Book of Esther - Part 4

Idolatry, Obedience, and God’s Jealous Holiness

All right, let's turn to Esther chapter 3 and Our Our friend Mordecai here in verse 5 it says. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not Nor did him reverence then was Haman full of wrath Mordecai being a Jew Refused to bow down to this man and to worship him like all the other people were doing just simply because the king told him to and You know the Bible says that generally we're supposed to obey our government's.

But there are exceptions to the rule given in the Bible as well and The Bible makes it very clear that when our government asks us or commands us to disobey God that we no longer have to Obey the government in that one thing.

And so in this case He had to choose do I obey? The king or do I obey God and he obeyed God because God said not to worship anyone else or anything else in the whole universe and that sort of launched us out into One of our studies that comes forth from these verses that we're studying and we asked the question Why did he not bow down?

Why would he not worship another and we began to study what the Bible says about? This concept that was pounded into the heads and hearts of the Jewish people by God himself Continually over and over again.

He would say I am God. There is no other I will not share my name with another and He says I am a jealous God. I'm jealous over my people and Again, and again, this was taught to them all through the years.

And so there's an awful lot for us to learn. I think us being the church. Especially in the last days that we're in and I think I think These these last few thoughts that we have about this Topic Really brings it home to and and ties it in with the church ties it in with us today.

And so I want us to take a look at a few More of these passages with regard to what it says to us now. First of all, I want to have a couple of preliminary Things for you to look at turn with me if you would to Exodus chapter 20.

I just want you to see just a couple more things that God said To his people in the Old Testament with regard to idolatry because that's what this topic really is is idolatry and then. Then I'm going to give you a couple of passages that bring it right into the end times.

Talking about the same subject of idolatry and try to tie that together with us. Being the church in the last days and it's really pretty fascinating to me because I never made this connection I mean to me it's hard to connect worshipping rocks and and Groves of trees and Golden calves and things like that to to us.

We just don't seem we don't think we do that and yet they were continually rebuke for worshipping the work of their own hands and maybe we do do that and So there are some things we're doing that God considers to be idolatry that we don't think it is idolatrous look at Exodus 20 verse 3.

Doubt shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or Any likeness of anything that's in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them for I The Lord thy God am a jealous God now. We think of jealousness almost as a sin and for us it is because we're not God. We don't see the whole picture.

We don't judge things properly and Jealousness and a human is generally a weakness. But with God it is perfection. It is perfect jealousy and it means he will not share his love with another and it's tied in directly with idolatry because idolatry is worshipping another and giving your adoration to Something or someone other than God and he is jealous with regard to this and he says Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

So if we become idolatrous that tends to create repercussions to four generations out. From where we are in our children and our children's children and so forth because they tend to be a lot like us if we're Idolatrous they tend to be that way and it tends to grant it tends to get worse each generation and God visits the iniquity of the fathers that the sin this particular sin that the fathers may have upon the children and but then it says in verse 6, however and showing and Showing isn't it?

Nice that that word and is there God is not only one thing. He has many characters or he is a God of many Characters that are given and laid out for us in the Bible and here he says this character of mercy and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments and then Exodus 34 Verse 11 observe thou that which I commanded thee this day behold I drove out and I'm gonna skip that part drove out all these people.

But now look down at verse 13, but ye shall destroy their altars. Notice how God says that the pagan people that live all around his people influence God's people. The pagan people that have all their gods the things that they think are important and the things that they do.

Influence God's people if we hang around them too much if we're among them too much. And it says because sometimes we are among them. That when we're in that mode We should be thinking of destroying their altars the things they worship.

We should destroy those things in our own lives. Break their images and cut down their groves the things they worship for thou shalt worship No other God than the Lord. So even though you live in the world system that is full of God's little G gods and idols.

You live in the midst of that you are not to partake of it. You're supposed to cut it down so to speak for thou shalt worship. No other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is A jealous God one of the names God gives himself in the Bible is capital J jealous.

What is your name? I'm jealous. Think of that. What's your name God? Who should I go tell them? I am is one thing he said, but another thing. Well, what's your name God when I go tell them you sent me?

What is it? It's jealous. Tell him that. Now think about that. Think that way lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land now. Listen, do we do that? Do we do that? Well, I think one of the most brilliant things this church ever did was start this little Christian school.

To keep not to keep your children from the teachers in the public school. Most of them around here in the Bible Belt are Christians. They go to there in church this morning most of the teachers. But I'll tell you what's not in church is the textbooks special the social study ones that want to teach.

One teach socialism and that capitalism is bad and risk is bad when the Bible teaches without risk you you cannot create wealth without risk. You can't have anything in life without risk. Faith is a form of risk and all these things are taught opposite we're taught that you know, the Big Bang Theory and science and all the stuff that's in the textbooks is Antichrist and then.

It's not the teachers it's the textbooks but then beyond that I'll tell you what's worse. It's the playground. When you put the child you're not with them. You're not watching them. You just think you trust them.

And yeah, I know we have a certain amount of trust for kids. But listen, they're humans. They're like you were when you were little so remember what you did on the playground and the people that came up to you.

And what they taught you the pagans on the playground. That's a good Way to think of it. They come from every kind of home there is and every kind of Idolatrous worship there is in the world in America now.

It's all here and that's who they play with on the playground playground if they're in the government school. So you got to be you know. You just like if you if you make some kind of covenant with the inhabitants of the net of the land where you don't Separate from them and come out from among them.

You will get in trouble and it will be visited to the children and that's the sad sad truth. Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and now go a whoring after their gods and do Sacrifice unto their gods and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice.

So a friend calls you on the phone says well Come on over here and do this stuff with me and then they're doing this Idolatrous stuff to these other gods and all of a sudden you're doing it with them.

I think I think the modern church is right in the middle of this even the forms of worship sometime are patterned after the world and they'll take of their daughters unto thy sons and Their daughters go a whoring after their gods and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods also.

Thou shalt make thee no molten gods the feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep now. You know what that pictures we've studied through the feasts of Israel before we probably need to do it again pretty soon because we have new members that have not gone through that study and it's important to go through those studies and.

But the feast of the unleavened bread leaven picture sin. And so and so for seven days Before the Passover the children of Israel go get all the leaven out of their house and even hide some on purpose.

So the little children could go find it and get it out. It's almost like a game for the children to find that hidden leaven. So that the children get to get the leaven out of the house, too. So the entire family has an object lesson of how important it is to get sin out of our lives.

Now all of this is going to relate to the church here in a minute if I have time to get to and if I don't. Guess what? We will continue next Sunday the Lord willing but Thou shalt make thee no molten gods the feast of the unleavened bread.

So that is the contrast of being idolatrous the feast of the unleavened bread. Keeping oneself pure in the ways of God and not mixing in with the ways of the world. You know, I hate to say it, but I just have to because we'll forget we forget things.

Easter is a pagan religion a pagan holiday. It's named after Esther the fertility God and the little rabbit pictures fertility and gods that were actually worshipped in a in a horribly idolatrous and adulterous way and when we take part in the things of Catholic Roman Catholic Church brought it into the church when we take part in that.

Is God pleased. I know it may be fun, but it's God pleased with that because it is an appearance of a connection with pagan religion and We bring that in at the time of Passover. Easter is. Easter is not found in the Bible.

It's in the King James Version the word Easter is found one time you look it up in the Greek and it's the word Passover. So there is no Easter there's only Passover and At the same moment that that priest brought his hand down to slay that lamb.

Jesus Christ was on the cross dying. That's what it's about and then three days later he resurrected on Sunday and we Celebrate Resurrection Sunday every Sunday. In fact every day. There is the people that tried to get Christ.

Ostrom who lived about no more than a hundred or two years after the Apostle John. He was one of the early church fathers. They tried to get him to make him think he had to worship on Saturday. The legalist trying to make him worship on Saturday, you know what his answer was he says the Sabbath means rest.

And he said I rest in Jesus every day. In fact every moment of every day my Sabbath is every moment of every day. So you cannot tell me I have to worship on Saturday. What an answer. And so. You know, we've got to be careful and be reminded.

Not to be connected with these things that this is the practical application of this sermon on idolatry. I mean, you're not gonna worship trees and golden calves. But do we do we get involved in things and have our children involved with things that the world is doing all around us.

That is pagan. Yeah, we do but we shouldn't so we got to get that out now. It's in many many areas of life. Many many areas of life even the church brings it in as celebrations. Around Christmas Easter and different times.

And it's very interesting in Deuteronomy Verse 7 it says. Confounded be all they that serve graven images that boast themselves of idols worship him all ye gods. Zion heard and was glad and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because the judgments of the Lord.

The End-Times Judgment of Idolatry in Ezekiel 39

Now, let me take this into Scripture that begins to deal with the end times. Let's say that relates to the church turn to Ezekiel chapter 39. I'll give you a minute to find that one because we don't. We don't study that one every day.

So Find the book of Ezekiel for me. Ezekiel chapter 39 and let's look at verse 17. Ezekiel 39 17 and thou son of man. Thus saith the Lord God. Speaking to every feathered fowl to every beast of the field.

Assemble yourselves and come gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you. Even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of princes of the earth of rams of lambs and of goats and of bullocks and of all them fatlings of Bashan.

And Ye shall eat fat till you be full and drink blood till you be drunken in my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots and with mighty men with all men of war saith the Lord God and I will set my glory among the heathen and Now this that you have in these passages.

You got three groups. You got the heathen. You got Israel and you have the church or God's people and This he addresses the heathen and he says all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have Executed in my hand that I have laid upon them.

So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. Now this is Ezekiel looking all the way forward to the end times battle of Armageddon and The heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their sin.

Because they trespassed against me. Therefore hid I my face from them and gave them into the hand of their enemies. So fell they all by the sword according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions.

Now Let's remind ourselves. Where did they get that uncleanness and the transgressions? Where did they learn who'd they learn it from? Can we remember. They learned it from their sons who they married off to the daughters of the pagans.

Who brought their gods to their sons and their sons started worshipping of them? And they brought that sin into the nation of Israel and it weakened them so much That they got to the point where they were just destroyed militarily and scattered all over the known world.

Their nation was destroyed and they were just scattered all over the known world, but that's where it started it started by mingling together and not being separate from the idolaters in the world and Let's see, where was I?

Okay. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them and hid my face from them as first 24 verse 25. Therefore thus saith the Lord God now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob now that is a that phrase bring again.

The captivity sounds like he's going to send them into captivity. But what it means is they're already in captivity and he's going to bring them out once they have learned their lesson. Now here's the cycle and it's described in here the cycle is all of a sudden they got well to do and they they had plenty and they They they were blessed by God.

Then they forgot God then they married off their sons to pagan women and vice versa and began the way to learn the ways of the world and it Became natural as part of their lives and then they forgot God more and then God being jealous visited Punishment upon them and destroyed them as a nation and scattered them everywhere and now it says he's going to visit again he's going to bring again their captivity means now after they got into captivity and they see How Satan would have them and they're in harsh labor and they have nothing left in life.

That's good. Now they bow down the knee to the one true God and pray and say Lord save us deliver us and he does. Now that is a object lesson for every individual Christian in this room. That is the cycle that we too have to be careful not to go through.

But isn't it wonderful that if we do become captive that he does. Come deliver us when we kneel down and admit it to him and pray and ask to be saved from it again. Isn't it wonderful that he does and he does and do you know why he does is it because all of a sudden?

You're doing better things. You're going out doing a list of great things for God. No, it's because you're his child and he loves you and Yet he saw you doing things. He has the father had told us not to do.

Disobedience became a habit it became part of the life. It became habitual and he had to cut it out and he did it through other nations who came in and destroyed them but with us he'll do it through the world the flesh and the devil and He'll bring tribulation into our lives and our family and we'll go through that.

We'll get so low where it's like we have nothing. I'm not saying to take everything you have away. He might but I'm not saying it always is that way even physical things. It's just you in your mind and heart.

You'll get the place where none of that matters and you're just so low and you're down and you all of a sudden you realize. It's because you moved. Positionally you moved away from God towards the world and you plead you first admit with him.

You did it and then you plead with him to bring you back and have you again and he will. He brings again the captivity means you brings you out of captivity of Jacob and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel.

Let your whole life and will be jealous for my holy name. You see one reason God does this in our lives is he is jealous for his own holiness. And he and God knows since this is all his thing. He knows that the world looks at us and we are a reflection of him.

Are we not? The world looks at us. We're the salt and the light of the world and if you go and just look at generally at the modern church right now what? We're doing right now what the church is doing all over this country.

That reflects God. Well, listen, I'm gonna tell you something. God is jealous of his own holiness and his own holy name and listen. He will take the church through something if he has to to cleanse her.

So that she will lose everything she's got right now. She thinks she's rich and wealthy and has everything and God from his point. He says you are blind. You're naked and blind and poor and you have nothing.

That's how he sees the church right now and the church thinks she's doing better than she's ever done. I'm telling you most Christian groups in the country think we're in revival right now. Now every revival I read about in history it changed the Environment in the area where it happened like it shut down bars.

It shut down prostitution houses. It shut down stuff even eliminated alcohol from our nation and you know Hollywood Portrays the prohibition is a terrible time where you couldn't get a couldn't get any booze.

Oh, it took away our freedom. That's how Hollywood portrays that but I'm gonna tell you what people like Billy Sunday and Preachers like that it just simply went around preach the Word of God and people were falling on their knees on the sidewalk Downtown and all of a sudden they would shut the bars that no one would go there.

So they went out of business. That's what true revival looks like and we are not seeing that in America today. Are we? That is not happening. That is not happening. What's happening is a falseness. We're no better off than Europe was after World War two when Europe forsook Jesus Christ.

You go before, you know, you go a few hundred years before that. You got guys like like Spurgeon the Prince of preachers preaching the Word of God to that nation and those people Adoring the Lord Jesus and worshiping him by by thousands in these churches.

And now you go over there and look they'll be like three people in this huge beautiful Cathedral in Europe and they forsook God and it's so obvious there you go over there and just look it's dark. Okay, but you come over here.

Our country forsook God probably about. We began this forsaking of God probably about in the 1960s. It got worse in the 70s. It progressed into the 80s and now in the 90s what we have covering it up is we have this facade of the successful church the megachurch.

Where no gospel is preached. I mean even a lost Jewish TV host had to bring that out of one of the most famous preachers in Houston. I won't give his name. He asked him the question he said well I have heard from people in your area that read your books and listen that you preach and it's all exciting everything.

But you don't preach the gospel about Jesus Christ. No, this was a Jewish man asking him this and he just looked in a tear came down and she can said really. Didn't even realize it take like a little snippet of a verse and read it and then give a speech and that is making people give the impression that our nation is just flourishing as a Christian nation.

Because there are literally more people in church now than there ever have been. I mean these churches had 30 ,000 people in attendance this morning. But I'm gonna tell you what it is just as dead as the religion in Europe.

The only difference is this one is more subtle and more sneaky because it has the appearance the church is thriving. It's worse than what happened in Europe because we don't think we have a problem in this nation.

Do you see we're an idolatrous nation? We've sent our daughters and sons out to marry the pagans and then we bring their idolatrous way of living right back into the church and Think it's normal now. That's where we are in America.

Now. God is a jealous God. My name is jealous and I am jealous for my holy name. He says after that they have borne their shame you see after he put them in slavery and they were shamed by that and All their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me when they dwelt safely in their land.

They had things going good and they were trespassing against me and none of them were made afraid. He said when I have brought them again that bring bringing them back out of captivity after they yield to him and after they confess their sins and get right with the Lord and he brings them back and I have brought them again from the people and Gathered them out of their enemies lands and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations now he's we're looking at the future now when God brings the Diaspora the dispersed Jewish people back to their nation in Israel.

And he says I will do this in the future and I will sanctify. I will be sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen.

But I have gathered them unto their own land and have left none of them anymore there meaning among the heathen. Neither will I hide my face anymore from them for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel.

Sayeth the Lord God now that is an amazing glimpse of what is coming. That is not past. That is about to happen and it is happening now turn to Isaiah chapter 2 in verse 1. And we may not have time this morning to tie this in with the book of Revelation which deals with Israel but also deals with the church in the end times.

But we will get that done next Sunday God willing if we don't quite get there. But let's see how far we get. I'm sure we won't but we'll get through this passage in Isaiah, which is quite amazing. Isaiah chapter 2 the point being Since we won't be able to wrap this up today.

The point being this that idolatry is the main sin of the church and of the pagans and of Israel in the end times and that that has to be dealt with by God before Jesus comes back because when he comes back his bride will be pure and She will be pure.

She is purified by his blood. We know that but she is made ready by herself. It says and that is an interesting concept. And that's what we're gonna be discussing when we get to it probably won't get to it today.

But I want you to think I want you to make if we don't. Ask this yourself this question see if you can get into this this week on your own. How in the world? Can she make herself ready? How can the church the modern church make herself ready?

All right and picture yourself as a human being a born-again person and how you deal with sin how you face sin all the time and how you deal with it and how much power you do or You don't have over it and how good you are at making yourself ready and then ask How's this modern church gonna make herself ready?

And that's we may get to that probably next Sunday, but let's look at this in Isaiah 2 verse 1 the word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem and it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be Established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it.

This is a picture of when Jesus Christ sets up his throne in Jerusalem to rule for a thousand years in the Millennial Kingdom. And many people shall go and say come ye. Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob.

And he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths. Did you know that when Jesus Christ comes back to rule from? From Jerusalem for a thousand years. He will be Jewish. He is and always will be the God man the mannish part of him is Jewish and all of the Gentile nations of the world who make it that far Will say let's go worship the God of Jacob.

Isn't that interesting? And he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and in other words the law of the land like we have laws now that make Everything work the law that keeps everything in order in the whole world will come forth from that mountain from Jerusalem.

From Jesus Christ himself and the Word of the Lord will come from there so preaching of the gospel and of the word and the Bible the whole thing will come from Jerusalem and he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. How. Oh house of Jacob come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore thou has forsaken thy people the house of Jacob because They be replenished from the east and are soothsayers like the Philistines now He goes back in time again.

See he's going he's looking forward a glimpse at how it's going to be now. He goes back to how it is while they're in captivity and starts to point out again why they're there. Well, because they gathered soothsayers fortune-tellers witches warlocks pagan stuff and brought them in just like the Philistines did.

Excuse me did because that's where they learned it and they pleased themselves in the children of strangers. So they loved the pagan. Children and young people and young adults and they let their children mingle with them and they bring them in they just all do everything together and That's how they ended up in captivity in the first place.

So now he's looking back at that again. Their land also is full of silver and gold neither has there is there any into their treasure? What does that tell you they had such prosperity that they didn't even think about God?

Now this is how it approaches. This is the economy of the end times. Things are going so good for people in the world that they don't even have a thought for God because they're just having fun marrying and giving in marriage eating and drinking buying and selling just like in the days right before the flood.

Jesus said didn't he and. Also in addition to the fact that they had all these treasures their land was full of horses. Neither was there any end of their chariots? You know what that is? That's military power.

Military power so strong that they're not worried about anything. Who does that sound like? What country? Us in. Their land also is full of idols. Now look that that you know. That is a picture of how it's going to be now.

We're not worshiping trees and rocks and golden calves, but we're idolatrous. The Bible says full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands that which their own fingers have made and the small man Bows down to it and the great man the Kings and the leaders of the nation's humble themselves to these false gods.

Therefore forgive them not. Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust. For fear of the Lord and of the glory of his magic. I'm gonna tell you this just progresses this state of affairs progresses and grow or waxes worse and worse as the King James would say.

Right up until the tribulation period and when the tribulation period hits. This reference is is mirrored in the book of Revelation where they're asking the mountains to follow me. You remember those they're asking the mountains to follow them and hide them from the face of who?

The lamb and this now is in the book of Isaiah 2 ,600 years ago written and it says enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust for fear of Jehovah that's God with us. That's Jesus and For the glory of his majesty the lofty looks of man shall be humbled.

This is a whole world. This is the even. It's just every group that's on the world shall be humbled and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. This is this is a huge in part of what the tribulation period is all about.

This is what it's all about. It is humbling every haughty man woman that it will be alive. It symbolizes the humbling of all of humanity. It includes every group that's there and I know we have debate and I don't mean debate in a bad way.

Among us on who will still be here and so forth, but we differ in opinion on that. But whoever is here this applies to them and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. So when it's all said and done He's the only one that's going to be lifted up the only one that will desire deserve worship or get worship when it's all done.

Isn't that wonderful that part is wonderful for the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon Everyone that is proud and lofty and upon everyone that is lifted up and he shall be brought low and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up and upon all the Oaks of Bashan and upon all the high mountains and upon all the hills that are lifted up.

Oftentimes they would worship groves of trees in the mountainous areas as gods and it's picturing all these false gods. It's picturing all the people that were thought they were so prideful and so forth.

And upon all the high mountains upon all the hills that are lifted up upon every high tower upon every fenced wall. That's all the military power and upon all the ships that's military and economic power of Tarshish and upon all pleasant pictures and The loftiness of man shall be bowed down in the haughtiness of man shall be made low and the Lord shall alone Shall be exalted in that day and the idols he shall utterly abolish.