Friday, February 15, 2008

Going Beyond the Gate

Going Beyond the Gate


Est 3:8-10
8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.

9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.

10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.


Est 4:8
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.


Est 4:13-14
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?


Est 5:1-3
5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.



Mordecai was faithful.

He was always at the gate.

Not a day went by that did not find him sitting outside the King’s gate.

He was a faithful man.

Rain or shine; just like the postman.

He had been there when two men came out whispering in low tones about their plot to kill the king.

Had he not been faithful, the king would have been assassinated.

His simple faithfulness saved the king’s life.

No fanfare for him…

He did not require any special attention or recognition. He was just happy to be a servant of the king.

Never did he make a big deal out of his heroics. He was just a faithful man.

Another day came when he encountered something at the gate.

Haman, the prime minister, came riding by on his horse. In his pride, Haman wanted the people he passed by to bow in reverence to him.

Mordecai, being a devout man of God, would never bow in worship to any man. He refused to do so publicly.

He stood for what he believed to be true.

This infuriated Haman to no end.

He devised a plot to kill all of the Jews just to get to Mordecai.

Mordecai was at the gate when he heard of this plot.

His faithfulness at the gate allowed him to know that his life was in jeopardy.

Not only his life, but the lives of his family and friends.

He puts on sackcloth and ashes. This was a sign of mourning and sadness.

Despair gripped the nation of Israel when they heard what would become of them in a few days.

Esther the queen sent word to Mordecai to change his clothes and come to see her.

He refused, but sent word to her.

“I have been a faithful man. I have stayed here at the gate for year after year. I have seen many things in my lifetime here at the gate.

But today, being at the gate will not be good enough.”

Mordecai knew that some problems could be handled at the gate.

Some issues were easily handled at the gate...business transactions...real estate deals...marriages, etc

However, when lives were on the line, he knew that someone had to get beyond the gate and into the throne room of the king.

Sometimes you need an AUDIENCE WITH THE KING.

He told Esther that this was her opportunity to be a savior to her people.

No one was allowed to enter the king’s presence unannounced.

You would certainly be put to death on the spot if the king did not extend his royal scepter to you.

Life of death hung in the balance. . .

She had no choice but to go into the king’s presence.

There are times in our lives when being at the gate of the Spirit will get us by.

Many times our faithfulness will be good enough to take us through certain situations.

However there are other times when we must go beyond the gates and into the throne room of the king.

In the Old Testament, they were unable to approach the ark of the covenant.

There was a place that only one man could go once a year.

It was the Holiest of Holies.

Unapproachable by ordinary people.

However, when Jesus came and was crucified, the veil that kept people out of that place was torn from the top to the bottom.

Now we can push past the veils of tradition.

Now we can push beyond the gates of inadequacy.

There is an open gate in front of us.

No longer do we need to feel intimidated by God.

We should fear and respect Him, but He is a loving merciful Savior.

“For God so loved the world….”

You are here because He Loves You!!

Available to us today is His healing presence.

You don’t get your healing at the gate. You get it in his courts.

You don't get deliverance from sin at the gate, you get it in His throne room.

You receive your breakthrough when you get beyond the gate.

There are some “gate” prayers that you need to abandon.

There are some “gate” consecrations that are now inadequate.

Your faithfulness is good, but only the gate to your miracle.

If you can figure out how to get your request into the throne room, you entire family can be saved.

And it is when you make into the throne room that those who have been trying to destroy you will be discovered and handled.

Ps 100:4
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

David understood that thanksgiving would lead you to the gates.

Thanksgiving was a good first step.

But Praise would lead you into His courts.

There is a difference between Thanksgiving and Praise.

One will get you there, but the other will get you IN.

Please do not sell yourself short and be satisfied with a life at the gate.

The throne room awaits.

3 comments:

Tracie Smith said...

Great sermon, Myron.

Views From The Cross said...

Thanks. This one did NOT come from Kent, actually!! lol

Trent Smith said...

I am gonna steal this... don't worry I will give you small percentage of my offering the night I preach it...lol