THE SOLUTION TO THE POST CROSS DILEMMA
Part 1

February 14, 2010 am
MF Blume

Esther 5:14 Then said Zeresh his (Haman's) wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Then Esther succeeded in thwarting Haman's plans as follows:

Esther 7:9-10 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

But....

Esther 8:3 And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

There was a great dilemma in the book of Esther.

It was a man named Haman who wanted to kill Mordecai.

But after Haman was hanged, there was another dilemma that still posed a threat.

The devil was a dilemma to mankind.

And Jesus destroyed the power of the devil when He died on the cross.
But after the cross, and after people are saved from sin, there is another dilemma to Christians.

Last service we discussed Esther approaching the king at the banquet of wine.

She gained confidence to enter the inner court like we need boldness to enter the holiest of holies.
Jews would be destroyed.
Esther fasted three days and nights, the same period of time from Christ's death to resurrection.
When we grasp the truth of the cross, we have figuratively endured a three day and night preparation to enter the most holy place.
This is what Heb 10 means in saying we enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
By the truths of the cross.
These truths give revelation to us about how fit we are to enter the holiest.
We need this revelation or else we will mistakenly think we are unworthy.

We then spoke about the banquet of wine representing ENJOYING THE BLESSINGS of what the BLOOD (represented by wine) did for us after we gained boldness due to that revelation to enter.

So there is a truth of how we get boldness by the blood to enter the holiest as well as enjoying the blessings of that same blood after having entered.

The revelation gets you boldness to enter, and then, because you did indeed enter, you then experience the blessings.

It all goes back to the cross and the blood.

While Esther was enjoying the banquet of wine, feasting on it, she dealt with Haman.

We must deal with the enemy while we have a fresh revelation of the cross, since the boldness we get from this revelation is greatest having just received it.

Haman was hanged on the gallows he made for Mordecai.

And we now proceed to the rest of the story.

Events followed Haman's hanging in the story of Esther that teach us more truths of our walks with God.

Like Haman's death on the "tree" ("gallows" in Hebrew), Satan's defeat by the cross has given us great victory.
But after Haman's death, the Jews yet faced a dilemma.
Though Haman was dead, his law was still in effect and threatened the Jews.
Though satan is defeated by the work of the cross, after the cross of Christ there is a law of the spirit of sin and death.

Romans 7:21-24 Complete Apostles' Bible (21) Therefore I find this law, that when I wish to do the right thing, that evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. (23) But I see a different law in my members, waging war with the law of my mind, and capturing me by the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

Romans 7 shows a struggle believers have in wanting to do the will of God after they are saved, but finding themselves committing evil instead.

Romans 7:18 Complete Apostles' Bible (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to do the good, I do not find.

Notice this information in verse 18.

Paul has the will in his mind to do the right thing.
But the will in his mind came into conflict with something else in his flesh.
We perform with our flesh.
Something that Paul called "no good thing" was in his flesh hindering the performance of the will to do good that he had in his mind.

So he says his mind or inward man delights in the law of God.

Romans 7:(22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

So the law of God was in his mind.

But there was another law that was at work that was a totally different law than the one which his mind delighted in.

And Paul called his flesh, that housed this "no good thing" that hindered him from performing the law of God that his mind delighted to do, his "body of this death".

Rom 7:(24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

He thought that getting delivered from his own body would be the answer to the problem of delighting in the law of God in his mind, but having another law working in that body to hinder him from PERFORMING to do the law of God.

You can DELIGHT in the law of God and greatly desire to do God's will in your MIND, but not be able to PERFORM that desire in your body.

TO DELIGHT AND TO PERFORM are two different things.
It is a lie that says "Where there's a will, there's a way."
Paul desired to do God's law, but he did not find the ability to perform that law in his body.
Instead of the ability to perform that will, his body had within itself a power that was stopping that desire from being performed.

If Paul could only get out of that body that housed that miserable power that hindered him!

And after reading about God's law in his mind, which he delighted in, and another law in his body that hindered him from finding ability to perform God's law, he tells us exactly what this law in his body was called in chapter 8.

Romans 8:1-2 KJV There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.

Notice now that there are THREE LAWS MENTIONED!

THE LAW OF GOD that was in his mind and the law he delighted in.
ANOTHER LAW of SIN AND DEATH that was in his flesh hindering him from performing the law of God with his body (You have to use your body to PERFORM what your mind delights in).
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS.

When your MIND delights in and totally agrees that that the Law of God is something you should be doing, BUT YOUR FLESH has a FORCE IN IT that hinders you from being able to PERFORM THAT good law, the only remedy is learning about a THIRD LAW that rescues you from that miserable frustration.
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.

Once you learn about this law and what it teaches you, you will no longer struggle with wanting to do good and not being able to do it because of a power and law of sin and death in your flesh.

Esther's story explains this solution through spiritually interpreting the events that followed Haman's hanging.

Esther found a solution to a problem that perfectly represents our problem with the law of sin and death.

After the hanging of Haman, Esther's problems were not over.

And after your experience of new birth through the cross of Christ, there is a dilemma that you must face also and solve
Picture Haman's death as the destruction and defeat of satan by the cross.

Then Esther succeeded in thwarting Haman's plans as follows:

But....

The hanging of Haman perfectly represents how the cross, though having hanged Jesus Christ, actually destroyed the works of the devil.

Hebrews 2:14 CEV We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death.

Jesus is the one who died on the cross.

But His death was a sacrifice for our sins.
We were like a man on death row who has to die because of his crime.
If we died, we would pay for our crimes completely.
But what good is that once we're dead?
If we could rise form the dead, we could enjoy life free from the guilt of those crimes.
Our deaths would have totally paid for those crimes.
When you totally pay for something, you never have to pay anything else for it again.
So if we could die and resurrect, we would never have to feel guilty over those sins any more since we paid for the guilt of them.
This is exactly what happened to us when we got saved.
When we get saved, the death of Jesus Christ is considered OUR DEATHS.
Jesus did not die for his own sins, since he had none, but died in our places for our sins.
So, when He resurrected from the dead, he resurrected in our places as much as he died in our places.
And that means it's just as good as though we died for our sins and thereby completely paid the price for all our sins' guiltiness.
And we resurrected in God's eyes, and can now enjoy freedom from the guilt of our sins, and we do not have ever pay for them again!
JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED.

This is how Jesus destroyed the devil by dying on the cross.

The devil brought death to the human race -- that is what it means to say he had the power of death.
Death was intended by the devil to be the final ruin of the human race was actually used by Jesus in dying as a sacrifice to render the devil's power INEFFECTIVE!
The same death that was meant to be mankind's ruination because an instrument for absolute glory and praise to God!
Satan's death was actually taken by Jesus and NULLIFIED by the death of Jesus!

WHO COULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ONE UP BUT GOD?

Well, Haman was destroyed by his own gallows just like the devil was destroyed by his own power of death.

But after Haman was dead, HAMAN HAD KICKED INTO EFFECT A LAW THAT STILL WAS AT WORK!

Haman might have been dealt with, BUT HIS LAW WAS STILL ALIVE.

Esther 3:5-10 Complete Apostles' Bible (5) And when Haman understood that Mordecai did not bow down to him, he was greatly enraged, (6) and took counsel to utterly destroy all the Jews who were under the rule of Artaxerxes. (7) And he made a decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to slay in one day the race of Mordecai. And the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month, which is Adar. (8) And he spoke to King Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from those of all the other nations; and they disobey the laws of the king. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them alone. (9) If it seems good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them, and I will remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver. (10) And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Haman, to seal the decrees against the Jews.

Esther 8:3-6 Complete Apostles' Bible (3) And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and beseeched him to do away the mischief of Haman, and all that he had done against the Jews. (4) Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden scepter; and Esther arose to stand near the king. (5) And Esther said, If it seems good to you, and if I have found favor in your sight, let an order be sent that the letters sent by Haman may be reversed, that were written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in your kingdom. (6) For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall I be able to survive the destruction of my relatives?

Esther succeeded in seeing Haman, the enemy of the Jews, hanged on the very gallows that Haman built to hang the Jew Mordecai, Esther's uncle.

After that hanging, there were still many enemies of the Jews around the empire, for before his death, Haman had successfully arranged for a law to be validated in the king's name, that could not be reversed, demanding that the Jews be killed in the month of Adar on the 13th day.

After his death, that law still stood!
What a dilemma!

THE SOLUTION TO THE POST CROSS DILEMMA Part 1

THE SOLUTION TO THE POST CROSS DILEMMA
Part 1