Series: God Is Here [#7]
WINNERS
Esther 7:1-10
Introduction:
Everyone loves a winner, right? We live in a time of 2 philosophies: Either, “Everyone is a winner” or, “Winning is the only thing”. Being a very competitive person, 2nd place is not winning. We have watched Esther become Queen and go to King Xerxes unannounced. In our text, Queen Esther shows us how to have victory.
Esther 7:1-10 (MSG)
“So the king and Haman went to dinner with Queen Esther. At this second dinner, while they were drinking wine the king again asked, "Queen Esther, what would you like? Half of my kingdom! Just ask and it's yours." Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King, and if it please the king, give me my life, and give my people their lives. "We've been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed--sold to be massacred, eliminated. If we had just been sold off into slavery, I wouldn't even have brought it up; our troubles wouldn't have been worth bothering the king over." King Xerxes exploded, "Who? Where is he? This is monstrous!" "An enemy. An adversary. This evil Haman," said Esther. Haman was terror-stricken before the king and queen. The king, raging, left his wine and stalked out into the palace garden. Haman stood there pleading with Queen Esther for his life--he could see that the king was finished with him and that he was doomed. As the king came back from the palace garden into the banquet hall, Haman was groveling at the couch on which Esther reclined. The king roared out, "Will he even molest the queen while I'm just around the corner?" When that word left the king's mouth, all the blood drained from Haman's face. Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, spoke up: "Look over there! There's the gallows that Haman had built for Mordecai, who saved the king's life. It's right next to Haman's house--seventy-five feet high!" The king said, "Hang him on it!" So Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had built for Mordecai. And the king's hot anger cooled.”
Winners…
1. Know their enemy.
Esther knew that Haman had a huge ego and that she could use that to her advantage. She knew that Haman would have his “guard down”. She knew how Haman was going to react.
We too need to know our enemy. I have had people scold me for studying the enemy; but the more we know about him, the stronger we will be. Scripture proves to us that the devil never changes his strategy. Scripture proves to us that devil does not have the same supernatural powers as God. Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is not omniscient. Satan can only do what God allows him to do.
I realize that we all have people who are enemies; but they are being used by Satan to fulfill his plans. Your 2nd greatest enemy is yourself. Do you know yourself?
Winners…
2. Know where to take their enemy.
Esther turned her enemy over to King Xerxes. She knew that the King would deal with Haman and that the final decision was his to make. She told the King the story. She didn’t add or take away anything from the story.
We need to do the same thing. We need to turn our enemy over to the King of Kings. God knows the truth of what has happened and God will make the decisions.
Winners…
3. Know when to leave their enemy.
Once Esther tells the King what is going on, she leaves it with the King. Even while Haman was begging her, she did nothing. She didn’t tell the King what to do with Haman. She left Haman with the King.
We must learn to turn our enemy over to God and leave it up to God. Many of us want to jump back in and take matters into our own hands. We want to tell God how it should happen.
Conclusion:
Whatever battle you may be in, don’t allow the enemy to fool you. Don’t try to take the enemy on all by yourself; and once you turn them over to God, leave them there.
