The person who walks through the world and sees no God, is declared by inspired authority to be a...

15

Transcript of The person who walks through the world and sees no God, is declared by inspired authority to be a...

Providence:

The person who walks through the world and sees no God, is declared by inspired authority to be a fool. 

But the wise man’s eyes, with an inner sight, discovers God at work everywhere. 

Psalm 115:3

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psalm 135:6

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Though God may at times seem distant, but He is always actively at work.

Though absent by name from this book, God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event,

until He brings everything to a marvelous climax as He proves Himself Lord and Savior of His people.

What you have in Esther is not a whole lot of miracles.

There is nothing like the Red Sea opening up, or the walls of Jericho falling down.

But you do have all kinds of interwoven circumstances as God works His will.

providence

The root meaning of providence is foresight

It also assumes activity arising from foresight

There is only One who has foresight, so only He is able to act on the basis of foreknowledge.

Divine foreknowledge and the Divine activity which arises from it.

This is what we see demonstrated in the Book of Esther.

The crisis about which the book is written is providentially anticipated 

and then providentially overruled  at just the crucial moment.

The Lord is working according to His will

Esther is set on the stage of real history

Ahasuerus, the Persian monarch;  Vashti, the deposed queen;  Haman, the Jew-hater;  Mordecai, the Jewish leader; Esther, the orphaned Jewish girl

who became queen.

Modern Day Susa, Iran

Esther 1:8

By the king's command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. (NIV)

Esther 1:10-12 POSE OR BE DEPOSED!

Xerxes was under the control of wine

Xerxes was a proud man Xerxes sought to selfishly promote

her Xerxes could not coerce his own

queen Xerxes could not control his own

heart

What on Earth possessed this pike to take on prey that size?

"Gluttony just killed that fish."

Esther 1:10-12 POSE OR BE DEPOSED!

Xerxes was under the control of wine

Xerxes was a proud man Xerxes sought to selfishly promote

her Xerxes could not coerce his own

queen ______could not control his own

heart

What has it got its grip on you?

Ephesians 5:18

Do not be controlled with strong drink or anything else.

Instead submit to Christ for salvation and then let the Holy Spirit take control.

Be encouraged that God can even use our failures to grow our faith in Him.