Trimm - Til Heaven Invades Earth

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TIL HEAVEN INVADES EARTH by Cindy Trimm

Published by Charisma House

Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group

600 Rinehart Road

Lake Mary, Florida 32746

www.charismahouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NAS are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary English, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Copyright 2013 by Cindy Trimm

All rights reserved

Cover design by Justin Evans

Manuscript Preparation: Rick Killian, www.killiancreative.com

Visit the authors website at www.trimminternational.org

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62136-558-7

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62999-603-5

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication.

CONTENTS

The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

EZEKIEL 22:2930

Then the King will say...Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take whats coming to you in this kingdom. Its been ready for you since the worlds foundation. And heres why:

I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.

Then those sheep are going to say, Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you? Then the King will say, Im telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was meyou did it to me.

MATTHEW 25:3440,

THE MESSAGE

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

HEBREWS 4:16

AS SHE STOOD at the threshold of the inner court that day, she knew she was one step away from death.

To enter the presence of the king without being summoned was viewed as the equivalent of an assassination attempt. To do so was to be executed on sight, save that the king had favor on you and extended his scepter, signifying his sovereign permission for you to come before him and make a petition.

Esther knew full well the danger of what she was doing that daybut even more, she knew if she didnt, her people were marked for genocide. Someone had to stand up. Someone had to speak out. Someone had to go to the king and ask for justiceeven if they didnt survive the attempt.

But Esther was no fool either. She would not come into the throne room rashly, making demands or shouting protests. She was not going to intimidate the king into seeing things her way. What she needed to do was present her case with wisdom and decorum.

So, first, she prepared herself for the audience, fasting for three days and nights before she would step before the king. She was not alone in preparing for this critical audience. Many others, including her cousin, her closest relative, joined her in praying and fasting from wherever they were.

As the time approached, she considered carefully what she would wear and how she would adorn herselfclothing herself in the finest robes and applying the cosmetics and perfume she knew His Royal Highness would like best. After all, she was the kings bride. She was intimately familiar with what pleased him most and what disturbed him the most deeply. She knew how he administered justice, the inequities and discriminations that touched his heart, and the things that pleased him most. She knew, in the end, it wasnt about what she wanted. It was about what he wanted, what he would allow, and what he couldnt stand to see happen. It was about asking him to step in to use his sovereignty to right what was wrong despite whatever other jurisdictions or authorities stood in those places.

She also knew it would demand patience. The king was not one to be rushed or do something according to any other timetable but his own. So, if he extended the scepter to her, she would not make her request there, but she would invite him to dine with her, not once, even, but twice, before she would make her entreaty. She would lavish her attention and love on the king first, before even thinking of asking for anything, letting him know it was not what he could do that she cherished, but who he was to her.

Then, lastly, she wouldnt ask only for deliverance, but she would also ask for the empowering of the people about to face attack. Rescue is wonderful, but strength to fend for and defend oneself was even better. She wouldnt ask for a solution that would indebt them to someone else, but for the power to resolve the challenges they were about to face for themselves. She would ask that they be given the arms they needed to defeat the foes about to oppose them. Their deliverance would be by their own hands through the blessing of the king.

With her strategy in place, dressed as the royal bride, Esther stepped from the comfort of her own quarters into the presence of the king. One way or the other, she knew it would cost her everythingit was justice or death. But as her cousin had queried, Who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14, NAS).

They seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways.... They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God.

ISAIAH 58:2, NAS

I CAN THINK OF few better pictures of intercession than the story of Esther. She stood, in a foreign land, before her king, for the sake of her people. By doing so, she literally placed her life on the line for the benefit of others. As Jesus described such resolve, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends (John 15:13). Though we go before a far more just King than Esther did, I think there is much to learn about the anatomy of intercessory prayer from the picture of Esther standing before the throne of judgment. There is much we can take from her attitude and preparation that will make our prayers for others more effective.