The Jewish festival of Purim began at sunset last evening and we at Crosstown Church are using it as the kick-off for an “enjoyable” three day call to fasting and prayer. You heard it right, an “enjoyable” three days of fasting and prayer. For those of you who attend another church, we ask you to join us. If you choose not to, which you are obviously free to do, at least speak words of agreement for us as we undertake this season of exciting God-developments.
Those who were in attendance last Sunday will recall the prophetic word given by our guest, Ruby Shoemake, and the pastoral call to prayer and fasting read by my wife, Rosemary. What follows is in two parts. The first part deals with the story of Esther and the observance of Purim – the commemoration of the Jewish people’s salvation from the insidious plot to kill and annihilate them in a single day during their captivity in the Persian Empire.
The second part deals with our call to action – fasting and prayer. As the title above declares, “there is a God in Heaven.” You’ll see why!
Here’s the first part. To fully understand how Purim and our days of fasting and prayer fit together with the prophetic word given to us on Sunday, one must read the Book of Esther.
In short, the Book of Esther tells the story of a young Jewish woman (Esther) who becomes queen to the Persian Empire’s King Xerxes (Ahasuerus). Though she had not wanted to be part of the elaborate “beauty pageant” search for a new queen, she nonetheless was taken to the king’s palace where she found his favor and was crowned queen. Soon thereafter an anti-Semitic man named Haman became the chief advisor to the king.
Because Haman had an ego and a prejudice-hatred problem he convinced the king to require the entire Persian Empire to bow to him. When the Jews’ leader, Mordecai, refused to bow to him, Haman again convinced the King to issue a decree authorizing the killing of all the Jews.
Keep in mind that the Jews had been taken into Babylon captivity many years before during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Now several hundred years later Esther was queen to the king who had agreed to issue Haman’s request to have the Jews wiped out.
Mordecai, the de facto leader of the exiled Jews, was Esther’s older cousin. In fact, he had raised her in the absence of her parents being around. Good old “Mord” sent word to his “queen” cousin seeking her help to intercede with the king on the Jews’ behalf. He’d reasoned with her that God had brought her to her royal position “for such a time as this.”
This was a risky move for Esther! It was never allowed for a queen or anyone else, for that matter, to enter into the king’s presence without first being summoned by the king. Violating the rule meant sure death. (Esther 4:11, 16e )
Fresh on everybody’s mind and especially Esther’s, was the king’s murder of his previous wife, Queen Vashti, who had not followed the proper protocols when summoned by the king.
After much back and forth communication between Esther and Mordecai, the queen asked Mordecai to call all the Jews to three days of fasting and prayer. And this they did because there was a God in Heaven!
After a number of subplots involving Mordecai and Haman had taken place, Esther invited the king and Haman to a lavish feast at which time she revealed her Jewish identity and how Haman had convinced the king to issue the decree for the Jews’ annihilation. King Xerxes was incensed by what Haman had convinced him to do. While the original order could not be rescinded, the king stripped Haman of his authority and subsequently hanged him on the gallows that he’d (Haman) built for the hanging of Mordecai. Mordecai was soon promoted to Haman’s former position which in turn allowed him to issue another decree permitting the Jews to protect themselves against those who wanted to kill them and the king endorsed it.
Because the Jews’ enemies had organized a mass killing “party” on the 13th day of Adar, the new decree meant that they could defend themselves. They courageously did so and on the very day that they were to have been killed, God turned the tables by helping the Jews defend themselves. They routed all their enemies in that one single day. The following day the Jews “partied” and that celebration is what has become the annual observance of Purim.
Three days of fasting and prayer . . . incredible God-given wisdom and courageous boldness on Esther’s part . . . and a miraculous change of events that brought deliverance to all the Jews – there is a God in Heaven!
Now to the second part.
Our call to action is simple. We declared it last Sunday. Let’s fast and pray for three days to seek God’s wisdom and His power to overthrow strongholds which have hindered, resisted, and attempted to destroy our lives as God’s people.
For some receiving this email, this will be a very significant time of engaging God and securing His power to defeat the enemy. For others who have chosen to do nothing, life will continue on in a status quo manner allowing the world, the flesh and the devil to exert its authority. And sadly, some have even given up hope and have bought into living a lower level of fulfillment as a believer in Jesus Christ. They’ve accepted the lie of the devil that their lives are hopeless.
But there is a God in Heaven!
By utilizing the Esther narrative we can safely say that Haman represented the “evil one” – he who the Bible describes as the accuser and the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy.2
As children of God, we have been given weapons of warfare and the power to utilize them so that we can demolish the devil’s strongholds.
We acknowledge that our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, is head over every power and authority in heaven and upon earth. No one . . . and nothing is greater.
Because Christ publically disarmed the principalities and authorities when He triumphed over them by His death on the cross and His powerful resurrection from the dead, we as His ambassadors exercise our rightful authority by overcoming all the power of the enemy through this three day period of fasting and prayer.
During these three days we will worship God with all of our being. We will declare His undisputed authority over every facet of our lives and we will exercise our authority by tearing down every Holy Spirit-identified stronghold that has been erected against us. Please remember that strongholds are like the gallows that that evil-man-Haman erected for the hanging of Mordecai.
As long as strongholds are allowed to “stick around” and be uncontested there will always be debilitating limitation, as well as death and destruction. They are lurking just around the proverbial corner.
Remember that It is for our freedom and deliverance that we engage in this exercise of enforcing Jesus Christ’s authority. We do so for our own lives, our families, and our Crosstown Church family.
Repeated below is the outline of the three days of prayer given on Sunday. Enjoy yourself as you experience the freedom and liberty that this exercise will give you, in Jesus’ name!
Jesus Christ is Lord!
–Pastor John
Here is a simple outline for our days of fasting and prayer (March 5-7, 2015)
Thursday
Fast and pray for:
· Spiritual leaders, like Pastor John and Rosemary.
· Heads of households (fathers and mothers).
· Other leadership people (business, governmental, and others with adult oversight responsibilities).
· Tear down strongholds of accusation for all within your circle of life involvement.
· Release God’s Kingdom calling and plan for all of these in authority.
Friday
Fast and pray for:
· Our children and family members – spirit, soul, and body.
· The spiritual condition of these children and family members. Bring wayward ones back to the Lord.
· Their health and healing from damaging wounds and abuses.
· Spiritual children to be birthed into Crosstown Church.
· Release God’s eternal plan for you and your family!
Saturday
Fast and pray for:
· Stewardship – our possessions, belongings, our assets, etc.
· Indebtedness to be broken, employment to be secured, and advancement to be realized.
· The release of safe and secure dwelling places; even greater and better households to accomplish God’s Kingdom purposes for our families and the people He desires us to help.
· Restoration of all that has been destroyed, stolen and incapacitated.
· Restoration of things we have never had . . . but should have had, except that the devil prevented them from happening.
· Release God’s provision for your life, your family, our church.