tonight. And we're going to be looking
in Esther chapter 9. And I'd like to begin reading
with verse 20. I had in my notes that we're
going to read down through verse 32. We could read that, but we're
not. We're going to spend our time
in verses 20, 21, and 22. If you remember with me that the Jews in the Persian Empire had
come under great threat. Haman had an interest in destroying
all the Jews. And he even had a letter sent
out by Ahasuerus the king. And then we find that the Lord
was there in his great providence and in his sovereignty and had
that edict countered by another edict. And we find that the Jews
were permitted to defend themselves and the threat was over. Well,
last week we looked here and we noticed that as a result of
that, that the Jews met and they had feasting. It tells us in
verse 19, they made a day of gladness. and feasting,
and a good day, and sending portions one to another." So we find out
the result of being delivered from the penalty of death is
rejoicing. Being delivered from the pit
is rejoicing. Being delivered from the hands
of the fowler is rejoicing. Being delivered from the hands
of Him who would take us down to the pit We find that we rejoice
in the one who is our ransom. So we're going to continue with
that thought here because in verse 20, Mordecai wrote these
things. Now it's very interesting as
we find in the scriptures that this kind of writing takes place.
And we find it carried out in the New Testament too. And we'll
spend a little time on that in just a moment. But it says, Mordecai
sent these things and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in
all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus both nigh and far to
establish this among them that they should keep the 14th day
of the month Adar and the 15th day of the month of the same
yearly, as the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,
and the month which was turned unto them from, notice this,
sorrow to joy, from morning to a good day, that they should
make them days of feasting and joy and sending portions one
to another and gifts to the poor. It kind of reminds me here of
what we read in the book of Acts, where it says they had all things
common. They fellowship together, they ate together, they rejoiced
together. Well, let's look at this passage
of scripture for just a moment or a few minutes here. And beginning
with verse 20, we find that Mordecai wrote. Now, when we get to the
New Testament, we find that the Lord mentions this a little bit. He mentions it to his disciples
in particular. And in fact, we find that there
in verse 20, that the letters that went out were to the Jews. The letters that Mordecai sent
out were to the Jews. We're going to see that the sovereignty
of God is so carried out here that Mordecai was impressed upon
to send these letters to the Jews. Now, it meant something
to the Jews. It didn't mean much to anybody
else, but it meant something to the Jews. Just like the word
of God means a great deal to the church, but it generally
doesn't mean much to the world. It doesn't mean much. Oh, we
follow a little bit of it, but that's as far as it goes. Or
it has a good idea of how we're supposed to live, but that's
as far as it goes. To the church, it's much more than that. It's
the message of Christ Jesus, the Lord, on our behalf. So let's
look here for just a moment that Mordecai wrote these things.
In the book of John chapter 20, the Lord Jesus used a similar
word here. when the disciples came back. They had great rejoicing because
the Lord had prospered them in their journey. The Lord had prospered
them with what they were able to do. In fact, it got so much
prosperity out of it that they came back and said, Lord, you
ought to have been there. And here in the book of Acts, chapter
20, we read these words. Chapter 20. Verse 31, now the
Lord sums up the whole thing. If we cannot rejoice in this,
we cannot really rejoice in what they had to say earlier, because
it said that the disciples came back and here it says, but this
is written, excuse me. Yes, but this is written, I got
ahead of myself, but I want to read this, but this is written,
this whole book of John, that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might
have life through his name. Now that's a wonderful thing
about the entire Bible, particularly the book of John, but it overflows
to all the rest of the Bible too. These things are written
that you might believe. Now did you notice what it goes
on to say? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That's
why it was written. It's not that we can get wiser,
smarter, that we can lord it over people, but it is written
so that we might know Jesus Christ. That we might believe Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. Then if you'll go with me to
Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. Back up there
one book and chapter 10. And it shares with us in verse
20, here's where the disciples were coming back and they just
were bragging on what they had done. The 70 had come back, Lord,
verse 70, even the devils were subject unto us through thy name. And the Lord gave them the power
to have that. It might be better if we were
not overly bragging about the gifts that the Lord, something
from us. Anyway, it goes on through here
and it tells us in the 20th verse of this chapter, notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you. Whenever God uses a message from
you or I to bless somebody, that is God's work. He's the one that
has provided it. We're just nothing more than
planters and waters. We're nothing more than declares.
We're nothing more than seed throwers. We're nothing more.
And so nobody should boast or glory in anything but in the Lord.
But he says here, this is where you to rejoice. Rejoice because
your names are written in heaven. That's what we should rejoice
in. God has saved us by his grace,
not because of anything that we've done, but they were already
written there. and he's already laid out the whole plan and purpose
in Christ Jesus of saving those people whose names are written
in that book. So it's not us, it's him. It's not up to us, it's up to
him. It's not our salvation, it's his salvation. And we find
that salvation is of the Lord. So Mordecai wrote those and sent
those letters out. But we find the Lord has been
in the practice of doing that long before Mordecai. Mordecai
is just fulfilling what God intended for him to do. Now, there's a
couple of places in the book of Revelation that uses this
writing from a negative context. And if you turn with me to the
book of Revelation, we're going to be in chapter 13 and verse
7, and also chapter 17. So Revelation chapter 13, Revelation
chapter 13 verse eight, we find here that there's names that
are not written. Now, to almost all the population
of Persia, those letters were not written. They were written to the Jews. That was the intent of Mordecai.
That was the intent of God, that those letters be written to the
Jews. Now notice here in Revelation
chapter 13 and verse eight, and all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of
life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, whose
names are not written. how critical it is. There isn't
anything for us unless the Lord has written our names down in
the Lamb's Book of Life. Now, there's a whole host here,
and if you back up, you'll find out that really, we're gonna
worship ourselves and we're gonna worship our religion, but we'll
not worship God. And this is that worship Him
whose names are not written in the Book of Life. They can't
worship anything else. Now, I'm thankful that we don't
know who they are, because we would have voted against ourselves.
God is gracious to do that, to save us, and then let us know,
I've had my mind on you, my thoughts on you, my words in your behalf,
my prayers on your behalf, since before the foundation of the
world. I have had you in mind. And I'm thankful for interruptive
grace, that God would interrupt us in our path through this world. Sometime He came and interrupted
our plans. He brought us to a place. If
we're ever saved, He brings us to a place where it was against
what we had planned on doing, but for God's glory, He saves
us. And then we say, I'm glad you
came along, because without it, I would not be where I am. So,
and in that same book of the book of Revelation, again, chapter
17, Revelation chapter 17. And again, in verse eight, we
read these words about the not written. So it's so important
that it was written. How many letters went out to
the Jews? I don't think that they were a large portion of
the population in Persia, the Persian empire. I don't think
that they were a great host. If we read back and find out
how many were actually taken out of Jerusalem and out of Judah
and was taken into captivity, we find that they were not a
majority of people. Now over time, no doubt that
there were more children born to them, but still they're not
the majority of the people. And yet that's the group that
Mordecai was instructed by God the Spirit to write to was to
the Jews. Now we're gonna find out, we'll
repeat that in just a moment, but we'll find out that a bunch
of those heretical Persians became Jews. They gave up their religion
for Christ. All right, here in the book of
Revelation chapter 17, verse eight, the beast that thou sawest
was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and
go into perdition and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder.
Now notice who's going to wonder. These are the people that are
going to follow anything. They'll follow this. And you
know what it is we can have some surmising about. But I find out
that in my religion I was following my own will. I was following
the will of a fallen man. That was my worst enemy of all. And that's where we find Adam
was. His worst enemy was himself. You know, we think, my goodness,
why didn't he just say, Lord, I'm sorry, but no, in his fallen
condition, he ran, he covered himself with fig leaves and hid
himself. And God went on the hunt. Adam did not come looking
for God. God went on the hunt for him
and said, we're down not for God's sake, but for Adam's sake
and called him out of the bushes of the garden and then talked
to him. straight forward with the truth
and then covered him with the skins of animals. So God went
on the hunt. God was on the move. God was
the one that brought all of this to Adam. So it goes on here and
says, and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation
of the world when they behold the beast that was and is not
and yet is. I'm around people that seem to
be like that. A lot of people in the world
are, what's going on in Israel? Is this the man of sin going
to be revealed? You know, people who have that
mindset, if they go through life that way, their names were not
written in the book of life. That's all there is. They have
everything else that is an object of their worship or interest.
Just so, This is where I found them from
you. It is so straightforward from
the scriptural standpoint that these things are not important.
I am thankful that when I ask these stupid questions to a man,
he answered me, the answer was always the same. Christ is the
issue. And that's the issue in the book of Revelation. That's
the issue in the book of Esther. Christ is the issue. Alright,
so we find here that The message goes out, Mordecai
sends it out, and he sends it to the Jews. He sends it to all
of the places in Persia, in near and far, it tells us over there
in the book of Esther. And it reminds me again here
of the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter five, verse nine. This
is the blessing of God's Word, Revelation
chapter 5 and verse 9, and it shares the church singing a hymn. Now, it could very easily be
the hymn that Moses sang, because we find that here in the book
of Revelation. The song of victory is right here. And they sung
a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book. Victory is
ours because he can take the book and open the seals thereof. He can open the seals thereof.
This book, a mystery, but he opens the seals thereof for thou
was slain and has redeemed us to God. Now his slain, his death
had a real purpose in mind and that's redemption. It wasn't
just to the side someone was nailed
to a cross. This is the Lord Jesus and his
entire purpose from eternity to come and do this very thing. Why? For the redemption of his
people. I have found a ransom. That's what Job wrote about.
So it says here, to redeem us to God by thy blood out of every
all of the 127 provinces of the world. The 127 provinces of the Persian
Empire, letters went out to the Jews. And here it says, the blood
out to every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and has
made us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on
the earth. So out of every kindred, tongue,
people and nation. I'm always turning those around
some way. But out of all of this, out of all the places of the
world. So when we read in the book of Esther that Mordecai
is sending a letter out, he writes a letter. It's written how powerful
that was that he would take time. My brother and his wife used
to send us Christmas cards that had print, their names were embossed
inside, and that's all there was. You know, I says, whoa, that's,
you know, I love the instructions that Brother Henry gave. He said
he loved to write letters and receive them because you could
put them away and pull them out and save them again. And how
wonderful it is that God gave us the written word. Mordecai
gave the written letter. He just didn't tell those posts
to go out. Tell everybody! He gave them letters to take
out, and that's what we have. We have the letter of God, the
Bible, to take to every kindred, nation, people, and tongue. How
wonderful is that? That we have the written word.
So, and then, if we go back to the book of Esther, chapter 9
there for just a moment, Esther chapter 9, we find that Mordecai
sent this letter out to a specific people. Sent this letter out
to a specific people and how important that is. Now, he knew
his people. You know, they knew their people
by their names. Mordecai, the tribe of Levi. He wouldn't know the tribe of
Levi. But anyway, they knew the tribes
they belonged to. In the New Testament, we have
a lady from the tribe of Asher. They knew who they were by their
names. They knew who they were. Well,
he knew who he was sending a letter to. Now, there's a whole bunch
of people that were out there that didn't get a letter. It
wasn't intended for them to get a letter. Now we send the message
out as to as often and as places that we just don't even imagine.
You know, recently we've had over about 150 downloads from
Switzerland. Switzerland on Sermon Audio. And Zambia. Where is that place? You know, the message is going
out. We know that it's gonna get to
the right place. The message of grace will get
to the right place. Well, here in the book of Esther
chapter nine, and there in verse 20, it says this, Esther chapter
nine and verse 20, it says, and Mordecai wrote these things and
sent letters unto, how many Jews? All the Jews. That's the intended
recipient was all the Jews. Now, it's very interesting if
we back up to the previous chapter, chapter 8 of the book of Esther
in verse 17, we have this take place. Esther chapter 8 verse
17. And in every province and in
every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree
came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. Now notice
this. And many of the people of the
land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them. Now
there may have been some of them in that record. Well, I think
I'll become one of them because I don't want to be over on this
side. You know, a lot of people want to fly by flags that they
don't own. But here it says that many of
these people became Jews. How interesting is that? And
then it just reminds me of what we find in the New Testament
with regard to who a Jew is. Turn with me to the book of Romans,
chapter 2. The book of Romans chapter 2. These letters, they
were written. God has used that principle and
that purpose so often in the scripture. Names written down
in the Lamb's Book of Life. And names that are not written
down in the Lamb's Book of Life. how important that is and here
in the book of Romans chapter 2 we find that the Holy Spirit
led the Apostle Paul to preach on this subject just as Mordecai
was led by the Holy Spirit to decree put this letter out and
send it to the Jews in Romans chapter 2 and there in verse
28 Romans chapter 2 and verse 28 for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly. What
are you talking about, Paul? Every descendant of Abraham is
a Jew. Well, he's talking about real
Jews. He's talking about spiritual Jews. He's talking about spiritual
Israel. He's talking about the church. Those people, those real
Jews and those people that became Jews are a type and a shadow
and a picture of the church in the Persian empire. Here it says,
he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision. You know, all of the religion
that goes on can't create a Jew. Even going to this point can't
create a Jew, which is outward in the flesh. But He is a Jew,
which is one inwardly, and circumcision that is of the heart. Now what
does that take us back to? That takes us back to the new
birth. This is where we get this point. This is where we get,
in the Spirit, not in a letter, whose praise is not of men, but
of God. So it's not, oh, Brother Levi,
what a fine Jew you are. No. This praise comes from God,
my son and my daughter that my son died for. That's the praise
we have. So they became Jews. Some of them did. Many of them
did. Became Jews because they saw the reward given to the Jews.
Blessings given to the Jews. So he is a Jew which is one inwardly. Now that's the new creation in
Christ Jesus. That's being raised from the
spiritual dead to spiritual life. That's being translated from
the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.
This is an inward work of the Holy Spirit in His people. From
the outside, they still look like who they were and who they
are, but on the inside, they have been made anew. They have
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That's our new man, the indwelling
of the Spirit. We have Christ in us, the hope
of glory. So what a blessing this is that
there would be Jews and then there would be Gentile Jews.
And where do we fall into that? It's not being born as a relationship
to Abraham. It's being born to the one that
Abraham had as a relationship, God Almighty. Christ Jesus the
Lord. He loved Jesus the Messiah. And so his people do too. So that's what a Jew is. And
that's who these letters went out. And then we find, if you'll
just back up one chapter in the book of Romans chapter one, Romans
chapter one and verse seven, you'll find out that the New
Testament is a letter written to the Jews. Only to the church. Only to believers. Only. Now, thank God He uses
this message on those who were written in the Lamb's Book of
Life but have not been born again. That's what He uses. But notice
this, in verse 7, To all that be in Rome. This is who this
letter is written to. To all that be in Rome. Beloved
of God, called to be saints. That's who this letter was written
to. Grace be endued, peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's who this letter was written
to. Now, who was the letter that Mordecai had written? To the
Jews. It had nothing to do with most
of the Persian Empire, but it had everything to do with the
Jews. You know, in that, they were
called on to rejoice in the deliverance that they had. and a whole bunch
of other people thought it thundered. It made no sense. We lost some
friends in this fracas, but they stopped fighting. All right,
so turn with me, if you would, to the book of First Corinthians.
First Corinthians chapter one, and there in verse two. All right,
the Bible has been written to the Jews. Jesus said to the woman
at the well, salvation is of the Jews. To the church, to those
who are granted repentance and faith. Here in the book of 1
Corinthians chapter 2, as Mordecai wrote a letter and had it sent
out by post to all the provinces near and far, here it was sent
to Jews. Now how people knew where they
were and all that is a mystery known unto God just like it is
today. It's a mystery known unto God
who's going to get this letter. who's going to respond to the
letter, who's going to rejoice in the letter. It's a mystery
known unto God. But when they do, and they let
us know that they do, we rejoice with them. All right? 1 Corinthians
1, verse 2, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Call to be saints with
all that in every place. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ,
our Lord, both theirs and ours. This is who this is written to.
It's written to the Jews. It's written to the church. It's
written to believers. It's written to those who have
passed from death into life. It's written to them. And the
rest of them, they may read it and they may look at it. But
you know what? The Bible tells us that the natural mind can't
understand and believe the things of God because they are spiritually
discerned. The Bible is spiritually discerned
or spiritually understood. It is spiritual. It is not physical. Oh, people
may plant their crops in accordance with what we find in the Word
of God. Stay away from the briars and stay away from the rocky
soil and plant it in good ground and you get a better harvest.
All right, but that's not what that means spiritually. And so we just go from here to
there. We find that this is such a common thing. The next book
of the Bible, 2 Corinthians 1, verse 1. We read this. 2 Corinthians 1. The Jews. It was written to the Jews. God
intended it for the Jews. Those who have already been brought
to newness of life, and it will be used to bring those who are
written in the Lamb's Book of Life to the knowledge of Christ. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church
of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are
in Achaia." That was the province of Achaia where Corinth was located. And so we have again, this letter
was intended to go out to the Jews. It was to go out to the
saints. It was to be an encouragement.
Do you know the same message that encourages the saints is
the message God uses to bring in the lost sheep. The same message. It's preaching Christ and Him
crucified. It's the comfort that we have
in what God has done for us. It is what God shared with Mordecai
and the people that were Jews in the Persian Empire. Hallelujah! Let's have a party. It's good
to be here. Look what God has done for us.
Let us rejoice and rest. Let's rest in His rest. Let's
rest in His Sabbath. Let's rest. And also, we're going
to have a banquet. We're going to feast on Christ.
We're going to drink His blood and eat His body spiritually. We're going to be so involved
with Him that we have such a grafting in. We're grafted to Him. It's such a reality that we have. And then we have joy, goodness,
gladness that we have as a result of being taken out of the position
that we were in and now placed in the position in the presence
of Christ. And let's go one more, Galatians
1. Galatians 1, verse 1, we read
that here. Galatians 1, verse 1 and 2, the
Scriptures share this. Paul an apostle, and then he
says, not of men. Alright. I'm a Jew, but not of
men. It wasn't Abraham that brought
me this. Paul an apostle, Galatians chapter 1 verse 1, Paul an apostle,
not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father,
who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are
with me under the churches of Galatia. The churches got a letter
written to some churches of Galatia. Now this was a province of the
Roman Empire, probably a number of churches that were in that
area, but this letter was for them. Now we find out that Paul
had some interesting things to say to them. Are you sure you're
all Jews? Because a bunch of you are falling
back to your old worldly religion. make your calling and election
sure, because it looks bad from his standpoint to depart from
the grace that was given unto us in Christ Jesus. So we find
that this letter was written to the Jews. There were many
Jews that were out of the Gentile nation of the Persians. And we
find out that he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. Can't
trace your line back to Abraham. Very good. You can trace your
line back to Christ. All right. That's what we want. A line back
to the blood and redemptive work of Christ. Then we're Jews. We are the children of God, the
children of promise, the children that shall inherit all the rich
blessings of Christ. That's what we have. And so Mordecai
sent this out. He had it written, sent it out
by post, and it tells us in verse 22, going back to the book of
Esther, Esther chapter 9 verse 22. Notice that verse with me
again. As we look at this beautiful picture of what God does for
his church, here in the book of Esther chapter 9 verse 22,
it shares this. There are some things mentioned
in there that just share with us the benefits of the gospel.
What God takes away and what God gives us. what God removed
from us and what he grants to us. Here it says, as the days
were in the Jews rested from their enemies, verse 22 of Esther
chapter nine, rested from their enemies and the mouth which was
turned unto them, excuse me, and the month which was turned
unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good
day that they should make them days of feasting and joy and
of sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor. Did you
notice what it said there? They were turned unto them from
sorrow to joy and from mourning into a good day. Well, this principle
is found throughout the scriptures. This is what God takes away and
None of that stuff is good. And He gives us what's good.
He takes away sorrow. I don't know anybody that enjoys
sorrow. But He takes that away. Turn
with me to the Psalms, if you would. Psalm 30. In Psalm 30,
we have this dealt with. In Psalm 30, what God removes
from us and what He grants to us. What He takes away from us
in the new birth and what He gives to us. In Psalm 30, verse
11. Psalm 30, verse 11. It says here,
Thou hast turned for me. Now this is the Lord's doing. We can't get out of it ourselves.
How did they overcome Satan in the book of Revelation? by the
blood of the Lamb. That's how. So it's not going
this way or holding a stake up or be gone foul spirit. It is
the blood of the Lamb is the only way we can deal with sin
and deal with the enemies of the church. It's the blood of
the Lamb. So it says here, thou has turned for me my mourning
into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth
and girded me with gladness. What a statement is made here
with regard to what God does for us when he saves us. I'm
taking away something. Now, that's something that we've
been hanging on to. It has no value. In fact, it
is dragging us down. And then He gives us dancing
and gladness. What a merry heart doeth good
like a medicine. And that merry heart is granted
to us by the Lord. We rejoice in Him. It's better
than any medicine. It's the pick-me-up that we didn't
have in religion. We've been picked up and set
down at the throne of Jesus Christ the Lord. We are in a state of
rejoicing. We're in a state. He takes away
so much nonsense that we were born with and grants to us what
we could never get on our own. Dancing and gladness turn with
me to the book of Isaiah the same principle is carried on
this message that went out Mordecai I had that message sent out sent
out to the Jews and said let's have a feast and let's Remember
what the Lord has done for us and as a result of it It took
away so much of the terror that they were under and they were
able to rejoice in it So here in the book of Isaiah chapter
5 Isaiah chapter 5 And there in verse 11, Isaiah chapter 5
and verse 11. Is it 8? Uh oh. I wrote down the wrong one. It's been three weeks. I went farther than normal. Join
me in the book of Isaiah 60. Isaiah 60. And I'll have to repair
that later. Isaiah 60 and verse 20. Thy son shall no more go down,
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself. For the Lord shall be
thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall
be ended." What a transformation. The sun shall no more go down. Well, we find in the book of
Revelation that our sun is the sun, S-O-N, and he will not depart,
he will not go down. There will be no need of the
sun or the moon in the presence of the Lord. He is the light.
He is the temple. He's the water. He's the food.
He's the bread and he's everything. So God grants to us so much when
he gives us his salvation. It is greater than we ever could
imagine what he grants to us. grants to us spiritually, grants
to us emotionally, grants to us all the blessings we get to
delight in. And then in Isaiah 61, verse
3, to appoint them that mourn in
Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And there's much more
in this chapter that goes along with that. But we just noticed
there, the oil of joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he might be glorified. What great blessings. The Lord heaps on His people
that we have Christ. He's taken away all of the negative
and blessed us with all the positive. There's not one negative thing
about Christ Jesus the Lord. Now there was plenty about our
religion. We just didn't realize all of
it. There is one more. Jeremiah 31, 13. Let's go there.
Jeremiah 31, 13. Let's back up to verse 12 of
Jeremiah 31. Therefore, they shall come and
sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness
of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the
young of the flock and of the herd. And their soul shall be
a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then
shall the virgin rejoice and dance, both young men and old
together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort
them and make them rejoice from their sorrow." What a statement
the Lord has on the behalf of His people, that I will take
this. We'll become a well-watered garden. In another place, He told Judah,
I've taken you from the desert, a deserted place, on Lodibar. I've taken you from Lodibar.
And I brought you to a well watered garden. What a statement the
Lord has on the behalf of his people and Mordecai understood
some of that. And he sent a letter out to the
Jews and said, let's have a feast day once a year, remembering
the great blessings that we've just enjoyed. And at the same
time, we're going to be at rest. We're going to have gladness,
and we're going to have a feast. We're going to enjoy the rich
blessings of God, and as a result of that, I'm going to take away
your mourning and give you gladness. Now, he's not talking to us about
when we have a loved one die. We are going to mourn. When we
have things happen to us, sometimes we mourn, but we're not mourning
in that serious way against God. We're resting in Him. We're at
peace with Him. We're having joy in Him. And
so, Mordecai, let's go back over there to the book of Esther just
one short time, a little short here, in the book of Esther,
chapter 9, one more time, and there in verse 20. In conclusion,
it said, Mordecai, chapter 9, verse 20 of the book of Esther,
Mordecai wrote these things. and sent letters unto all the
Jews. I'm thankful as he wrote, so
did the Lord. The Lord's writing is much more
important. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, but
his word is as valuable as that writing in the Lamb's Book of
Life for us. Sent letters unto all the Jews
that were in all the provinces of the king, Ahasuerus, both
nigh and far. Wherever they were, that letter
got to them. To establish this among them,
that they should keep the 14th day of the month Adar and the
15th day of the same yearly, as the days were in the Jews
rested from their enemies. and the month which was turned
unto them from sorrow to joy and from mourning into a good
day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy and
of sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor. What happened
to those that were saved on the day of Pentecost? They didn't
mind getting together and celebrating what they had in Christ Jesus. And you know, in reality, that's
what we do when we meet. We're rejoicing in the rich blessings
of Christ that we have in Him that we share together and we
can enjoy them as He intended. And Lord willing, we'll pick
this up at the next appointed time and eventually get through
the ninth chapter of the book of Esther. We'll stop there for
tonight.