Esther's Progression of Faith

Thank you, Elder. And praise the Lord, everybody. Look what the Lord has done. The song says, "He healed my body." Come on. He touched my mind. He changed me just in time. How many come to praise His name at camp meeting — at Connect conference — today? Hallelujah. Come on, clap your hands and praise Him. You may be seated. Praise God for Jesus.

Come on. I'm going to make heaven my home. Hallelujah. How many's made heaven your final destination? I've come too far to turn back now. Andraé Crouch sang, "Soon and very soon, we're going to see the King." Come on. How many have your mind made up tonight? Soon and very soon. We're going to see the King. Tell your neighbor, "Soon and very soon." We're going to see the King. Somebody shout hallelujah. Come on, shout hallelujah. We're going to see the King. Won't you take 10 seconds and shout? Come on, take 10 seconds and rejoice. Come on. He's been so good to me. If He's brought me this far, He's taking me all the way. Jesus is going to make a way. Come on. Heaven is my home. It's going to be worth it all. Hallelujah. Give your neighbor a high five and say, "It's going to be worth it all."

We're going to read tonight from the book of Esther, chapter nine. Wasn't that choir fantastic tonight? My goodness. Moved my soul. Put a dance in my feet and a shout in my voice. I could hear Sister Jasmine up here. Y'all couldn't hear her. That lady right there can sing. My goodness, this choir was powerful.

I give honor to your superintendent. Such a wonderful man of integrity and righteousness. Amen. Brother Roberts, appreciate him and his leadership, this entire board. So honored to be teamed up with Brother [Sherrill?]. What a great word that we heard this morning; it moved in my soul. I'm going to tell this camp tonight, this Connect conference: if you could just get a glimpse of what God's about to do in Alabama, you wouldn't sit down and quit. You wouldn't look back and worry. You'd stand to your feet and square your shoulders and say, "It's my time. It's my time." Come on. It's our day. Something's about to turn around. I'm feeling the Holy Ghost. Somebody shout, "Yeah." Hallelujah.

I got a few verses I'll read, and I'm going to let you be seated. It says in the book of Esther chapter 9, verse 24: "Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite" — would you tell your neighbor, he's an Agagite? I thought I'd have you to say it, because I'm sure you haven't said that word all week. Agagite. Who is he? He's the enemy of all the Jews. Not some of them. Every single one of them. The preachers' kids, the saints' kids, the bus kids, the kids on the bus. Are y'all hearing me right now? The preachers. He's an enemy of all of God's people. "He had devised against the Jews to destroy them" — really, it's all of them — "and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them and to destroy them." The enemy had a plan, and the date was already set.

But 25 shows up. Verse 25 continues the story: "But when Esther came before the king" — my, there's power in that. The enemy had a plan. But when Esther came before the king, what the enemy wanted to do — "he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head." Tell your neighbor: the devil made a mistake. He should have never messed with me. "And that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur."

I want to preach for a few moments here tonight on Esther's progression of faith. Esther's progression of faith. Won't you lift your hands and earnestly talk to God about you and your role in the kingdom right now? God, we love You. We feel Your Spirit here tonight. Come on. I want you to lift your voice for a moment. God, I want to hear Your Word today. Come on, intercessor. Come on, prayer warrior. Would you reach out to God for a moment and say, "I need a word from You tonight"? Hallelujah. In the name of Jesus. In the name of the Lord. God bless you, as you are seated.

Esther's a unique book. It's known as the book that — the only book that does not have the name of God in its writings. Yet, sort of like the Red Sea is a parallel of being baptized in Jesus' name and the blood of Jesus washing away our past, the book of Esther is a parallel about the relationship between the King and His bride. I would submit to you tonight that all preachers, and maybe all theologians, would parallel that Esther is symbolic of the bride of Christ. Would you say amen? Her purity, the way she approached the King, teaches us how we should present ourselves before God.

As a matter of fact, it was a day and time that the King was going to choose his bride, and there was a little girl. It's truly the real Cinderella story. There's no pumpkins, there's no mice, and there's certainly no little witches flying around. But there is a little girl that was orphaned somewhere in her childhood. Her mother and her father had passed away, and her older cousin by the name of Mordecai took her in as his own. And it was time that the King was going to choose a bride, and he sent out to everyone — to all the fair virgins of the land — that they could come and appear before him, because he was going to choose his bride. It was at this moment that Mordecai, who had adopted this orphan cousin of his to raise as his own, looks at her: "You need to go. I want you to go before the King, because there's something special about you. I know you've had a crisis in your past, but I just feel like you're the one that he's going to choose." "Me? You mean you want me to go before—" "Yes. Because I believe God has a divine destiny for your life. You're not like everybody else. God has a plan for you."

And when she went, and they bathed for six months in certain spices, and another six months — that's a lot of bathing — an entire year of preparation to appear before him. Because if you're going to please the King, it can't be casual. It just can't be this constant statement of "come as you are." Can I say, that's to our guests; that's not to His bride. "Just be glad I showed up, preacher." Come in with your attitude up somewhere else. But when you come to the door of the house of God, it's all about the King. It doesn't matter what I've been through. He's good. My world has been upside down. But when I come in here, I'm going to take off the garment of heaviness. I'm going to put on the garment of praise, and I'm going to worship the King, because the King is worthy.

The Bible tells us that in a day that all the other fair maidens were leaning on culture, and what culture would say would please the King — what were the latest fads, what they were doing — but when it came to Esther, she required nothing but what the chamberlain required of her. Can I tell you, the chamberlain is the Word of God. The Word of God knows everything we need to know about the King. It lets us know what the King's favorite color is. It lets us know what the King's favorite fragrance is. It lets us know what the King's moral expectations are. Come on. The chamberlain knows how the King wants His bride to dress, to walk, to act, to talk. Come on. He knows. The chamberlain knows every detail about the King. Can I tell you, we got to get a spirit like Esther that says, "I don't care about what the world thinks about me. I want to know what the King thinks about me." This has got to get back in the church. Holiness still matters to God. He said, "Be ye holy, as I am holy. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and then will I receive you unto myself."

It can't just become as you are for the last five years of your relationship with Him. You can't confuse grace with disgrace. You got to start straightening up yourself and say, "I want to please the King." Where are the verses like this? "Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, let them be acceptable." I can't find it in the Scripture where we accept the Lord. I can't find it in the Scripture where we chose Him. Many are called, but few are chosen. It's not about me accepting God as if He's one on the list. This is about me being accepted by Him. I want to live a life that is acceptable to God. Come on — I'm preaching to the bride tonight. How many of you want to please the King? Say amen.

Oh, it was her day. It's the day to appear before him. Others had come before, but something didn't resonate with the King. But when Esther put on the garment, the chamberlain said, "He'd like that." When she fixed her hair the way the King would have said, "Oh yeah, he'd like that. That's his favorite fragrance. He'll like that. When you walk in, you walk in this way, 'cause he's going to like that." Everybody else was trying to please everybody else, but with her, she just wanted to get the attention of One. Not the attention of all. I just need the attention of One. And when she walked before the King, when he saw her — I remember when my beautiful wife Cynthia, 23 years ago, stepped through the back door of that church. When she walked in, I forgot about everybody else in the room. Walked down the aisle. Got my attention. Can I tell you, they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. You can't do this without doctrine. You can't do this without His Word. It's false doctrine to tell you you don't need the doctrine. We need the chamberlain, or we're never going to align up with what God wants. Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." I'm preaching to Bible believers tonight that say, "I want to know it. I want to live it. And I want to teach it, because I can't know Him if I don't live according to His Word."

When she steps in there, when she walks in, he lets those at the door know: "I don't need to see anybody else, because I found the one. She is exactly what I've been looking for." "Esther, I want you to be my bride." She becomes his bride. She becomes the bride of the King. That's not just a king. He's King Ahasuerus, who is the king of 127 provinces, or other nations. Every one of those nations would have had a king. That makes him the king of kings. He's the king of a region. He's the king of all of Persia. He has 127 kings that are submitted to him. He is the king of that region. And now she's the wife of the king of kings.

But something's going on in the kingdom right now. She had been obedient to her father in the gospel, if you will. Because Mordecai represents the spiritual authority of the church. He represents your pastor, who saw you get off of a church van, saw you come out of brokenness, saw you come out of a busted-up relationship, and said, "I still believe God has a plan for your life." Aren't you glad for a Mordecai — that when your father stepped out, when your father wasn't there — come on. When the enemy had come against you, there was a preacher that preached faith in your life, that said He's a God of second chances. You can get up out of your mess, and God can— Are there anybody — is there anybody in this building right now who can say, "I was a mess until Jesus got His hands on me. I was a mess until I heard the preaching of the gospel"? He had told her, "Don't tell anybody you're a Jew until I tell you to tell it."

She is married to the King. It was during this time there is a man by the name of Haman. I don't like him. He's the enemy. We tonight have an enemy. We are living in the end times. And the Bible talks about the son of perdition, the spirit of the antichrist, the attack. He is wearing out the saints. I'm telling you, there's an enemy. There's an enemy as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. He wants to destroy you. He wants to destroy your children, your grandkids, everybody. He's not just Haman. He's Haman the Agagite. Who is that? I'm going to tell you who it is. Study reveals that when Saul was to kill all of the Amalekites — y'all remember that? The old preacher said, "Destroy them all. All the sheep, all the cattle." But he spared Agag, the king, the chiefest of the flocks. Agag lived long enough to have a son — set a lineage down that would later produce a Haman, that's going to stand before every Jew and proclaim a day that every Jew in the world is to be killed. I got news for you. Haman is some old business that should have been taken care of a long time ago.

But guess what? Guess who's on the scene? Her name's Esther. Remember when Saul, the son of Kish, should have destroyed Agag? Well, guess what? Esther's a descendant of Kish, who's going to take care of some unfinished business. She's not here just by accident. I'm going to tell some of you that's been through the trial: He told you today, God has pulled you back like a bow. The things that brought you low in life are about to launch you to the greatest destiny of deliverance for your own people. I hear it again tonight. Quit talking about how bad it was, and start talking about what might become. God's about to do something greater than what I came from. God's about to do something more powerful than what I came out of. If you believe it, shout yes.

Esther's at the scene. Haman is Haman. I usually don't use the superintendent, but tonight I'm going to, for a moment. Would you stand? The elder Mordecai — he stands at the gate. The reason they're not in Israel anymore, in Jerusalem, is because the fathers before bowed down to images and idols. At this place in the book of Esther, they're in a strange land, scattered around Babylon and Persia. But there was something inside of that elder Mordecai. And when everybody else is bowing down to Haman, who has authority in the land, he won't bow. He stands resolute when others are compromising. He stands for truth when others have given in. He understands we're in a strange land. But it doesn't matter where we are, because the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. I come to tell Alabama: the land belongs to you. Quit acting like you don't belong here. You know who you serve, and you serve the God that created every bit of dirt that's around you. I come to preach the intimidation off of this district. God's about to send you into cities where there's never been apostolic churches, and they're going to flourish. It's going to grow. I said, God's about to give a breakthrough.

Everybody's bowing to Haman. Everybody. Just about everybody bows to him. But the elder would not. And when he realized, "This man will not bow to me," the arrogance — he said, "I'm going to destroy everybody like him." So he creates a day where everybody, on one day — every Jew in 127 provinces — are going to be destroyed on one day. He gave a stimulus package out. Y'all remember those? You will have money if you kill a Jew. And if you kill the Jew, you can have their house, their cattle, their sheep; everything they own, you will own on this day. And letters went to 127 provinces with the authority to do it, and the elder heard about it. And when the elder heard about it — this letter from Haman — God, I feel something in the Holy Ghost. Haman's going to kill all the Jews. You know what he did? You don't always — saints, you don't always understand the preacher's demeanor. Because when he heard what the devil's trying to do to the families of the church, he went to the gate. He's not standing resolute today. You can sit, Elder. Thank you for helping me. I think God gave him a hand for standing for this truth for all these years. How many thankful for a pastor that'll stand for holiness, for the name of that one God that we serve, whose name is Jesus? Come on. Are you thankful for truth here tonight?

But sometimes we don't understand. Pastor, just make a shout. But somewhere in the gate you hear — oh, an agony at the gate, looking down. The preacher is not the same demeanor that he was just a few days ago. You know why? Because there's a letter in his hand. It's the letter that was sent to 127 provinces that says every Jew can die, and the authority has been given to every Persian in the land. When he hears it, he gets on his knees. He starts calling out for God. "I rebuke that spirit. I bind the devil's plans. I bind the attack of the enemy against my family. I bind everything coming against my children. I bind the spirit. I bind the spirit of bondage and addiction. I bind the spirit of perversion that's going to try to destroy the church. I pray against every false doctrine." Come on. "The spirit of deception — I bind it." You don't understand it. But what's he doing? He's standing in the gap.

I feel like reminding somebody. Job learned in one day. He learned in one day what could happen if the devil does what he wants to do. There's a hedge that's around about each and every one of you. But he learned in one day he would want to take out your kids, take out your finances, take out your health. I've come to tell Alabama, there's an adversary. There's an adversary. There's an adversary against your marriage. I'm trying to move on, but I've come to tell you, there's a Haman in your world. We don't have time for casual church. "Pastor, you better be done by 8, or I'm going home, because there's a game I got to watch. Come on, it's Wednesday night. Don't you dare take us to 8:30, because my kids have school in the morning." I'd rather have my kids laying in the altar. Go ahead. Get them to get that homework done before the house of God. We don't have time for patty-cake for Jesus. We've got to have a move of His Spirit. I watch it at our local church on a Wednesday night. There were those that were very logical, very, very trying to be nice. "8:00, pastor preaching tonight — move of God or not, we're going home. We got work tomorrow." I watched for three weeks in a row. As soon as they left the building, the Holy Ghost would fall. People lay out in the altar for 45 minutes. You know why? Because there were some saints in that room that knew what hour it was. It's end-time hour. And the devil knows what hour it is.

I got a question for the church. What are you going to do about Haman? Are you going to sit there, just go through the motions? Are you going to stand for a war that says, "You can't have my family. You can't have my children"? I slept under pews on long church-service nights. I turned out okay. Quit taking your kids out of the move of God and say, "We're going to stay. We're going to let God speak."

I feel this in the building. Come on, Esther. God's got a plan. Why are you agonizing? Word gets to Esther. Oh, I got a long ways to go. I haven't even hit 0.1 yet. We got time. But I feel a word from the Lord tonight. Somebody tells Esther: "Your cousin — that guy that's important to you down there, Mordecai — at the gate, he's down there crying. He's got sackcloth and ashes on him. His outfit looks terrible. He's grieving like there's been a death." She sends a word to him. I don't know if she called him Papa. I don't know. But Papa — is that okay? Papa. That felt too good, didn't it? Papa. She sent him a change of clothes, because we don't want to deal with the reality of the hour. That's why you doom-scroll at night for hours, because you don't want to face the reality of what's happening to your family. Turn it off. Step away from the table. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit's trying to tell the church. "Don't talk about it, pastor. I don't want to talk about end time. I don't want to talk about the rapture. I don't want to talk about what the devil's trying to do to our country. I don't want to talk about Supreme Court decisions. I don't want to talk about same-sex marriages. I don't want to talk about trends. I don't want to talk about what's going on in our schools. I don't want to talk — I just don't want to face reality." You better wake up, because it's coming after your kids. It's coming after your marriage. Coming after your church. It's coming after your preacher. But I feel a fight burning down deep inside of me. You've messed with the wrong bride. You've messed with the wrong preacher.

Somebody ought to shout, "Thank God for a man of God that won't buckle under the pressure of time." Do you know what hour it is? It's end time. Come on. I'm trying to wake some of you up. Some of you can't feel what I'm preaching because you're so numbed by the media. Another word for media — listen to me. Another word for media. You can break it down. It means "preacher." The word media means preacher. I wonder what's numbing your spirit. I wonder what's numbing your mind. I wonder what's numbing your emotions. Some of you saying right now, "I haven't felt anything in three months." I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. You're about to step away from the junk and about to step back into the alignment with God. And when you do, there's going to be a divine authority.

I want everybody to stand and lift your hands. I'm not done, but you need to stand to your feet and lift your hands and proclaim to God, "I am the bride. I am the bride. I'm not just here to be saved. I am the bride. I'm the bride." Come on, Esther. Be the bride. Come on, Esther. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Your prayerlessness is going to cause you to have regrets. Sir, listen here. Daddy, you better wake up and start praying. Come on, Mama. You better wake up and start praying. You got to get a hold of the King. The devil's got a plan. He knows what hour it is. I feel such urgency. I've got so many things to say, but I feel like there needs to be a repentance right now. "God, forgive me for bucking against the reality of my responsibility." Come on, lift your hand. "God, I'm sorry for doom-scrolling when I should be on my knees. Forgive me for not fasting, because I don't want to face the reality of the hour." Lift your hands and say, "God, forgive us. Forgive us." Come on. You can just tap in the Holy Ghost. Get on a three-day, three-week fast, and separate yourself from media. Separate yourself from the world. I promise you, God's going to bring divine authority. God's about to turn it around. But He needs you to hear. It's not just rebellion of those kids. It's an attack of the enemy. It's an attack.

Listen, church: we've got to get down to business and realize what hour it is. It's 2025. We've never been closer to a one-world government. Robots, chips in hands, on the edge of a world war, and we're on our phones for seven and eight hours a day. "Pastor, don't talk about it. It makes me uncomfortable. Don't talk about fasting, because food is the only good thing in my life right now, because I got so much stress with all the finances, and I've got so much stress. Don't talk about the pressure of the church. Please don't call a prayer revival." I'm going to tell you in the Holy Ghost, you better be careful to join your kids to those sports. I'm not looking for an amen. I come to talk to you with authority. They know more sports stars than they do Bible characters and Bible verses. Don't you dare hand your 10-, 12-, 13-, 14-year-old a phone and leave them alone with access to Haman. Come on. I come to get us to where we need to be tonight, because there's about to be the breakthrough that you've been prophesied about. There's about to be a shift in the spirit. Our church building is going to be full of people that want what we have.

Can I take a few moments and tell you how we're going to get there? Can I have a few minutes here tonight? You can be seated.

He sends the letter to her. Where's Sadie Watkins at? Where's Satie at? He delivers a letter to her, said, "You need to read it." Good. "You know what it says? You're going to die, and everybody like you is going to die." Watch what she does. She sends word. Come here. She tells him, "You go tell Mordecai: 'What do you want me to do about it?'" No. Go. Go. Go. You better get up there. Young people nowadays — what are we going to do with them? You know what he says? He sends word back to her. He said, "Don't you think — man, I feel something right now — don't you think just because you're the queen, you're going to get out of it." I'm telling somebody in this building who's been playing games with your calling: if you don't, God's going to send a deliverer from somewhere else, because He's going to take care of His people. But He's chosen you. "Esther, don't you realize you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" You're not just another church in another city. You're not just another one that's dressed a little different. You're the bride that is called for the hour. I come to tell Alabama: you're not less than; you're His bride. You're not overlooked. You're His bride. You're not forgotten. You're His bride. And He's called you to an end-time revival. I want everybody to say, "God's going to use me in this end-time revival. He's going to use my prayer time, my faithfulness to the church — come on — my obedience to the chamberlain." God has chosen me out of eight billion people. Your — His name is called over you in baptism. Out of eight billion people, He has filled you with the Holy Ghost. Come on. I come tonight to tell you He has brought you to the kingdom for an end-time crescendo. He's brought you to the end time for something He's about to do in the end.

You know what the pastor was saying? "Go to the King, for heaven's sake. You're His bride." See, you want — hold on, Pastor. "You want me to go, but I'm just the girl off the church van. Me, to be an intercessor? Me, to be the missionary? I'm just the preacher's kid." You don't even know who you are. She said, "Here's what I'm going to do." She said — I'm telling you, Esther's apostolic. You want me to tell you why? Because she said, "I'm going to go on a three-day fast. Have everybody do it with me. We're not fasting alone." You know I'm right. You disagree with me, you lie, you die. She goes on a three-day fast. Come here. I got to find you a king. [To a young man:] That man threw his hand up right there. [Aside:] Her daddy's going to kill you. You run up here. I saw you jump up and down shouting a little while ago. Come here. Now, if you're going to find a husband, he ought to be in the altar. That was free. I'm not going to embarrass you. I want you to stand right there. Come here, King. Stand right here.

She's going because of the letter. And she's fasted for three days. The Bible says she arrayed herself. She put the favorite garment on, favorite perfume. She had her hair fixed just the way the King likes it. And she's absolutely terrified, because her perspective of the King was this: "If I perish, I perish." Hold on a minute. Don't you understand that if I go to the king and he doesn't hold out the golden scepter, that I'll immediately be executed? I got to say, the first step of Esther's faith was she was humble, but she was fearful of the King. That's why she did obedience to the King, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the reason people don't accept holiness is because they don't fear the King. I'm going to tell you something we can't lose: a fear of God. "What if he doesn't accept me? What if he doesn't approve of me?" I'm telling you, the first level of Esther's progression of faith was she had a fear of the King. And we better never lose it. Come on. How many — I remember going home, and the door's open. I get off the school bus, the car's in the driveway, the door's open. I walk through. "Mom, Mom, Mom." You know why they preach the rapture so strong? I went looking — I called Grandma, and I had those phones [that took forever to dial]. You've never seen a phone so slow when you think Jesus has come. God forbid there's a nine in that number. I was never so glad to hear my Mimi say hello. Oh, thank you. Don't lose the fear of the King. Don't lose the fear of missing the rapture. Come on. This casual "just show up when church starts, in just 30 minutes, just to get your mind on it" — you got to find a prayer room before a church service and get your mind clean from the world. Say, "I want to be clean when I lift up holy hands and praise Him."

Watch this. She goes uninvited. He's over here. Stand right there. The doors open. The soldiers are standing with swords drawn and ready. When she comes in, her head is down. Her hands are trembling. And her mind, she's nervous. And her mindset is, "I just hope I don't die. I just hope I don't die. I just hope he doesn't kill me." That's her demeanor when she came to the throne room. Oh, God have mercy. To her surprise, when he sees her — "Esther, I'm sorry I've been so busy. You don't have to say that. But Esther, what is it that you would have me to do for you? Watch. Because half the kingdom belongs to you." Hold on a minute. Half the kingdom. Can I tell you, there's a whole lot more to living for God than just not going to hell. Well, I just don't want to fry. I just don't want to go to— Can I tell you, there's more to living for God than just not going to hell. If you could just wake up and realize who you are. He said, "Half the kingdom belongs to you." Come on. It's the Father's good pleasure. I want you to shout, "Half the kingdom." Half the kingdom belongs to you. Belongs to you. "Ask me what you will. Ask me what you will. I'll do it. I'll do it." "Whatsoever you ask in my name." I'm going to tell you, something happened in Esther. She walked in timid. She walked in trembling. But something got down on the inside of her. She realized: the King doesn't want to kill me. He wants to bless me. The King doesn't want to kill me. He wants to back me up. Come on. He's given you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever you bind. Come on, preacher. You're not a has-been. It's your greatest hour. Whatsoever you bind on earth.

She walks out of there with a mindset. I'm not going to say she pranced out of there. But maybe she pressed out of there. She squared her shoulders. She lifted her head. And she said, "I got a plan. I know what I'm going to do." And she told the King, "I'd like to make a banquet for you and for Haman. I want you to bring Haman. I've got something cooking. I've got something on my mind." Are y'all hearing me right now? Are you hearing me right now? The King said, "Whatever you ask. I'll bring Haman with me." She goes out of there. Zippity-doo-dah. Zippity day. Something's about to change in my world. I come to tell Alabama: you're not just not going to hell. He's called you to the kingdom for such a time. Somebody shout glory. I want everybody in the building to stand to their feet and clap your hands just as loud as you can and shout, "Something's changing in the atmosphere." Something's changing. Something's changing in the atmosphere. I feel a Holy Ghost victory for this district. The devil's made a mistake. I'm about to go to the throne one more time. Come on. The devil made a mistake. I'm about to pray one more time. God's going to fix it. God's going to turn it around. Somebody shout, "Yeah." I wish somebody praise the way you feel. God's got my back. God's on my side. God's going to make a way. He's bigger than your cancer. He's bigger than your situation. He's bigger than your fallen children. He's bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger. Somebody got to get a hold of this. God's going to turn it around. Somebody shout glory. Hallelujah.

Come here. Haman. Sorry, [Odor?]. You're going to be the devil for a minute. Watch this. You just go on over there for a minute. You sit right there — in the King's seat. Haman walks by the gate, so proud, to go to— He's — so, you got it. Your shoulders square. You're feeling good 'cause you just got invited to the queen's banquet. Nobody else. Nobody else. He tells his wife, "You know why I'm somebody? I got all these kids. I got all this money. Out of everybody in the world, I'm invited to the queen's banquet." Yeah. I am somebody. Come on. The devil's arrogant. Come on. Sorry, [Odor?]. He walks past the preacher, and he doesn't bow, and he tells his wife, "But none of it means anything to me. As long as he's standing, as long as the pastor's not compromising, the devil can't have a good party." It was only three Hebrew children that didn't bow, and they shut the whole party down, because three decided to stand when everybody else was giving in. I'm going to quit talking about your small church and just stand, because God's about to do— You got to keep on standing. Don't sit down. You need to lift your heads and say, "God's about to fix it. God's about to come on my behalf." I wish there was an out-of-towner in the building. I wish there was a shout in the building that said, "I'm going to praise God anyhow. I'm going to praise Him. I've had people to walk out of my life. I had people to fail, but I'm still here. And it's not over. It's not over. It's not over. It's not over till it's over." Come on. "It's not over, man of God. It's not over, lady of God. God's about to turn it around." Somebody shout, "Yes." How many believe God's going to turn it around? I feel it. I feel it. Don't you dare quit. Don't you dare stop. Don't you dare give up. It's the greatest hour of the church.

His wife and wise men said, "Well, just hang him. You know who you are. You got all this power, authority, wealth. Go hang him." Listen, the devil's mad when he builds a gallows 50 feet tall. That's taller than this ceiling. 50 feet. That's mad. He doesn't need— He's not that big. You know what he does? He's going to go to the king before the banquet, and he's going to tell the king, "I need permission to hang the man at the gate." But the king has a dream in the night. Come on. And the Lord tells the king in the dream about Mordecai, and Haman has to escort him. And Mordecai is being escorted by Haman, saying, "What a great man he is." He's wearing the king's robe. He's wearing the king's crown, on the king's horse. And he goes home and tells his wife, "You're not going to believe what happened to me today." And when he tells her, she said, "I hate to tell you this, but the tables have turned. You're done. You're done." Even his own wife knew it. But he had one thing to comfort him. You know what it was? It's a banquet with the queen. And he has no clue she's a Jew. He has no clue who he's messing with. She might have stepped off a bus ministry 15 years ago, but she's about to get into a prayer room. She might have had crack cocaine just five years ago. She might have been in a bar, but it doesn't matter, because the blood washes away all my filthy stains. He gave me a new name. He's given me a brand-new robe. Is there anybody in the building that says, "I've been washed"?

He shows up. He comes in. The King is here. And Haman is here. Come here. Come here, Esther. I got to finish this message. She knows who she is. She's got a call of God and favor of God. She fixes the meal; they sit and eat. And the King says, "What can I do for you?" She said, "Well, there is a letter." Are y'all tired? Are you okay? "There's a letter that was written against my people. And there's a date already settled, called Purim. And there's a man that's planned on killing me. And all my people." And the King — it starts on his feet. Rage comes up. His face is red. Veins are popped out in his neck. And he says, "Well, who is it?" And that shy, timid bride that was shaking is now standing. And she says — I want you to say it quiet now. Boldness has now entered her. Favor and confidence is now in her. She knows who she is, and she knows who's on her side. She said, "It's that wicked Haman." I don't want you to say it like a, you know — I want you to say it with some authority. I want you to say, "That wicked H— That wicked H—" Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Sorry. "That wicked Haman. That wicked Haman." Oh, give her a hand. She was quiet a few days ago, but not now. She knows what can happen when she speaks up. She knows what happens when she gets in the prayer room. She knows what happens when she gets to the house of God. The King is going to back her up. I wonder what would happen if you start praying and fasting? I'll tell you: your kids are going to come home. Backsliders are going to return. The devil's going to be defeated.

And when she says it, he falls to his feet. He crawls to her. See, that's how you pictured you before you got to camp meeting. But this is you right here. The devil is now subject to whatever you say. "Get out of my house. Get away from my wife. Get away from my husband. Get away from my grand—" Come on. Are there any people that believe? Come on, Esther. Get out of your seat and say, "We're about to have a breakthrough. We're about to have the greatest revival we've ever had." Come on, Alabama. Get out of your seat. I'm not shutting back any longer. We're going to see a victory. Come on. Come on. I feel something. I wish the preacher and his wife would hold hands to the altar and say, "We're about to see the greatest harvest. We're about to see the greatest revival." You ought to step out of your seat and say, "Tonight, everything changes. I'm not going to be judged by God. I'm going to be blessed by God. I'm not just not going to hell. God's going to use me to pray something to pass. I'm about to see a miracle." Come on, church planter. You're about to see the breakthrough before it's time. You are. You are putting it off. But God said, "Now. Now is the acceptable time." Somebody shout right now. Right now. I want you to shout right now. Right now.

Somebody comes up and whispers. The chamberlain tells the King: he built a gallows for the preacher. That's what I'm talking about. They grab him and drag him out and hang him on the gallows that was built for the man of God. You never know what you're going to get when you're preaching. Press closer. Press closer. There's going to be an impartation of the Holy Ghost in just a moment. Come on. The devil's had a bad day. It's over. He's given you the victory, saint of God. Come on. You're the bride. He's giving you the victory. Come on. I want you to tell God, "I'm not walking less than any longer." Lift your hands. "I am a man of God. I am the bride of Christ." Come on, Esther. I'm going to walk with divine authority and power from this day forward. I will not be intimidated. I will not live in insecurity and inadequacy any longer. Oh, God. Come on, ladies. God's going to heal your emotions. Come on, ladies. You're going to sleep better than you've ever slept. You're going to be able to feel it. Come on. It's happening right now. The Holy Ghost, the spirit of impartation. Lift your hands and receive of the Lord. Receive.

I want you to hear me as I'm going to give you instruction. You're going to represent every church planter, every pastor, every young minister, everybody called right now. You're going to represent that. You have a pure heart and a pure spirit. By the way, if you lift your hands, the Lord's going to do something right now in you. I want you to lift your hands. Lift your hands. There's a boldness going to come over your spirit when you pray. Go ahead, lift your hands. That's all right. God wants something in you, because God tailors miracles. God tailors callings. Go ahead, receive of that right now. He is not finished. You're not too young to be used of God mightily. Pray He'll let you see angels at a young age. Dream dreams and see visions and prophesy. Come on. The sons and daughters are going to prophesy. Sons and daughters are going to prophesy. The sons and the daughters are going to prophesy. Hallelujah.

There's the fear of God. I talked about it tonight. The fear of God. The next thing is, it's a call of God. "I got to go to the King. I'm called to a purpose. Called." Everybody say: called of God. There's a third one tonight. It's when the King trusts her, and He comes in — not in the throne room. He shows up where she's at. And He says to Esther, "What else would you have me to do?" She's not fasting to get it. She's not approaching. The Lord just comes and says, "Is there anything else you want me to do for you?" She said, "Yes, there is. Hang all of Haman's sons." Hold on a minute. Her talk like that. You know what she's going to do? She's going to finish what Saul didn't finish. "I'm not leaving any of them. I'm not just preaching this for my generation." He didn't just stand for truth for his generation. "There's a generation that wants this. I'll fight for the next one." Something got a hold of her.

Now, I love this part, because here's where instruction comes in. The King has another encounter with her, and she says, "I have to tell you about something. When Haman was living, letters were sent to every province — 127 of them. All the people in the land that are Persian believe they have authority to kill all of my people." It has to be reversed. I like this part, because watch what she does. The King — Mordecai, would you come? Do you know that the King personally handed her Haman's ring? It was the signet. It's the ring of authority. What that meant is: everything the prince of your city could do is now in the hands of the bride. That's end-time revival. The devil doesn't get the last say. We're the church. We're the last. Watch this. He hands the ring to her, and hands her all of Haman's possessions. And she says, "Hold on a minute. There's something I haven't told you. I want to introduce you to my pastor. I wouldn't be here without him. My mom and daddy died. I come from a mess. But he told me — he believed I had a purpose, and that I was going to be your bride. And I'm telling you, I can't do this." Come here, put your arm around his arm. "I can't do this without him, because a lonely ministry will always be a Judas Iscariot ministry. Any ministry without a pastor that thinks, 'Well, I'm old enough now. I'm gifted enough now. I hear from God by my own now' — you're going to turn into a Haman is what you're going to turn into."

But guess what she did: when she told the King who her pastor was, the ring goes from her hand to Mordecai's hand. Are you ready for this? And the King's crown is placed again on his head. Here it is. It's called spiritual authority. You cannot be trusted with spiritual authority — I feel instruction — just don't go to the next town and say, "We're going to have revival." You don't have a pastor that you're submitted to. But when devils see this — "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee." Why? Because angels show up when somebody's submitted. "I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. I'm not here by myself. My Father sent me to this battle. I didn't just go. I've been sent." There's a difference between going and just being sent. You've got to have the hand of your pastor upon you. You've got to have a man of God's hand still connected to you, or it's not going to work.

She said, "We have to reverse the letters." So would you, Pastor, just signet that letter that puts the authority back in the hands of every Jew? Are y'all still with me? The authority that every Persian had is now going to be in the hand of every Jew, to defend themselves by the authority of the King, that was signified by the pastor of Esther. "I'm not come here by myself." You ready? "I come in the name of the Lord of hosts. I've got angels." The Lord impressed me today that I needed to finish this way. When the pastor signifies the authority of the message, and the message says, "You're not going to die; you're going to be free. And I've given you authority over everything that tries to come against you." And it doesn't go to one city — to Shushan, where the palace was. It goes to all 127 provinces, because he's the king of all the kings. Let me just put it this way. He's the king of every city. Huntsville. Mobile. Are y'all hearing me right now? He's the king of your city. He's the king. It's signed by spiritual covering. What are these? It's letters that say, "Go home and take authority of your city." Go home. What's the name of your city? My God, Madison's going to blow up in revival. Go home. You've got authority to have revival there. No weapon formed against you is going to prosper. No weapon formed against you. I've come with a word for this district. It's not fighting hell. It's just telling hell to get away from me. "Satan, get thee behind me." Come up here. Climb up here. This is what we need to see right here. Hold that together. That's what Alabama apostolic ministry looks like. It's the elder believing in the younger, and the younger saying, "I can't do it without my elder." I'm going for revival. I'm going to preach with a— Come on, somebody shout to the Lord. Somebody shout to the Lord. I want somebody to lift your voice and shout to God. Go do the work of an evangelist. Believe for a mighty revival.

They're coming home. They're coming home by the hundreds. They're coming home by the hundreds. You're going to baptize people by the thousands in Alabama. But you got to be the bride. You got to be the bride. Come on, clap your hands and shout all over this building. Hallelujah.

Your bishop's going to come and speak a word. Some pastors that didn't get one of these — did you get one? Hop up here with me. I'm going to say this. I'm going to get out of the way. The Holy Ghost has been moving. I'm not going to say the Holy Ghost hasn't moved yet, 'cause y'all know — son, how old are you? 25. The devil's terrified of you. He's terrified of you. You be holy. You be prayerful. You be submitted. And I'm telling you, you're going to see miracles happen. Come on. God's not afraid of the end time. Sons and daughters are going to prophesy in the end time. Sons and daughters. Are there any other young people that you say, "I'm hungry for—" Come on. Any other teenagers in the building that says, "I want what Bishop has. I want what the elder has. I want what God's going to do in my hour. I want truth. I want the gospel. I want the doctrine." Come on, shout about it. Shout about it. Shout about it.

I'm going home with a message: "If God be for me, then who can be against me?" Come on. God is on my side. Go ahead and praise Him. Anybody out there hungry for an old-fashioned revival? Come and go home with a message here. How many of you want to see revival in your city? All 127 of them. You can have revival. Come on. There's a Holy Ghost breakthrough.

I want you to lift your hands. Elder, I want you to come. Young men, young men, stop praying for one second. I want every hand lifted. When Mordecai signets the message, the messenger, there's going to be a divine authority going to flow through this room. You're going to feel an unction coming into your spirit just like that. I want every hand lifted when he starts praying. You're going to feel an impartation of the Holy Ghost. I feel the divine anointing of apostleship coming to this district. Lift your hands. I want you to open your spirit for what God's getting ready to do. Come on, Esther. Come on, church planter.

I want us to lift our hands right now, because we need to receive by faith as it comes down upon us right now. We receive this promise. We receive this prophecy. We have been prophesied to tonight, in the name of Jesus. We, as Your church, Lord, in this state of Alabama, have received this power and anointing that You have rested upon us, in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Come on, lift your voice, Esther. Come on, Esther. Lift your voice. He hears you when you open. He hears you when you call. "God, I want my children to be saved." Come on, God. "I want my city to be saved." I feel an impartation of a burden. A burden for a city. A burden for sin. Come on, don't stop. You need to press in prayer right now. You're stepping into a place — into the throne room of God. "Lord, I want to see revival." Some of you are saying, "God, I want to see a children's revival in our city and on our streets. We want to see a youth revival. We want to see a revival of backsliders, a revival of recovery, a city." Come on, pray all over the building. Come on. There's a burden for certain cities. There's a burden for certain cities. Come on. You can write on those papers. You receive what God's telling you. The King's going to back you up. Come on. Tonight, there's a call of God. There's a call of God to a home, to a city.

God, right now we pray over Hamilton, Alabama. God, we pray over Metro Birmingham. We pray right now and take authority of the Leeds and Moody, Alabama area. Father, right now we speak, God, to Clanton, Alabama; Tuskegee, Alabama; Nokomis; Perdido, Alabama. God, we pray over every county: Winston, and Pickens, and Greene, Hale, and Choctaw, Marengo, Clarke, Dale, and Bullock, and Clay, and Chilton, and Wilcox, Lord. We decree, Lord, we declare it right now: move on our behalf. God, let these cities please be occupied with church planters with truth. Oh God, in the name of Jesus.

I want you, on your own accord, begin to press through to the throne room of God. Everybody. Everybody. God's going to speak to you a tailored word right now. God's going to speak cities. He's going to speak names of people. He's calling people to the ministry in this camp meeting right now. But we need more young ladies up here. This is a calling to the whole church. Young ladies, you come up here. God is doing something mighty. Come up here. Be a part of what God is doing right now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You are a part of this.