A great king once lived several centuries ago. His name was Ahasuerus,
the great emperor who reigned over the Kingdoms of Persia and Media -
the then world powers. The domain of this mighty King cut across the
borders of many nations and tribes, having subdued one hundred and
twenty-seven provinces of various kingdoms by his unrivalled military
might and great political power. With unquestionable authority and
supremacy, King Ahasuerus ruled majestically from Shushan the citadel.
King Ahasuerus’ awesome greatness was attested to by his decision to
make a feast for his officials, servants, nobles, governors, princes
from one hundred and twenty-seven provinces and every one that lived in
Shushan, the capital city. The feast was the first and the last of its
kind! It lasted for one hundred and eighty days! Imagine half a year of
wining, dining, merry making and total holiday for a whole nation!
Drinks were served in golden cups; foods were served in silver plates;
the venue was heavily decorated with expensive fine linen, marbles and
precious stones such as turquoise, gems and onyx. Such were the
greatness and riches of Emperor Ahasuerus’ kingdom!
To crown this majestic event, King Ahasuerus wanted his wife - Her
Majesty, Queen Vashti to impress his many guests with her beauty and
splendour. The first lady was indeed beautiful to behold! Her charming
look and captivating frame singled her out of all that dwelt in the
kingdom; she was beauty personified!
The King, apparently proud of Queen Vashti, wanted her to showcase her
beauty before the seated guests in order to earn himself glory, respect
and honour, so he sent for her. Surprisingly, Her Majesty Queen Vashti
turned down the call of the King. She was not ready to come as the king
commanded; she made light the order of her husband.
Queen Vashti’s refusal to come to the feast at the King’s order was a
big slap on his face. The First Lady’s gross disrespect for King
Ahasuerus became known to thousands of guests present at the feast. The
disrepute, shame and contempt the King suffered as a result was
enormous, to say the least! Her Majesty’s refusal of the King’s order
suggested that though King Ahasuerus was a great Emperor who ruled the
then world, yet he was not in control in his own home! The Queen’s
contemptible act established that the honour, respect and reverence
accorded the King by all nations, were far from his reach under his own
roof! King Ahasuerus became disdained in the eyes of all that were
present at the feast and in the capital city - Shushan. How sad!
Why did Her Majesty, Queen Vashti refused the King’s call? Why did she
decide to bring her highly placed husband to contempt before the whole
nation? Here is a clue!
‘ALSO Vashti the Queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus’
Esther 1:9;
It is apparent that Queen Vashti was busy with ‘her own feast’. She was
not part of her husband’s feast; she also made her own feast for the
women in the royal house. She must have been greatly engrossed in her
own feast that she had no time to spare to answer the call of her
husband the great King, who being proud of her, wanted to show-case her
beauty to all present at the feast. She had her own aspiration, vision
and pursuit separate from her husband’s, so she ran her own feast
concurrently!
Why did Queen Vashti run her own feast when the King’s feast was
supposed to be for everyone? It appears that Her Majesty also wanted to
do something she could call her own; she needed recognition and self
actualization as we call it nowadays; she was not readily available to
run with the vision of her husband, so she didn’t see any reason being
part of the King’s feast. Of course, in the midst of the women for whom
she made her own feast, she was the greatest. She would have all the
recognition that she had always desired for herself.
Somebody might want to give in to an assumption that separation of women
from men folks during feasts was traditional to the Persian’s culture
hence justification for Queen Vashti’s separate feast, but there seems
to be no proof for this assumption. Her Majesty’s drive to run a
separate feast for the women was born out of her own burning desire to
do ‘her own thing’ even if her husband –the King would be brought to
disrepute in the process.
As a result of this condemnable act, Queen Vashti was dethroned and
replaced at the commandment of the King. Her position was subsequently
given to Esther. We can imagine how Queen Vashti, the once respected
First Lady would possibly end her life following humiliation out of the
palace. No matter what her justification was for 'doing her own thing',
nothing could save her.
The fall of Queen Vashti brings to light great truths about God’s order
for the home. It is not surprising that Queen Vashti was dethroned and
replaced; her action constituted a gross violation of God’s order. God’s
order is that a wife must be an integral part and parcel of her
husband’s God’s-given vision and pursuits. The fulfillment of a woman is
complete only when she has found her place in the vision that God
committed to her husband and run together with him. A wife that is not
willing and prepared to identify herself with the vision and aspiration
of her husband in all things is violating God’s order.
It must be emphasized that God did not create woman to be subservient to
man in anyway; both man and woman were created in the image of God as
co-regents according to
Genesis 1:26-28.
However, woman was never designed or made independently of man. Just
like the church can never imagine being independent of Christ in
anything, so also is a wife in relationship with her husband. She must
be identified with her husband in all things.
It does not matter what the world teaches or encourages, the order of
God cannot be changed. In the name of women emancipation and self
actualization crusades in every quarter, a lot of women have neglected
their God-ordained vital roles in the visions and aspirations of their
husbands. I am not a proponent of male chauvinism in any way and would
never approve of culture or traditions that attempt to reduce women to a
sort of second-rated citizens or slaves. As long as a woman integrates
herself into God-given calling, vision, aspiration, and pursuits of her
husband, she will always know fulfillment and excitement. Remember God
created Eve from one of the rib bones of Adam which suggest that she
came out of man and she must always find her rightful place in the man’s
life.
Ezekiel Olukolajo
olukolajoezekieloluseun@yahoo.com
Shalom.
For info: +2348093503769,dipoolatade@gmail.com
And
Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have
trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because
thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD
hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since
the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel
wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and
five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that
Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for
war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this
mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that
day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and
fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive
them out, as the LORD said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb
the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Joshua 14:9-13;
By
way of inheritance, God’s children have become bonafide owners of all
good things of life. The birthright that comes with new life in Christ
has conferred on God’s children, the right to own and enjoy everything
that belongs to God their father! To have an idea of the great
possessions within your reach as a child of God, the best angle is to
consider the limitlessness of the power, wisdom, glory, majesty,
dominion and riches of the Almighty God. Of course God’s possessions and
riches have no limits, no boundaries, no beginning, and no ending! As
God’s son, nothing less is expected of you because you are a partaker of
His divine nature and grace. The scripture in 2 Peter 1:3
says that God ‘According as his divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of
him that hath called us to glory and virtue’. With this declaration,
it’s clear that God had already given you all things; what is expected
of you is to possess your possessions. However, considering the
situation of many of God’s children, it is extremely sad to see majority
living like servants as though they own nothing, whereas God’s word
says all things belong to them. This certainly is not God’s fault!
It
is absolutely true that all things have been given to you as God’s
child, but it is critical you understand how to possess those things
which God has freely given to you as inheritance, otherwise, there’s no
way you will enjoy or live the life expected of you as a son. To possess
your possessions, the first key is that you must take practical steps
to claim those things which God says belong to you. A lot of people
usually make the mistake of thinking that their possessions will come to
them on a platter of Gold with no efforts on their part, how wrong! At
the time God gave the Promised Land to the children of Israel, it was
not a vacant land; in fact the land was fully occupied by the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and the
Girgashites who were the original owners and occupiers. To take actual
possession of the land, the children of Israel firmly stood their
ground, fought and claimed that which God had declared to be their
inheritance by prevailing against and displacing the Canaanites. You
also can have all good things of life which God says are your
inheritance as long as you are prepared to take practical steps to
possess them.
Another
vital key you require to possess your possessions is knowledge. Hosea
4:6A says ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. Without
adequate knowledge of what Christ has done for you, you can’t help being
deprived, you may spend the rest of your life not enjoying those things
which have been freely given to you. The scripture in Obadiah 1:17
says ‘But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be
holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions’. From
this scripture, it’s obvious that you cannot possess your possessions
until you’re delivered. The great deliverance you require to possess
your possessions is deliverance from bondage of ignorance. It will be
extremely difficult for you to possess those things which are
legitimately yours if you’re not even aware they belong to you in the
first place! The reason a lot of God’s children are being plagued by
sickness and diseases is not because healing is unavailable; the reason
majority of God’s children are wallowing in poverty is not because
prosperity is inaccessible; the reason many of God’s children are not
enjoying victory over their enemies is not because Christ has not
overcome the enemies, the reason is simply because they are ignorant of
their inheritance through Christ. To be free from the bondage of
ignorance, you must actively seek for knowledge through reading,
studying and meditating on the word of God. In addition to these, you
must also be sensitive to your environment to know when opportunities
are presenting themselves. What do you do with the information at your
disposal? It is not enough to have information; information must lead to
transformation of your situation!
Finally,
to possess your possessions you must never give up. The problem with
most of us is that we give up too quickly. It does not matter the
situation or circumstance, you will surely hit breakthrough if you
refuse to give up. In the above passage for instance, Joshua, at
eighty-five (85) years did not give up nor become lazy in claiming his
possession of the land given to him forty-five (45) years earlier. If
Joshua did not give up even for the reason of age, but led a troop of
soldiers against the giants –sons of Anakim to possess Hebron what’s
your excuse? If Joshua did not retire at eighty-five to sit back and
accept the situation, but pushed himself forward to action and received
heaven’s backing, what’s your excuse? God does not waste His grace on
those who have decided to give up, it was when God saw the courageous
heart of Joshua to press on and possess the land of his inheritance that
He released divine strength that helped him in the battle. Dearly
beloved, don’t give up, you too like Joshua can say ‘give me this
mountain’. Move on, don’t stop, anywhere you step with the soles of your
feet has been given to you – possess your possessions!
Ezekiel
Olukolajo is a Ezekiel is an Insurance practitioner by profession and a
teacher of the word by calling. He also serves as a resident Pastor in
an Evangelical Church. Ezekiel can be reached at:
olukolajoezekieloluseun@yahoo.com.
- See more at: http://www.mannaexpressonline.com/practical-steps-to-possess-your-possession/#sthash.UfgsAhIl.dpuf
And
Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have
trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because
thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD
hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since
the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel
wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and
five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that
Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for
war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this
mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that
day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and
fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive
them out, as the LORD said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb
the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Joshua 14:9-13;
By
way of inheritance, God’s children have become bonafide owners of all
good things of life. The birthright that comes with new life in Christ
has conferred on God’s children, the right to own and enjoy everything
that belongs to God their father! To have an idea of the great
possessions within your reach as a child of God, the best angle is to
consider the limitlessness of the power, wisdom, glory, majesty,
dominion and riches of the Almighty God. Of course God’s possessions and
riches have no limits, no boundaries, no beginning, and no ending! As
God’s son, nothing less is expected of you because you are a partaker of
His divine nature and grace. The scripture in 2 Peter 1:3
says that God ‘According as his divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of
him that hath called us to glory and virtue’. With this declaration,
it’s clear that God had already given you all things; what is expected
of you is to possess your possessions. However, considering the
situation of many of God’s children, it is extremely sad to see majority
living like servants as though they own nothing, whereas God’s word
says all things belong to them. This certainly is not God’s fault!
It
is absolutely true that all things have been given to you as God’s
child, but it is critical you understand how to possess those things
which God has freely given to you as inheritance, otherwise, there’s no
way you will enjoy or live the life expected of you as a son. To possess
your possessions, the first key is that you must take practical steps
to claim those things which God says belong to you. A lot of people
usually make the mistake of thinking that their possessions will come to
them on a platter of Gold with no efforts on their part, how wrong! At
the time God gave the Promised Land to the children of Israel, it was
not a vacant land; in fact the land was fully occupied by the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and the
Girgashites who were the original owners and occupiers. To take actual
possession of the land, the children of Israel firmly stood their
ground, fought and claimed that which God had declared to be their
inheritance by prevailing against and displacing the Canaanites. You
also can have all good things of life which God says are your
inheritance as long as you are prepared to take practical steps to
possess them.
Another
vital key you require to possess your possessions is knowledge. Hosea
4:6A says ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. Without
adequate knowledge of what Christ has done for you, you can’t help being
deprived, you may spend the rest of your life not enjoying those things
which have been freely given to you. The scripture in Obadiah 1:17
says ‘But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be
holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions’. From
this scripture, it’s obvious that you cannot possess your possessions
until you’re delivered. The great deliverance you require to possess
your possessions is deliverance from bondage of ignorance. It will be
extremely difficult for you to possess those things which are
legitimately yours if you’re not even aware they belong to you in the
first place! The reason a lot of God’s children are being plagued by
sickness and diseases is not because healing is unavailable; the reason
majority of God’s children are wallowing in poverty is not because
prosperity is inaccessible; the reason many of God’s children are not
enjoying victory over their enemies is not because Christ has not
overcome the enemies, the reason is simply because they are ignorant of
their inheritance through Christ. To be free from the bondage of
ignorance, you must actively seek for knowledge through reading,
studying and meditating on the word of God. In addition to these, you
must also be sensitive to your environment to know when opportunities
are presenting themselves. What do you do with the information at your
disposal? It is not enough to have information; information must lead to
transformation of your situation!
Finally,
to possess your possessions you must never give up. The problem with
most of us is that we give up too quickly. It does not matter the
situation or circumstance, you will surely hit breakthrough if you
refuse to give up. In the above passage for instance, Joshua, at
eighty-five (85) years did not give up nor become lazy in claiming his
possession of the land given to him forty-five (45) years earlier. If
Joshua did not give up even for the reason of age, but led a troop of
soldiers against the giants –sons of Anakim to possess Hebron what’s
your excuse? If Joshua did not retire at eighty-five to sit back and
accept the situation, but pushed himself forward to action and received
heaven’s backing, what’s your excuse? God does not waste His grace on
those who have decided to give up, it was when God saw the courageous
heart of Joshua to press on and possess the land of his inheritance that
He released divine strength that helped him in the battle. Dearly
beloved, don’t give up, you too like Joshua can say ‘give me this
mountain’. Move on, don’t stop, anywhere you step with the soles of your
feet has been given to you – possess your possessions!
Ezekiel
Olukolajo is a Ezekiel is an Insurance practitioner by profession and a
teacher of the word by calling. He also serves as a resident Pastor in
an Evangelical Church. Ezekiel can be reached at:
olukolajoezekieloluseun@yahoo.com.
- See more at: http://www.mannaexpressonline.com/practical-steps-to-possess-your-possession/#sthash.UfgsAhIl.dpuf
