Tony Evans — Date with Destiny
Welcome to an epic event. As the curtain rises over a slave girl caught in a set of circumstances out of her control, you're going to discover how the invisible hand of God intervenes in her life, in the life of her relative, and in the life of her people to save all of them from certain doom. This is a story that will blow your mind, but it is also a story that will transform your life and give you a much bigger view of God.
So, now we come to the final two chapters, the final two chapters of the book, verse 1 of chapter 9. "Now, in the 12th month, that is the month of Adar, the 13th day when the king commanded--when the kings command an edict were about to be executed on the day."
Somebody say, "On the day." "On the day when the enemies of the Jews hope to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them."
On the day. Now, I can't go too fast here. See, this is 12 months later. On the very day, 12 months from when Haman decide the Jews out to be exterminated, on that day, the day God turned it around.
You didn't hear me. We're talking about on the day, not a day, the day. Exactly the day when the Jews were to be slaughtered, at the last moment, the day, is when everything it says turned to the contrary.
In other words, he flipped it on the day. Just in case you didn't know it, all of us have a day. Oh, you don't believe me? All you got to do is read Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 to 18, he calls it the evil day.
That's the day the devil has determined to do you in. That's the day the devil has determined to destroy your life. That's the day when the devil, through the Hamans that he brings into our experience, wants to ruin your future. That's the day, on that day.
Well, wait a minute, this day is 12 months later. But you have to understand God's been setting it up for a year. It didn't come and fully reveal itself till the day 'cause God is always moving over a period of time to bring his conclusion about at the right time. And so, God allows evil to develop, he allows evil to perpetuate itself, he allows evil to replicate itself in order to situate evil in the right place so that while he's delivering you, he's handling them.
And he's doing that so that this day becomes a bigger day than the original day when it started. 'Cause on the original day, 12 months earlier, all he had was a plan.
By the time we get to this day, Haman is dead and God is getting ready to wipe out everybody who was against the Jews 'cause God always has a bigger plan than you are aware of, you just haven't gotten to the day yet to see it worked out.
God is so precise in his movements in our lives as we are living under his rule that he, watch this, he will make things worse in order to make them better. See, you got to watch this. God is so precise that, in order to accomplish what he is seeking to accomplish in our lives as we align ourselves unto him, he will actually make things worse before he makes things better.
Now, we're told in verse 4 that Mordecai had become great in the king's house. His frame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai became great, greater, and greater. Mordecai has gotten promoted through a series of events that had nothing to do with him.
I mean, it has to do with him because he predicted the king's assassination plot, but because of what Haman did, he got promoted. And so, here we are, Mordecai is in this situation.
On the day, on this day now, it's time for them to get involved in the will of God. Because we're told in verse 6, "At the citadel in Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men." On top of that, we learned in verse 10 this included the ten sons of Haman. Okay? he decree was if anybody comes at you Jews based on the decree of Haman, you're able to get them back.
Let me explain. God's will calls for your involvement. You do not sit on the side-- this is spiritual warfare. And spiritual warfare means you must be involved. You don't sit back and say, "Oh, God's going to do it," when God has given you weapons to use to do it with. That's again why Ephesians 6, verses 10 to 18, it talks about the armor of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 talks about the weapons of our warfare, that you are called into spiritual battle.
You can't pray for a job and not go job hunting, talking about God going to do it. Okay, you cannot not not do what God has placed in your hand to do to be workers together with him. You must apply the spiritual to the situational, and God's purposes and power works through our obedience using whatever legitimate resources God has provided us because God wants us involved in the battle.
In Exodus chapter 17, when Israel was fighting the enemies, Moses sat on a rock, he held his hands up. It says, "As long as he held his hands up, Israel prevailed. But the moment he dropped his hands, Israel lost. He held his hands up with the rod of God."
Why did he have to hold his hands up? Because he had to make heaven the central thing. But the people had to battle on earth. So, there will be things you will have to fight through. There will be problems you will have to battle. There will be situations that you'll have to negotiate. Just like she had to use her clout for the king.
Mordecai has to use his clout with the king. There will be circumstances that call for your action. You cannot passively sit by and trust God. Waiting on God does not mean doing nothing. Waiting on God means not going outside of God to do something. It means don't disobey God to get God to do something. But as long as you are operating within the will of God based on the Word of God, then you are situated to see God move in your circumstance providentially.