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[0:00] Last week we began looking at the idea that just as there was a duality of the human conscience that we had seen before.

[0:26] ! The animal will and the moral will. And the exercise of both of those.

[0:37] The animal will could be exercised and we do a lot of exercise in the animal will that has no moral substance to it whatsoever.

[0:48] But it's the idea of the moral will being subject to either the spirit of God or the natural man, the flesh. And so that's where we have to be careful.

[1:00] We'll enable the flesh to use our bodies, our actions, activity and so forth in order to realize and satisfy the appetites that it has in a carnal sense.

[1:41] So many words do not continue offering or yielding your body members and faculties to sin as instruments of wickedness.

[2:20] But offer and yield yourself to God as though you have been raised from the dead to perpetual life and your body members and faculties to God presenting them as implements of righteousness.

[2:33] Now that's of course Romans 6.13. Now the question is how can I get my animal will into harmony with the moral will?

[2:44] How in my experience, the experience we all have in our own lives, how can I in essence get the ring on the right finger? The answer is simple. It's in our attitude about Christ.

[2:56] Remember last week we were looking at the idea and remember that how the moral will engages itself. Driving down the road, remember, is no activity except by the animal will.

[3:10] It has no moral aspect to it at all until you get to the intersection and you have to determine which direction you're going to turn. If you turn, let's say, to the left, you'll go by the bar that you used to go to as an alcoholic.

[3:29] If you turn right, you'll go to your house where your family is waiting anxiously for you to come home. And so that's where the moral will kicks in.

[3:41] All right. So we've got to be sure that the moral will is controlled then by the spirit of God. So that the moral will will be able to control the animal will and make the right choices and right decisions.

[3:58] And that's the idea here. All right. So how can I get the ring on the right finger? And the answer is that it lies in the attitude we have about the Lord Jesus Christ and whose life we share.

[4:12] If we can if we can get beyond in our mind, get past the idea that Jesus is simply our savior. That has freed us from sin and will get us to heaven.

[4:25] If we get past that and recognize the work that he does in our lives daily by his spirit and realize that that's part of the work that Jesus is doing by the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit.

[4:42] And so to get that in our heart and our mind and recognize that daily will help us tremendously in this idea of the flesh wanting to take over our our animal will.

[4:56] Because in reality, where is it in? Is it in Philippians somewhere? Colossians? Colossians? That Paul states the idea that talking about Christ Jesus, he has a little phrase that says, who is your life.

[5:16] All right. The idea of our lives not be on our own. Again, Galatians. I am crucified with Christ. Galatians 2.20.

[5:27] Crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. And it's Christ that lives in me. All right. That's my life. Now, if we got to recognize that and keep that forefront in our heart, in our minds daily, it will help us get through this business of letting the flesh take control.

[5:46] Now, when Esther went back before the king, that's the second time, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief and to reverse the letters that Haman had made.

[5:56] Okay. Okay. Remember what happened here. All right. When she did that, she had utter confidence in Mordecai.

[6:07] Because no doubt it's Mordecai that directed her to go into the king. Now, she felt certain that as her obedience to him had enabled Mordecai to put Haman into the place of death and bring Mordecai's gracious influence to bear upon the king's mind, all due to her obedience to Mordecai, recognize.

[6:29] And upon the decisions made in the palace, she can go on with us in full confidence in doing what Mordecai tells her to do. But as she once had died to her own ability to hang Haman, so she continued to die in her own ability to change the character of the king.

[6:49] You know, isn't it amazing how time changes things? We could go along in our life and recognize some things that God has done for us.

[7:01] Not just salvation, but the things that Christ, through his spirit, has accomplished in our lives. In particular, in the matter of overcoming the flesh and living in the will of God.

[7:15] But as you and I well known, time sometimes has a way of deluding the memory for those things. And we forget what God has done.

[7:27] And when those new times of temptation, testing, whatever you want to call them, come that try to get us out of the will of God. When Haman sticks his head up, the flesh trying to overcome the spirit of God within us.

[7:43] Then we've got to remember, we've got to think back, just like Esther did. Think back about what God, through his spirit, has accomplished in our life.

[7:55] And getting us through prior or previous times of testing and trial. All right. Nothing like looking back.

[8:05] Don't want to camp there. But it's nothing like looking back and remembering those times and thanking God for them afresh. And seeking him continually more and more.

[8:17] Now, on this occasion, again, she entered unsummoned into the presence of the king. But once more, according to Esther 8.4, the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther.

[8:31] Still living in the power of the third morning, which was the power of resurrection life that God gives to us in Christ Jesus, according to the book of Romans.

[8:42] So this, too, must be our attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. In every controversy between our moral will and the flesh as to how the animal will is to be exercised in determining the things that you think, you and I think and say and do, we will have to say to the Lord something to this effect.

[9:07] Dear Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your Holy Spirit to whom I yield my human spirit and by whose gracious presence I share your life and share your victory.

[9:19] I know that I cannot deal with the principle of sin that's within me, nor put the flesh into the place of death. But I thank you that you can and you did when you died upon the cross and I died with you.

[9:35] Now, there's the principle of the truth that we've got to get solid in our heart and our mind. We cannot deal with the flesh. There's no we don't have the capacity to do that.

[9:48] The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? We can't know our own heart. But God does. He has the power to overcome the power of the flesh within us and provide for us everything we need to to live in the power of the spirit of God, resisting the work of the flesh.

[10:13] Now, so when Christ died on the cross, always remember, we died with him. Everything. And here's the key. Everything we were in the old Adam was nailed to the cross with Jesus.

[10:29] All right. Now, so we say thank you for your Holy Spirit, who alone can make this real in my experience, mortifying those deeds of my body, which have their origin in Satan.

[10:44] I am willing for you to invade my soul, to control my mind, to control my emotions and to control my will so that every decision within my soul will be in perfect harmony with you so that my whole being may declare your praise.

[11:02] Lord Jesus, I can't, but you can. Thank you so very much. Now, back that up a minute here. Last line. I am willing for you to invade my soul, to control my mind, my will and my emotions as well as my activities.

[11:27] Now, we've got to ask ourselves, how completely have we done that? All right. All right. It's easy for us.

[11:44] Especially us men. Some of you women are as hard-headed as some of us men. Jerry, I wouldn't look at my wife that way if I were you.

[11:57] I wouldn't look at your wife that way if I were you. I should put it that way. But we want to have some kind of control. Some type of control.

[12:08] Instead of just turning completely loose. All right. It's kind of like I've never figured out anybody that want to. Has anybody here ever jumped with a bungee jump, bungee cord jump?

[12:23] Anybody? You don't jump, you fall. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say, I can't understand the wisdom of anybody jumping out off a cliff or off a bridge with a bungee cord, thinking that thing is going to stop before it gets down too far.

[12:37] But that, in essence, is the way we've got to do this. Yeah. Yeah. The only difference in that is, can't be completely sure about that bungee cord.

[12:52] But you can be sure about the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God. That he will do his work in the life of the yielded believer.

[13:07] Yeah. And that's the key. Yielding it all. Completely abandoning ourselves to ourselves and let the Spirit of God do his work in every aspect of our life.

[13:19] Now, if we're prepared to practice the presence of Christ in this way and reckon with him through his Holy Spirit, not only to keep the flesh in the place of death, but to establish his divine sovereignty within every area of our soul, then we will experience the delightful transformation of character which will conform us increasingly to the image of God's dear Son.

[13:45] And remember, according to the book of Romans, that's what God's endeavoring to do, to fashion us all into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, once Mordecai is given the place of honor in the palace, that's the idea here of how that happens.

[14:02] All right. We give the Spirit of God his place of honor in the palace. Romans 12, 1 and 2 again in the Amplified. I appeal to you, therefore, brethren, and beg of you and view of all the mercies of God to make a decisive dedication of your bodies.

[14:23] Now, notice that. A decisive dedication of your bodies that's presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice. Holy, devoted, consecrated, and well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable or rational service and spiritual worship.

[14:41] Now, step there just a minute. Again, he begs us by all the mercies that God has given to us to make that decisive dedication of our bodies as a living sacrifice.

[14:58] I've asked this question somewhere before. It may have been Sunday school. What's the difference in a sacrifice and an offering? Go back to the first Passover in the book of Exodus, when Israel was in bondage in Egypt and about to be delivered from that.

[15:21] What did God tell them to do? Take an animal. Separate it from everybody else, everything else. Bring it into your house. Raise it for a few days.

[15:34] Let it stay in your house. Then you slay it. As a sacrifice. You take the blood and put it against the doorposts and the lintels of the doorway.

[15:46] Now, what... You think about... I mean, it's one thing to slay that cute little lamb.

[15:57] Make sure it's not Mary's little lamb. But to bring it into your house. As if it's a member of the family. And perhaps...

[16:09] Perhaps that... Oh, I just thought of this. Perhaps that is... The intention of that. To make it feel as if it's a part of your family.

[16:21] Because that's what God did with His Son. Amen? Amen? Alright. A sacrifice... Is giving up something that's very precious to you.

[16:32] And is worth something to you. Alright? That's what a sacrifice is. It's not a sacrifice if it's not going to cost you anything. The sacrifice that God made for us was His Son.

[16:47] He offered His Son on that sacrificial altar. The cross. And it cost Him something. Cost Him His Son for a time.

[17:00] But cost Him that intimate fellowship He had always had with His Son from eternity past to that present time.

[17:10] And interrupted when He became the sin sacrifice for the world. Yeah. It cost something. Alright?

[17:21] When we are to offer our bodies, the totality of our being, as a sacrifice. A living sacrifice.

[17:32] It should be considered by us as something that costs us something. And what does it cost? It costs us our will.

[17:44] Amen? We surrender it. Gotta surrender it. We cannot do with ourselves whatever we want to do. We've got to get God's direction in everything.

[17:56] Amen? Yeah. Yeah. That's where the moral conscience comes in. So. And the moral will. So that's what He's speaking about here.

[18:08] Present our bodies a living sacrifice. That it costs us something. Oh. Yeah. Now.

[18:21] And when we do that, we're to be transformed now. Stop being conformed to the world. But be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Begin thinking the way God thinks.

[18:33] Through the word of God. Alright? So we can prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Alright? Now. This is. Oops.

[18:44] This is Esther 8.7. Then king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman.

[18:59] And him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also for the Jews as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring.

[19:12] For the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse. Then were the king's scribes called at that time, in the third month, that is, the month Stephen, on the three and twentieth day thereof, and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies, and rulers of the provinces, which are from India unto Ethiopia, and hundred, twenty, and seven provinces, unto every province, according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.

[19:54] And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders, and mules, camels, and young dromedaries.

[20:06] Now, that's a mouthful, but notice something here. Remember, the kingdom of provinces represents the human body.

[20:17] All right? Notice what he's saying here. The edit that Mordecai is going to write, is that all of the Jews live.

[20:36] They're not put to death. He's reversing the command of Haman, the flesh. And the entire kingdom is to hear that.

[20:47] So that every Jew in every province, instead of being put to death, are spared from death, and brought back to life in essence.

[21:01] All right? Get that now. Here's the work of the spirit working upon the spirit of man's spirit, man's soul, mind, willing, emotion, that affects the entire outcome of what the body does.

[21:15] Amen? Yeah. What a picture that is for us. Now, let's go on. Now, for Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces, for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.

[21:32] That's Esther 9.4. So, now, in the royal city of Shushan, throughout the king's provinces, in all the villages, all the unwalled towns, all that had happened in the palace made a profound and lasting impact.

[21:48] There was no part of the community unaffected by the change, and everyone knew that something wonderful must have happened to the king. So, as Mordecai established the laws in the palace, so God's people, to whom these laws had been entrusted, had then freedom from all of their enemies.

[22:14] Every new instruction, as Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in those provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, they all brought words of peace and truth.

[22:27] Now, think about this just a moment. Realize that these events that took place here were never to be forgotten throughout the history of the nation of Israel.

[22:43] They continually were to celebrate what God has done here. Instead of the Jews being destroyed because of Satan's hatred of the promised seed of Abraham, which was the Lord Jesus, instituted through this, through the wicked heart of Haman, Haman had cast lots, you remember.

[23:09] It's the way they determined what day this was going to take place when all the Jews were put to death. they were all going to be slaughtered on that very same day. He cast lots, if you will.

[23:21] In other words, rolled the dice, all right, to determine what day that would happen. So, the day that was chosen was the 13th day of Adar, which is somewhere between, somewhere in the realm of February and March in our calendar.

[23:39] So, in that particular day of that particular month, all the Jews, men, women, and children were to put to death. Now, but, remember, instead, instead of perishing on that 13th day of the month, the 14th, on the 14th day of Adar, the Jews rejoiced with unspeakable joy as a people wonderfully delivered.

[24:09] Sentenced to death, they had been raised from the dead and the wicked devices of Haman, which he had devised against the Jews, had turned upon his own head.

[24:21] And, the fact that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows was given in chapter 9, verse 25. Now, recognize, years later, centuries later, Satan's wicked device was to return upon his own wicked head when the Lord Jesus threw death upon the cross, destroyed him who had the power of death, even the devil, and nailed him to the gallows.

[24:51] Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15 tell us, for as much then as children are partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise, he also himself likewise, that's Jesus, took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

[25:22] All right? Now, year by year now, throughout their generations, you recognize, Israel, even to this day, and will always continually do that until God climaxes all of this, they celebrate the feast of Purim, taken after the name Pur, the vice through which Haman determined when the slaughter of the Jews would take place.

[25:49] So, it was now, it's now a feast of celebration, a feast of joy, because of what God has done on behalf of his people.

[26:01] people. Now, another remarkable thing happened here. In verse 17 of Esther chapter 8, many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

[26:17] Interesting, is it not? They knew full well that what had been destined for this people was death. So, humanly speaking, their situation had been hopeless, yet some miraculous way they had been snatched from death, snatched from the grave, and their enemies themselves were slain.

[26:37] So, the people began to say to themselves, hey, they've seen what happened here. We want to be a part of something like that. Somebody that has a God that will watch over his people can do miraculous things to prevent them from being slaughtered.

[26:56] We want to be a part of that. We want a God that's that way. And so, that's what happened. One of the things that happened through all of this. Now, with that, we get this idea.

[27:08] Nothing quite so infectious as someone, man or a woman, that's genuinely filled with the Spirit of God. True holiness always has an evangelistic appeal to it.

[27:21] So, you know, it makes the sinner sick in heart over his sin and causes him to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Until he cries from the depths of his soul, sirs, what must I do to be saved?

[27:33] As we see in Acts 16 30. Now, you recall that that's the occasion when Paul and Silas were in prison and the earthquake came and the walls of that prison crumbled and the guards were fearful that they had escaped, but they hadn't.

[27:52] They were singing Amazing Grace and that thing came down. Amen? Now, what, that they saw Paul and Silas and were amazed that they had not tried to escape and all of that, which they easily could have done.

[28:08] They asked Paul and Silas, sirs, what must we do to be saved? What caused them to do that? What caused them to ask that question, have that desire?

[28:22] But I think also, it's what they saw in Paul and Silas. All right? They weren't sitting there complaining about being in prison.

[28:33] They knew this was God's design, whatever that was going to be. That was God's design for them at that moment. So they just sat around singing hymns.

[28:44] Amen? They had an old personal hymn fest, is what they do. I'd almost think that probably those guards were sitting there patting their feet and trying to sing along with them.

[28:56] Amen? Yeah. They saw something different in Paul and Silas. And that's what he's alluding to here. A believer in Christ, a true born-again believer in Christ, that is filled, controlled by the Spirit of God, will be rejoicing.

[29:17] They'll have joy in their life, in their heart that's manifest through what they do, and how they respond to situations and circumstances, how they relate to people.

[29:29] And sometimes unsaved people see that and wonder what that's all about. And we have occasion then to be able to speak to them and say, hey, here's what this is all about.

[29:43] Amen? It's not me, but it's the Spirit of God that's within me, that's come to live within me, since I've trusted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

[29:55] All right? So that's the picture that we see there. Now, one must ask in this effect, yeah, here's the question we've got to ask now.

[30:07] Is this the effect my life has upon those I regularly come in contact with? Well, that's a good question for us, is it not? Yeah.

[30:17] it's just like, it's just like Israel sending spies into the land, and those spies stayed at the house of a lady named Rahab, a harlot.

[30:33] You remember that? You remember what Rahab said to them as they were talking? she said, man, we've heard of you guys.

[30:47] We've heard of what, we've heard of what your God has done to the other nations that you've been dealing with. And we're fearful.

[31:00] Our people are fearful because of you. And so she asked, she said, I just ask one thing of you. When you guys come through town, would you spare me and my family?

[31:15] Yeah. Remember the red thread, the red line that she put out? All right? And God honored that, God blessed that. People will want to know what God is doing in our life, or what this is all about, if they haven't considered God.

[31:30] So, we've got to ask ourselves that question. And I say that because, you know, the renowned of Israel had become known throughout all the region.

[31:41] Question for us as a church, has our church come to that point? Where people around us know us, or know of us, that we have a reputation, and a good reputation.

[31:59] Some churches have a reputation in the neighborhood, not so good. But do they know that God is present in us? Yeah. And that He's doing tremendous things in and through the believers in that church.

[32:14] So, we've got to consider that, and ask the Lord, God, show me, show me what you see here, as I ask this question. Now, chapter 8, verse 15, Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

[32:44] Now, now with Haman in the gallows, Mordecai in the palace, the city perplexed, had become the city of rejoicing.

[33:03] Now, let me back up with that a little bit. Remember, earlier the scripture said there was a time in the ascendancy of Haman that the king Ahasuerus and Haman would get together and they would drink together.

[33:18] And the city just could not understand that. They were perplexed by that. But now something's changed. All right? something in the palace has changed because now there's rejoicing throughout the kingdom.

[33:36] So, since Haman is on the gallows now, Mordecai is in the palace, and the city that was perplexed has now become the city that's rejoicing. The psalmist knew something of this when inspired by the Spirit of God.

[33:51] He wrote Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with swelling thereof.

[34:15] There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.

[34:28] God shall help her, and that right early. And then be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.

[34:48] I like this. God says, be still, be still and know that I am God. I forgot what all we were talking about, was it today or yesterday, last night maybe, talking about our minds being something on our minds, you know.

[35:11] And Galilee just said something about, yeah, there's something constantly on our minds. I said, yeah, there is. But I think what the psalmist is declaring for us here, there's times when we just need to get alone in the quiet and get everything out of our mind except God and think about him.

[35:32] Think about who he is, open our eyes and see his creation and see what he's done, see his power and his majesty in that, and know that he is God.

[35:45] All right? And then you break your silence when you consider all that with a good shout. Amen? Yeah. Be still and know that I am God.

[35:57] Yeah. I will be exalted among the heathen. I'll be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[36:07] And I think in some of that he's looking toward the events of the revelation as well. This river that he's talking about here has its source in the throne of God and of the Lamb according to Revelation 22.

[36:20] It's the life of God in the soul of man and the promise is to us and our children. According to John 7 verse 38 and 39 He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

[36:38] But this he spake of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given at that point because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

[36:49] So allow God so to strengthen you by his spirit in the inner man so that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in your heart as he is glorified in heaven.

[37:02]  Then the river will flow and make glad the city of God and be not drunk with wine wherein success or unsavedness but be filled with the spirit that's controlled completely by the spirit of God speak unto yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that's Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20 then when we do that we'll have every right to rejoice and be glad so next week we'll see the privilege of being you Father thank you again for your loving kindness today your goodness and grace to us and just for the joy of not only knowing you but having you work within our lives and our hearts and I think the greatest aspect of that is for you showing us more and more of who you are what you are and how you deal in our life and what your desire for our life is and how you want to bring all that together and enable us then to surrender to that and to you as well so Father we thank you for that thank you for the time together this evening and again for these wonderful folks that love you love your word and thank you for that desire that they have to know you more and to apply these things to their lives so enable us to do that this week bring us back next week to hear more of what you have to say to us and we'll thank you for it in Jesus name for your sake we pray