and probably
all of the princes and the noble people in all the surrounding
areas, probably for 180 days it was a very expensive endeavor,
I can imagine. And he, without a doubt, wanted
to show what he considered in his mind to be the riches of
his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty. He was a pretty powerful king. He had a big piece of land and
had all of these provinces and he had all these people under
him and I thought, you know, that was a pretty big deal. But I want us to consider a few
things tonight. Here's the first thing I got
to thinking about. This great king and all the people
that were involved in this great feast. Now this took place according
to the timing of the events that happened. This was a little more
than 500 years before the Lord came. About 500 years plus BC. And here was this mighty king
and he had this great big feast. A hundred and eight, half a year.
And here's what I know about it. He's dead. He's dead. I want you to notice in verse
1. It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, this is Ahasuerus
which reigned. There was a time when he was
reigning, but he's not reigning anymore. This is all history now. In verse
2, the Scripture says, in those days when the king Ahasuerus
sat on the throne of his kingdom, but you know what? He's not sitting
anymore. He's gone. Verse 3 says, in the third year
of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and servants,
and the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the
provinces being before him. But here's the thing. They're
not enjoying this feast anymore. It's over. 180 days was a long time, but
they've all gone the way of all men. They died. You go back and read the account
of all those people and so and so, and he reigned for a minute,
and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and
he died. And this son raised up, and he came up, and he reigned
so many years, and he died. And he died. It's appointed unto
man once to die. Verse 4. When he showed the riches
of his glorious kingdom in the honor of his excellent majesty
many days, even 180 days, but he's not showing his earthly
riches anymore. Because his kingdom is not there. He doesn't have anything to brag
about now. After I read these four verses,
this is the scripture that came to my mind. Lord, teach us to
number our days that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom. I've said this before, you know,
it didn't say teach us to number our years. months or weeks. Teach us to number our days.
Now think about it, think about it. I mean, there's some here
that's a little older than others, but as a general rule, I mean
we can all pretty well relate how quickly time goes. It's just no time. this royal city of Shushan. That's where it was located,
Shushan. And it means the lily, joy, or the rose. And according to the accounts
that I read concerning this city right here, it has a little more
left of this city than just a few bases. Just the base that the
column It held up maybe some of these mighty buildings, just
a few bases left. And the account that I read,
it just said that what they could find was just a few scribbled
inscriptions on it that could hardly be read. Shushan, the
Rose, Joy. It was named because of the fertility
of the country and the abundance of the lilies that grew there. It was a flourishing district,
but it's not there anymore. It's gone. So many of these places
that we read about, you know, when Paul went to Ephesus, you
know, and wrote that letter to the Ephesians, it's not there. These places we read, All of these verses we read and
all of this extravagance, I mean, there's no telling how much extravagance
was involved with that feast. I mean, you know he was going
to have to show off. You know that. He's not going
to do anything halfway. But it's gone. It's like the grass, it's just
like the flower of the grass. It's just here today and it's
gone tomorrow, but learn. May we all learn. We're reading
something. And there's not a one of us that's
not going unless the Lord returns. There's not one of us that's
not going this way. But we are all as an unclean
thing. And all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. And we do all fade as a leaf. And our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away. Man, by nature, is a perishing
creature. Whereas, Scripture says, you
know not what shall be on the morrow. You know, we're always
talking about, well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do next
week. Scripture says, don't say that. Don't say what you're going
to do next week, but rather say if the Lord wills, we're going
to do this. What is your life? It is a vapor that appears for
a little time and then vanishes away. That's what James 4.14
says. Palaces, mansions of marble,
Precious stones, these estates, mighty estates. This king was
a, he was a mighty king. Some say that he was the son
of Arctic Xerxes. I mean, it was a, you've heard
of him. He just, powerful king. But he's gone. Not here. But for you that believe, let
me ask you this. Does your mind not fly to consider
the Lord Jesus Christ and his royal majesty and consider the
honor of him who is truly the king. This earthly king was a
mighty man, but the Lord Jesus is almighty, the mighty king. has not the record, just the
record. I mean, I read four verses of
Scripture, and I know this, I know the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
is in it. What we strive for is to see
it. I mean, we read something right here, you say, well, that's
not about the Lord Jesus Christ at all. Oh, yes, it is. It shows what man is. Therefore,
we see who the Lord is. This passage of scripture sets
forth this king who has passed from this earth and whose body
is now surely gone back to the dust and does it not cause us
to consider our God who is in the heavens and hath done and
is doing whatsoever he hath pleased. This man lived and he died and
he's still in the ground. The Lord Jesus Christ, he laid
down his life and he rose from the dead. Where is your God,
David? I'll tell you where he is. He's
in the heavens and he has done whatsoever has pleased him. Think of the joy that we have
tonight to consider in reading these four verses. And we say
this, This is not the way our God is. This is the way man is. This is the way men of this world
is. This is the way earthly kings
are. But not our God. Verse 1 says that Ahasuerus reigned. He reigned. It was a past tense. But Psalm 93, 1 and 2 declares,
The Lord reigneth. I like the difference in those
words. I like that word. The Lord reigneth. He's reigning
right now, right now, providentially ordering all things in this world
for His glory and for the good of His people. He's reigning
right now in the hearts of everyone in this building tonight that
knows Him and in the heart of every person in this world that
knows Him also. He is clothed with majesty. He is clothed with majesty. Doesn't say He was. He is. The Lord reigneth. He is clothed
with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. Wherewith he hath girded himself,
the world also is established that it cannot be moved. Thy
throne is established of old, thou art from everlasting." Not
Ahasuerus. He was a king and he reigned,
but the Lord reigneth. The scripture says, Ahasuerus
reigned from India even unto Ethiopia over a hundred and seven
and twenty provinces. And you know what he did in those
provinces? Whatever he wanted. He was the king. And the king's
word was law. Whatever the king said went. Oh, but consider him who doeth
as he will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. You know, that'll just almost settle you down,
won't it? Whenever things start coming
our way and we find ourselves anxious, I heard someone said one time,
I may get this wrong, but somebody came to Brother Scott one time
and said, you know what? I bet that'll take the starch
out of you. Brother Scott said, well, maybe
part of it, not all of it. I tell you what, I know this. In my heart, I know, and I know
many of you do too. Our God is in the heavens. Our
God rules in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and it doesn't really matter what it appears to be
going on around us right now, like everything's out of control.
No, it's not. All things work together for
good to them that love God, who are the called according to his
purpose. The scripture says in Psalm 47.2,
for the Lord Most High is terrible. He is a great king over all the
earth. The Hatshepsut owned a little
piece of dirt for a little while. Our God reigneth. The Lord God
reigneth. He who has power over all flesh. That wasn't just in John 17.
That's what the Lord prayed. Thou has given him power over
all flesh and he should give eternal life to as many as thou
has given him. That didn't end in John 17. That's
going on right now. He has all power in heaven and
earth. Ruling and reigning. Power to
lay down his life and power to take it again. The scripture
says, seeing that he is declared to be the son of God with power
according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the
dead. What's the fleeting power of a worm? Ahasuerus was a mighty
king. But we behold he who is the almighty
king. In Luke 1, 31-33, the angel Gabriel
declared unto Mary, Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus."
Now listen to this. He shall be great. He shall be great. shall be called
the son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David. He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. I just love the positiveness
of the Scriptures. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. I give unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish. Listen. This life is a vapor. I understand that. And we're
all going to go, unless the Lord returns, the way of all men. But there is no sting in death. There's no victory in the grave
for a believer. No. No. It is the death is the
door by which the merciful God has established that He will
usher us right into His presence. I've said this before and I think
I'm right on this. For a believer, I don't think
there's ever a loss of consciousness. To be absent from the body is
present with the Lord right now. I can't explain all of that but
I think it's so. Ahasuerus had his throne, and
he enjoyed the beauty of his city, Shushan, the lily. But I think about, I just, I
cannot help but think, I mean, he lived in a city called the
lily. I know it was beautiful. But
consider the Lord Jesus Christ, who Jehovah said to him, sit
thou on my right hand until I make all thy foes thy footstool. He has a garden too. He lives
within his garden. He lives in his garden. I know
that He's seated in the heavenlies. I know that. I know that from
Scripture. The Scripture says that the Lord
said, Sit thou in my right hand. David said, Our God's in the
heavens. But I can tell you for a fact, He is in the midst of
His people, ruling as the King of kings, as the Lord of lords. And He walks in the midst. I know, I know, I believe He's
here. Two or three are gathered together
in my name. Assembling themselves together
in my name. Sitting to hear the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to Song of Solomon 5-1. I am come into my garden. Here's the garden of the Lord.
The lilies. That's my Let's see how it says
it. As my beloved is... Hold on,
let me just read it. I'll find a song of Solomon. As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. The Lord's church. He said, you're
my lily. You're my shushan. You're my
garden. I'm coming to my garden, my sister,
my spouse. I've gathered my myrrh with my
spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, oh friends. Drink, yea, drink abundantly,
oh beloved. Do we not drink of Him who is
the living water? Do we not? Surely, I don't doubt
for one second, Shushan surpassed all the beauty of the kingdom
of Hasuerus' day. But the Lord's guard, she who is robed in His righteousness? Again, I'm at a loss to understand
the fullness of that. I mean, it's... the beauty and
the glory and the holiness of the obedience of the Lord Jesus
Christ, in which He robes His people, His bride, His beloved. Here's what the Scripture says,
Isaiah 51.3, For the Lord shall comfort Zion, He will comfort
all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like
Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness
shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. One
of these days, we're going to no more look at these verses
of Scripture through the eyes that are clouded. One of these
days, we're going to see the Lord as He is. and we're going
to be like him. Ushered right into the presence
of God Almighty, I and the children that thou hast given me. Here's
the garden. Here's the sheep. Here's the
beloved. Ahasuerus, the scripture said,
in the third year of his reign made a feast unto all the princes
and his servants. It lasted 180 days. You know
what that means? It ended. It was over. Oh, I'm sure for a long time
they talked about it and said, boy, wasn't that, man, that was
some feast, wasn't it? Can you believe that? Man, could
you believe the food? Can you believe all of the...
Lord willing, we'll look at this again next time, but I mean,
it talks about the feast and what they had, but dear friends,
consider the feast that has been prepared for God's people from
before the foundation of the world. This feast of His divine
love, whereby we dine by faith, upon Him who is the living bread
before the foundation of the world. God Almighty established
this feast. This feast for us begins in time. That's when we're made aware
of it. But it didn't begin in time with God. I mean, in regeneration,
grace, according to our Lord's everlasting purpose, covenant,
He purposed that this feast would be for us to eat of Him, feasting
upon the bread of life. God Almighty ever purposed that
His people would live eternally beholding the very glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ, feasting and partaking by faith of His flesh
and His blood. You know what? When we partake
of His flesh and blood by faith, unless you eat of the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink of His blood, you have no life in you.
You know what that means? Unless by faith you believe His
flesh, what He did on this earth, He did for me as my substitute. He lived for me. And His blood,
drinking of His blood, when He died, He died for me. That's
eating by flesh, drinking by faith, I mean. Eating and drinking
the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture says
that when the children were in the wilderness, children of Israel
were in the wilderness, some of them said, made this statement,
Psalm 78, 19. They spake against God, what
they did. And they said, can God furnish
a table in the wilderness? You know, the Lord gave manna
from heaven for them to eat. He gave them water from a smitten
rock. Let me ask you this. Do we not
truly feast in this wilderness, in the wilderness of this world?
We're in this world right now, but Scripture says for a believer
they're in it, but they're not of it. We're not of it. But are
we not feasting? Do we not everlastingly from
this point forward, He who has given us eternal life, shall
we not eternally feast upon Him? Has He not provided and furnished
a feast of grace? here at Katie Baptist Church
for 60 years? Now you think about it. There's
some folks that's been here from the beginning. And for 60 years,
by the grace of God, He has allowed a congregation to feast on the
precious Lord Jesus Christ, the manna from heaven, the bread
of heaven, the water of life Himself. There's been a continual
feast of hearing and believing the gospel of God's grace. Proverbs
15, 15 says, All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he
that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. I do know
we go through this world and we struggle and we have trials
and tribulations and chastisements, but let me ask you this, does
the believer not feast? Have we not bread to eat, water
to drink, life eternal? The feast of Ahasuerus in our
passage this evening, which the scripture says was for his nobles. That's what verse 3 says. He
did this for his nobles and princes of the provinces being before
them. He did it for somebody. You know where I'm going with
this, don't you? Has the Lord not made us kings and priests
unto him? Has he not prepared this feast
for his people? Has he not everlastingly known
them? Will he ever forsake us? Will
he ever leave us? But I know this. He's prepared
this feast for his people. I know that. I know that. But
I'll tell you what else I know. I know that I don't know who
they all are. I've got an idea who some of them are. I believe
I do, I believe I know, but there may be some that I've not been
aware of. So you know what I say to everybody?
Here's what I say. The Spirit and the Bride say,
come. Let him that heareth say, come. Let him that is athirst
come. And I'm going to tell you this,
according to Scripture, whosoever will, let him take of the water
of life freely. And you know who's going to come?
All that the Lord makes willing in the day of his power, they're
going to come. They're going to come. That's who's coming.
I know that. Blessed are they that which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Last
verse of scripture, Revelation 19. Turn with me there and we'll
read it and then this is it. Revelation 19, verse 6 to 9. Revelation 19 verse 6, And I
heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as
the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering,
saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honor to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine
linen is the righteousness of the saints. And He said unto
me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And He saith unto me, These are
the true sayings of God. There is a feast. It's a feast
eternally purposed by God Almighty. It's a feast that is enjoyed
in time by God's people. And it's a feast that we shall
forever partake. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart. Amen.