Sid: I tell you Mishpochah I feel like you put a string on me and I could fly. I feel like there is so much presence of God; that is pouring out of your radio right now. I have on the telephone right now from his office in Pineville, Louisiana Tommy Tenney. Most of you are familiar with his multimillion dollar projects called “The God Chaser.” But there’s something new and I am so excited about it because God showed Tommy as He showed me also how significant the book of Esther is. I approached Esther from the prophetic viewpoint involving the coming together of Jews and Gentiles in the last day to form the one true One New Man. Who has a name and His Name is Jesus; but Tommy took the Book of Esther and he teaches from that book a protocol, if you will, of how each of us can have our night with the king. And you know something Mishpochah that was a woman that said “If I could just have the scraps; a crumb from the table of You Jesus I could get my healing.” How much more one night; it will change your destiny; it will change your life. Tommy, when did you realize that the Book of Esther has the whole pattern if you will; the whole protocol if you will for us to have our moment with King God; the creator of the Universe?
Tommy: Well, as we were talking yesterday I was preaching about the presence of God and just sort of mentally dredged up in my mind that’s what happened to Esther. She had one encounter with the King and it changed her life. Now my study of Esther; you asked me earlier how long I’d been studying Esther. The second sermon I ever preached in my life was about Esther. And I’ll tell you the title of it; I talked about when Esther touched the scepter and that it’s time to touch the scepter that we must approach God and that encounter can change our destiny. Esther, the book of Esther is about favor. The word favor is found virtually in every chapter in Esther. And I took that said “If favor reoccurs it’s obviously about favor with the King and began to dissect how Esther found favor. Now what I’d like to do today is talk to people about favor.
Sid: Now before we even get to that I’m reminded of the fact in the lst chapter of your book you came out with a fact that I never saw before. That has to do with Hitler and the Nazi commander feared the book of Esther. Well, I have to believe they feared the book of Esther because it shows the favor on Jewish people, but the devil must fear the book of Esther because it show Christian’s how to have intimacy with God.
Tommy: Absolutely it showed them; you see what is dangerous when… here’s one of my protocols in studying Esther I distilled all the little things that Esther had to know or learn and there’s 53 in this book. I call them protocols of the palace. Fifty-three things you need to know about the palace; it’s all about the presence of the King. One of those is very simple, Sid you don’t need everyone to like you. You just need the right One to like you. The people that are listening right now they need to understand they don’t need approval from everyone. They just need approval from the right One. And in terms of Esther if the King likes you it doesn’t matter who dislikes you. That’s why Hitler feared the book of Esther; that’s why Christians should look to the book of Esther; that if you find favor with the King it doesn’t matter who dislikes you. If the King likes you it doesn’t matter who dislikes you.
Sid: Not only that the Bible says “That it’ll make even your enemies like you.”
Tommy: That’s right one node from God; if God just looks their direction and nodes favor flows where his face is aiming.
Sid: So the people that’s saying “I have all these people that dislike me; I got to go to do nice things to them and everything and they’ll probably never like you anyway.”
Tommy: Your boss may say “We’re through.” Your spouse may say “It’s over.” Your doctor may say “I’ve done all that I know how to do.” But one nod from God and everything changes. Never underestimate the potential of one encounter. One song, one prayer; one sermon; one radio broadcast; one encounter with the King can change your destiny.
Sid: You know even though we’re believers in the Messiah we’re so humanistic in our thinking we forget that most important fact that you just stated. One night with the King is all you need.
Tommy: Never underestimate that potential. And if you find favor with the King; favor with everything else is secondary it cannot change your destiny. Esther realized tha the palace…you know somewhere between 400 and 1400 young girls was brought into the palace at this point. And some of them were probably overwhelmed with the grandeur of the palace, “I can live here I like this.” And some of us get all enmeshed in the machinery of church. But Esther’s truth, the lessons the life lessons that I picked up from Esther is that she realized that it’s not about the palace it’s about the King. And if we can realize that church is not about us and it’s not even about the stain glass and it’s not about the steeples; it’s about the King. She realized that the palace would be just a big empty house without the King. And somehow she fell in love with the King; the King fell in love with her and it set her up to fulfill her destiny. Your destiny; the destiny of every listener who is sort of listening in to sort of yours and mine conversation their destiny is tied to their relationship to the King.
Sid: Your trigger so many thoughts that come out of your mouth. But one of the problems I have with a lot of Christian television is the emphasis is on prosperity. If they only understood the true prosperity is knowing God; not the laws of sowing and reaping.
Tommy: Now that is law but think about this…
Sid: But there’s a greater law.
Tommy: Wait wait if you sow favor you reap favor. And here’s the way; my wife if she wants favor with me she can cook my favorite meal. My daughters they want favor with me a few hugs; a few kisses. There are certain things that the King likes and certain things that He doesn’t like. If you learn what the King favors you become a favorite and the simple truth of the matter is Esther never had to worry again about where her next meal was coming from. She never had to worry; all she had to do was worry about “Does the King like me; and everything flowed from that.” If you find favor with Him favor will hunt you down. There is people listening they feel like God has lost their address. If they would focus their attention on the King. If they seek His face; they’ll get His hand. It’s not about sowing and reaping in terms of finances. It’s about… you focus your heart; your attention on God you don’t have to worry. Esther never had to worry again; favor found her and it’ll find them.
Sid: You know one of the big things you talk about in your book which I saw many years ago is the preparation process with the night especially the soaking.
Tommy: Well, you know what that is? The Bible says she soaked 6 months in the oil of Myrrh, then with 6 months with other spices. My understanding was that the King must have really liked Myrrh but so does the Heavenly King. Myrrh is the primary ingredient in the anointing oil; it’s the primary ingredient in the incense burned before the Holy of Holies in the temple at the tabernacle. So our King likes Myrrh also. So some people say “I don’t like Myrrh and it’s indicative of worship and some people say “It’s just not my personality.”
Sid: Or they’ll miss the worship portion of the meeting to come hear the speaker.
Tommy: Yeah. (Laughing)
Sid: (Laughing)
Tommy: That’s another whole day we can talk about that, but that’s the truth they think that it’s all about hearing something. The only part of worship, the only part of our service that God gets anything out of is worship. He doesn’t get anything out of my teaching or my preaching. I’m not going to teach Him anything. I can’t see God up there taking notes and nudging Gabriel or Michael “Hand me a pen did you hear what Tommy Tenney just said I didn’t know that.” I’m not going to teach God anything. The purpose of my preaching and teaching is to raise up worshipers. Worship is what God eats when He’s hungry. It’s how you find favor; in fact in my book “Finding Favor with the King” I teach that worship is the protocol that allows you to walk through the corridors of the palace. And Sid I cannot for the life of me understand why people would want to go to Heaven and do for an eternity what they can’t enjoy for an hour on earth. All we’re going to do is worship when we get to Heaven.
Sid: And you realize the latest trend is are creature comfort churches that have a max of three songs because we must get you out in one hour. It’s like the McDonald’s of worship.
Tommy: And McDonald’s may have its place but it’s not my favorite place. I prefer I’m a Cajon I live in the South Louisiana a leisurely spicy meal. And so I tend to like spicy services.
Sid: Tommy our time is slipping away “Finding Favor With the King.” Tell me someone that read it and practiced it.
Tommy: I had a gentleman that was on a cruise ship and somehow this book or the fiction equivalent of it wound up in the library of the cruise ship and he picked it up and contacted me later. Met me with in Florida had an encounter with the King at sea on a cruise ship because he check it out of a cruise ship library. I can’t image what will happen when people pick the book up from you and learn the protocols. One node from the God can change their destiny; it turned Esther the peasant into Esther the Queen.
Sid: Guess what this week is? Purim. Guess what we read in the Synagogue during Purim the book of Esther.
