Royal Horses
By Carter Conlon
"On that day, King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews...Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews. And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, and said, 'If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?' Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, 'Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke'" (Esther 8:1, 3–8).
To briefly summarize, Esther was a young girl appointed to be the bride of the king for a specific time in history. However, at the time she was called to intercede for her countrymen, she felt unloved and unwanted. It had been about thirty days since the king had even wanted to see her. Similarly, we as the Church find ourselves being called of God to pray for a perishing nation, yet we may feel inadequate and unworthy. The first thing Esther had to rediscover, as we do in our generation, is that no matter how she felt, she was still the bride of the king with access to his throne.
Once Esther overcame her initial sense of unworthiness and realized that God had put her where she was at that time for a divine purpose, she found the scepter of favor stretched out toward her. The king's wrath rose against the enemy of the Jewish people, Haman—a man who plotted to create laws to take away their future. Yet, because Esther went to the throne of the king, Haman ended up hanged on his own gallows.
SEND OUT THE HORSES!
What happens next is incredible. "So the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king's signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds. By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions" (Esther 8:9–11). Basically, the letters gave the Jewish people the power to defend themselves and their families against anybody who would try to assault or kill them.
This was a moment in history when great victory was going to be won. God had already made a way for the people to receive the decree that they did not have to lie down in powerlessness and let their enemies plunder them, their homes, their families, and their futures any longer. A word had come from the king—delivered by people who had a close association with the king, who understood his heart and his power.
Can you picture the riders? There were a hundred and twenty-seven distinctive borders of various provinces, from India to Ethiopia. I do not know how many horses were sent out—five hundred, a thousand? Yet I can just see the scribes with this newfound authority from the king, jumping on the backs of these royal horses which were specifically bred for this moment. With a kick of their heels, they are off and running to the four corners of the known world at that time, stopping from town to town, pulling out the scroll, and saying, "Thus, it is written in the name of King Ahasuerus that you can stand up and fight back with the king's power. The king's authority is now behind you. You can fight for your homes, your families, your children, and your communities. You can fight for your future. The king is with you!"
I believe these royal horses are a picture of how we as the Church are to bring others into the power and victory that we have come to know. You see, there is a power that fills your heart when you begin to pray. You begin to see something in the Word of God that prayerless people cannot see. You start to understand something about the heart of the King. You leave the realm of the natural and move into the supernatural, operating in a new wisdom that God promises to those who seek Him.
THE SEAL OF THE KING
As we saw in our opening scripture, when King Ahasuerus declared that he had given Esther the house of Haman, he gave these incredible instructions to Esther and Mordecai: "You yourselves write a law. You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in my name, and seal it with my signet ring. No one can revoke whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with this king's signet ring" (see Esther 8:8). He was essentially saying to them, "Write and send out a message just as you have come to believe it. You are finally starting to know my heart; you recognize that I have all authority in this kingdom. You understand that whatever is sealed in my name, no one can stand against!"
This means that Esther and Mordecai had to believe that because of their own victories, the king's seal was sufficient to empower defenseless people to stand up and overthrow their enemies. Similarly, there is a point when you and I win our personal victories—those secret battles that nobody else but God knows about —and then we learn to bring others into the same power and victory we have come to know. We cannot just take our victory and go home; we are called to be warriors—soldiers in the army of God who are yielded for the sake of others. I often pray, "God, what You have done for me, I am asking You now to do for others. Give them the victory, too!"
You know the rest of the story—the Jewish people did stand up in the strength of a word from the king, and nobody could stand against them. "The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king's command...The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them" (Esther 8:14, 16–17). The people were so afraid of this supposed minority, so afraid of the decree that came, that many of them became Jews! It was like a revival! Many who had previously stood against Christ and His Church suddenly recognized there was a King whose word was behind these people. Not only that, the scripture says that many of the governors, rulers and mayors of towns got on board as well. You see, there is something about a moment in history when the King speaks again and royal horses begin to ride!
WHAT IS YOUR PETITION?
It is interesting that this whole victory began with a trembling bride appealing to the king, but it ends with her husband, the king, now appealing to the bride! There is no longer a scepter; Esther is now in his court, ruling and reigning with him. She is no longer making a request of him, yet the king says to Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done" (Esther 9:12).
Remember, this whole book is about Christ and His Church. Yes, it is a historical account, but everything points to Christ—to Him and His Bride. History tells us that Esther became a co-regent with her husband. She was writing laws and making decrees; she had an authority that was unheard of up until that time in history. And what does the Bible say about the Bride of Christ? What is God looking for? What will we be doing for all eternity? Ruling and reigning with Him! It is time for us to have a taste of what that is going to be like. God is saying to His Church, "What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request? It shall be done." And so the question is: What are you willing to believe God for? Didn't Jesus say that whatever you ask and believe for, you shall receive (see Mark 11:24)?
This means it is imperative for us to win our personal victories now. We must come to understand the heart of God, as well as lead others into the victories we have experienced. It is time for us as the people of God to lift our voices once again. This is not a time to draw back in cowardice but rather to put our hand to that pen when the King says, "Write it as you see it, and I will back it."
It is time for us to be specific, saying, "I want my son to come home, and I want that son to be an evangelist. I want my daughter to have an influence in our generation." The King is saying to you today, "If it is in My Word, I will put My seal on it, and nobody can stand against it. No power of hell, no principality, no trial, no difficulty can stand against what I will do!" Hallelujah!
This newsletter is an edited version of "ROYAL HORSES," a sermon given on April 29, 2018 in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in New York City. Other sermons are available by visiting our website at
tsc.nyc. You are welcome to make additional copies of this sermon for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission existing copyright laws apply. This
sermon cannot be posted on any website or webpage without permission from Times Square Church. Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are from the New King James Version.
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