Esther 6:14  And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Air traffic tragedy has struck on two separate occasions in the U.S. this week. It was interesting to hear the response of one of the people at the latest crash scene. The man was a Muslim and his first words were directed toward his false god. He repeated that several times and then started cursing in English. It was interesting to witness that the media would broadcast that response in the U.S., a supposedly English speaking country.
In Canada we have been told that the U.S. is going to increase the tariffs on our products going into the U.S. as of today. While this is happening we sit in this country with leadership that is similar to that of king Ahasuerus, a puppet master whose ego was hurt due to his foolishness. His lack of discernment was so evident, but he was the king. Of course there were no elections to put him in as king. There really are no elections to put our government in place either. There is a drama that many people participate in every so often, but the leaders are chosen by a conglomerate of people who have a world agenda. That should be obvious to us but seems to slip right on by most people. The fact that our leaders and many others fly to Davos to sit at the feet of the guru, Klaus Schwab should demonstrate what is actually taking place. We are not an independent nation. We do not have the wisdom nor the military might to be able to stand on our own. The fact is that God puts leaders in place and He removes leaders according to His overall plan.
If we look at the Persian empire of Esther’s day, they were strong at that time. Rather than have any meaningful government, they had wasted precious time, trying to stroke the wounded ego of a king who loved alcohol and money more than anything else. He elevated a very bad man to a place of high influence and then allowed that man to put out an edict to destroy one entire segment of his country. He knew nothing about these people and he did not know the true God and thus did not consider what His response would be to an attack against His people.
The Persian empire would eventually collapse and the Greek empire would take its place. It is extremely unwise to try to live in a Godless society. God is never asleep. He is never just coasting. He is far wiser than our leaders who fly all over and spend taxpayer dollars on destructive ventures.
Psalm 2 tells us that God is aware of what the leaders of the world are doing. He laughs at their inflated view of themselves. It is true that we the people are affected by decisions made by our leaders. It is also true that sometimes we do not realize the detrimental effects of those bad decisions for a number of years. Since the advent of the printing machine, our governments have been able to print money at will and they have been able to cushion the negative effects of their unwise decisions for quite some time.
As we look at the situation before us, we can see that the glory days are over. Our children and grandchildren will not have the same liberties that we enjoyed.
The bigger issue is to observe Church history and see how the only place that is supposed to be able to keep a nation on a more stable course, has subjected itself to the state that is godless. I realize we live in a system where the state believes it is the highest authority. I also realize we are not Israel. We have noted before that the first century true churches impacted their society. They had leaders who preached the Word faithfully.
Paul commanded Timothy to:

II Timothy 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

That mandate has been lost for most of church history. There is a small booklet titled: “The Trail of Blood”, which traces the godly church history through the ages. It is called the trail of blood because many of those who chose to know God and serve Him, faced death because of that. The world does not want to know the truth.
The Bible warns us that we are living in the last days and It tells us the last days will be known for perilous times. It does not say there will not be religious activity. It tells us there will be perilous times. It then tells us how those perilous times will be identified. You can read about that in II Timothy 3. In the last part of verse 5 true born again Christians are commanded to turn away from such.
I was asked again recently if our church is growing. My answer was no. Numerically we are not growing. The man that asked the question showed his response on his face. As I spoke further with him I could see why his response was what it was. He was theologically illiterate. He had been fully indoctrinated into the N.E. philosophy.
I have pastored churches that had very few members when we came to it and we have seen the numbers go up by a significant amount during the time I was there. I am not boasting. The increase was not due to me. It was God that gave the increase. I have also pastored in churches that have not grown numerically. It is nice to see people coming and growing in the Lord. The cost of compromise to see that growth is not worth it to me. I know that most people cannot see that and they want no part of a church that does not grow numerically. Of course people need to humble themselves and be saved. A church must preach the Word. Most people are not interested in the truth in these days.
When there is a shallow approach to God’s Word, you end up with a society that we currently have. You end up with a society such as the majority of the Jews experienced during the days of Esther.
In our text, in the midst of all that was happening, Esther’s banquet was on schedule. Haman was concerned about the events of the day. His plot to destroy the Jews was unravelling. His wife can see that.
Haman was so engulfed in his own problems that he was not ready to go to this banquet that he assumed was due to his importance in the government of that time. The king’s chamberlains had to come and hurry him along to the banquet. It would have been difficult for Haman to put on a happy face as he came to that banquet. It would be difficult for him to carry on a frivolous conversation in the midst of all that he was dealing with. His problems were of his own making. It is another reminder of how godless people can come up with a plan that they are sure is good, but then hit a brick wall that not only stops them, but comes crashing down on top of them.
That is where our country is at now. We will see how long before that wall comes crashing down. During the “dirty 30’s” many people committed suicide because they could not handle the sudden collapse of everything they had been trusting in. Are you prepared for what lies ahead? Whether it be a resurgence of wealth or a collapse of the economy, are you prepared to deal with that? Unless you know the Lord in truth, you are not prepared. You will take the deep dive just as most did over the past 4+ years. Don’t be like Haman. Don’t be like Mordecai and Esther. Build your life on the truth and be like Daniel or Ruth. Glorify Him and you will know a peace that the world cannot understand.
Pastor Bartel