You're listening to Women Infused Radio, where women in the marketplace connect with purpose and spirit, where the conversation covers all things women, business, and fascinating faith. And now, your host, Christy Lynn Olson. Welcome to Women Infused Radio, and this is episode 30. I'm calling it Esther, Botox, and the Myrrh Anointing.
Lessons in Kingdom Business, Purification, Walking in Divine Authority. Today I'm going to share about Purification Protocol and the Myrrh Anointing, as I continue to unveil the success secrets of Queen Esther and more Kingdom Business Protocol from the perspective of the palace. Now you may want to tune in to episode 29, where this is not a series, but it is all going to build on one another. I talk a little bit more about what is Kingdom Business and how do we learn the steps we need to take from the book of Esther in the Bible, especially if we understand it from the perspective of the palace, and there is certain business kingdom protocol that we need to put in place so we can be divinely successful, understand favor, and really learn how to walk in the authority that God has already given us.
Now I've been reviewing what I believe is a new model for Kingdom Business, one that focuses on the massive impact and influence we as women of faith have on shaping our world, I believe, in this generation, as we arise and step into our destiny that God has already formed inside of our spirit. I hope you know what that God-sized Kingdom Calling is for you. If not, if you feel you just need a few more pieces of the puzzle put together, I offer a two-day private intensive coaching experience that does help women to identify and fully step into their Kingdom Calling. Now you can check it out in the link in the show notes, or if you're listening to this episode on the Women Abused app, which I hope you are, there's a click button below the audio file that will take you right to my website for more information.
Now this new model for Kingdom Business is all about Kingdom Transformation, being brave, bold, and fearless. It's about transformational transactions and taking a fresh look at Esther from the Bible as an example just of how prophetic proclamations can change the future. I've been studying the book of Esther and have received these amazing revelations on how I believe her story does relate to how we conduct Kingdom Business and influence the marketplace through prayer, preparation, and pursuing our callings. And through Esther's story, I've identified the practical steps or Kingdom Protocol that we can follow as we step up and get ready for our such a time as this moment.
Esther's first step to prepare for her moment with the King in a 12-month training protocol was to go through the purification process. Esther didn't miss one day of her preparation. She didn't skip out on the lectures, and she finished the entire 12-month course set before her, took advantage of learning all that she could by observing and listening, and then it came time for her to be put on display. Her ability to walk in authority as the bride came at the price of 12 months of preparation and submission.
That's a key word, too. Submission to Kingdom Protocol. She didn't try to circumvent the system. She didn't try to create one and be above everybody else.
In fact, by her adhering to protocol and taking full advantage of all her training time, she actually found more favor with the King. I recently heard Apostle Jane Hammond mention the fact that Esther didn't just find favor with the King. As a transaction, she didn't just keep the ear in favor all for herself. She learned how to spend it wisely in order to transform a nation for such a time as this.
As you walk towards your own such-a-time-as-this moment, you are going to need to go through a purification process first, just like Esther. There's no way around that. Bible commentaries often refer to this beautification process also as a time to scour or polish, a time where you will become more beautiful spiritually and grow in character and wisdom so that you will be ready to spend your favor wisely, and perhaps transform your family, your community, your workplace, a nation, or the world. So we need to understand this principle at its core.
We all have issues, and they tend to rise up in my experience just when we least expect them to, or just when we're getting ready to step into a higher level of our calling. And so for our preparation process, for our such-a-time-as-this-moment, just like Esther, we need to go through a process of purification that will refine us. We need to go through what I call the meronointing. A lot of people have talked and preached about the meronointing, but I just want to go over what I think it means to me and you in this specific situation as we step into the marketplace as kingdom believers, as priests and kings, as I talked about in episode 29, we're both and priests and kings in the marketplace.
And this is so important because, you see, Jesus desires our spiritual beauty to be so pure and irresistible that he can't help but lavish favor on us. We know he already favors us, but he wants to lavish favor on us, and there's a difference. The work we have to do is so important to him because through his power, we can literally transform a situation as he opens the doors for us to be in a position of authority that carries tremendous influence. Esther literally changed the course of a nation by writing a decree that reversed a horrible situation, but not until she understood the protocol of the palace and went through the meronointing.
It was a whole new journey of faith for her, and it will require a whole new level of faith from you and me as well. So no matter what your kingdom calling is, what your legacy is, you need to understand how to successfully navigate your moment of favor, and you need to prepare by first going through a purification process in the meronointing. In Esther 2, verse 12, we're told that each young woman, including Esther, was required to complete a 12-month preparation regimen, six months with the oil of mer, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women, it says. And he knew true beauty when he saw it, and he could spot a wrinkle or a blemish, I think, from afar, not unlike our king Jesus, who can spot a character wrinkle or blemish from afar.
And the woman who would capture the king's heart with her display of beauty would become queen of the most powerful kingdom on earth. The stakes were high, and so are ours if we want to be in a position of influence and impact in the marketplace, and doing kingdom business. So we need to go through the process and apply the oil of mer to our life, our innermost being, our thoughts, our will, our emotions, to the women we are becoming day in and day out. We need to soak in the stuff that keeps coming up to derail us and face it head on.
We need to push through those things that we keep ignoring, hoping they will just go away. We might even need to learn how to stop procrastinating. Terri Savelle Foy has a great teaching on how to create a timeline for your dreams and your life, and it includes learning how to stop procrastinating. She teaches that procrastination is really a dream thief, especially in the small things that we have a habit of putting off.
It steals your time, it robs you of your dreams, and it's just another way to avoid chasing after your goals. The way you would do anything is the way you do everything. And when you procrastinate in the small areas of life, you'll do the same in the bigger areas of life. She goes on to quote Psalm 90 verse 12 in the Living Bible, Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are.
Help us to spend them as we should. So we need to learn how to proceed and succeed on purpose, and understanding kingdom protocol from the perspective of the palace is key. We need to get in the fight and confront the things in our character or life. Now, that's key too.
Our own character, not our neighbors, not our husbands, not our kids, not the person we work next to. But we have to first confront the things in our character or life that may be just lingering there and creating a bitterness that we may need to remove. We need the oil of myr anointing process to remove any wrinkles in our lives that will keep us from moving forward into the abundant life that God promised us in John 10. Now, let me tell you a little bit about myrrh.
The oil of myrrh was a powerful drug back then that could embalm bodies and also take away wrinkles. It was the wonder drug of the times. I don't like to think of it like the Botox of our time. Have you seen all the ads with the uses of Botox?
Supposedly, it can help cure migraine headaches. It helps you with incontinence. It helps you with wrinkles and sagging skin. It is truly the miracle drug of our times.
Now, myrrh was given as a precious gift to baby Jesus and then also given as a drug to Jesus at his crucifixion. The Hebrew word for myrrh is marah, which means bitter. And I like to think of this myrrh anointing time as a time of bittersweet because I think the substance was actually bittersweet. And when we can soak in our stuff during the purification process, it can be a bittersweet time.
It can be a time where things are pointed out to us that we may not think are so pretty. A time where we have to ask the Lord to reveal anything to us that might be standing in our way and then be willing to confront that, take action, and move forward into a new realm of healing, purification, and restoration for our souls. But the sweet balm of time and preparation with Jesus will be worth it, I promise you. Soaking in him and letting the truth and the beauty of his word wash the remaining bitterness out of our spirit is just what we need so that we can truly receive the full blessing of favor that we will need to walk out our kingdom calling in the marketplace today.
And just like Esther, we have no choice but to accept the process if we want a chance for the crown, which in turn will give us an opportunity of a lifetime to change the course of history in whatever realm the Lord has marked out for us. And this six-month myrrh anointing period will also teach us endurance. Trust me, you and I will need endurance to run this race to the finish line, the race that you and I have chosen to win, the one where we want to be all in and pursue our callings full on, totally sold out for the king, the one where we will get the crown. The Bible talks a lot about contending for the crown, and there are four crowns that are specifically mentioned, the incorruptible crown, the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, and the crown of glory.
And when we see Jesus on that day, I believe that we will all join in with the 24 elders and cast those crowns at his feet. You know, there's that song, I Can Only Imagine. I sometimes just listen through those lyrics thinking, I can only imagine what it will be like when we have these crowns and we're going to lay them on his feet. You see, each crown will be a reward for some point in our life when we endured hardship and suffering, yet remain faithful to the process of becoming everything God wanted us to be, to stand firm and hold on to the truth of God's word.
Revelation 3 verse 10 tells us, we will then have to hold on to what you have so that no one will take away your crown. So we go through the purification training process and we hold on to the truths of God's character that he desires to be reflected through us as his image bearers. So for Esther to complete the process of becoming a beautiful bride without spot or wrinkle, the six months of the oil of myrrh was so necessary. When you're in training for your such a time as this moment, you also have to complete the process because who you are in private, we've said this a number of times on this show, who you are in private is who you are in public.
And you will need to have worked a few things out and we all have a few things to work out. So I'm not just talking about everyone but me. I've had to work my own stuff out and I still am working on my own stuff. But you are going to need to have a teachable spirit, a willing heart, a life of prayer, and a commitment to be the priest of your own home before you can be priest and king in the marketplace.
Again, who you are in private is who you will become in the public marketplace. And this is where I see a lot of men and women make such a huge mistake as they want to step into that next thing. They don't go through the process. They don't go through the complete process.
Their house isn't in order. They cover up. They try to hide the ugly and it always comes out sideways in the end and takes out everything in its path, usually hurting the ones that they love the most. And you can trace that path of destruction all the way back to a lack of character because they weren't willing to go through the process that was required of them at the time.
All it is is really a maturing process that allows your true life beauty to be revealed to the kingdom. And every woman is at a different stage and season of life at any given time. So please don't feel like you need to compare yourself to anyone else. Your such a time as this moment will come when God sees the pure beauty of your spirit because you spent time with him in the bitter time as well as the sweet time.
And God's grace will always be there for you. Don't ever give up. You don't have to be perfect. I'm not talking about perfection because that's a whole nother animal.
As a matter of fact, that's one thing you might have to soak in for a while. But you do have to be perfectly willing. Let me say that again. You don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be perfectly willing to purify your heart and align yourself with his will for you.
You're not going to miss out on anything as long as you understand the kingdom protocol from the perspective of the palace. That's why Esther really does give us our marching orders, our playbook, so to speak, on how to navigate the marketplace for kingdom glory, not for short-term gain or instant success that may not last. Those bitter moments, they will become the foundation of your beauty. They will be the thing that will give you your wings to soar.
What the enemy tried to take you out on, I guarantee you will be the same glorious thing that God will bring you back in on. So think about the struggles that you might be facing right now as perhaps a clue to your destiny and the favor you're going to have with the king. And the invisible hand of God will continue to apply the myrrh anointing to you. But that's a good thing because once you're flowing in the myrrh anointing, the next step will become so much sweeter each time than you could ever imagine.
The myrrh anointing is probably not something you and I would readily embrace because it can be bitter and painful in the beginning, especially if you've got a lot of stuff to soak out. The hurt, the betrayal, the abandonment, whatever that is for you has to be rooted out once and for all. Church hurt, family hurt, work hurt, relationship hurt, rejection, betrayal, spiritual or physical abuse. Okay, that's my list, but your list might be similar.
It might be very different, but we have to take the time to soak it all out. The season of our fruitfulness won't come without complete infusion of the oil of myrrh before we can add the sweet scent to complete the sacred anointing oil. Now there are descriptions of the sacred anointing oil that was used in the temple in Exodus chapter 30. I think it's around verse 22.
It talks about the components are myrrh, cinnamon, fragrant calamus and cassia. So I'm gonna circle back to that later, but just to let you know, myrrh is just a part of the holy anointing oil, but it's a necessary part. So if your desire is to walk in complete anointing, you have to start with the oil of myrrh, those things that you would rather avoid. I personally look at this time as a season that God is just cutting through the outer layers of my heart and cleaning out any residue of my character that might be keeping me from his full favor.
And then he gently stitches me back together with the Holy Spirit so that there will be no room for infection. And he has been faithful to do that surgery. He has been faithful to reveal heart and mindset issues that I need to correct and heal first. And believe me, I've cried a lot of tears over the years as he has revealed things to me, one thing at a time, never more than I can handle.
But I'm learning to submit to the final authority of what his word says about me, not someone else's word. And believe me, that has been a journey on my path and submit to the process of maturity in Jesus Christ. And it won't be over in a day, I can promise you that. But like I said before, this is the foundation that God's going to use to build your purpose on, your kingdom calling.
And it has to be smooth and wrinkle-free. It can't have lumps and bumps. It can't be lopsided. It can't be partially hidden.
It has to be free and clear and have just a smooth, wrinkle-free surface. So here's the end game in all of the purification process, I think. The Lord himself is preparing us for that glorious moment when we will see him face-to-face. We know we will in all of his wonder and majesty and we want to be prepared.
2 Corinthians 3, verse 18 says it so beautifully. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. And as we move from glory to glory, ladies, we also move from the bitterness of the myrrh anointing to the sweet smell of the holy anointing oil. The myrrh now acts as a preservative to keep the additional fragrances from the next six months of perfumes from rotting.
2 Corinthians 2, verses 14 and 15 explains this the best. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. So now we add the rest of that formula.
So we're done with our six months. It's been a long road, but we've really have purified. We've soaked in his word. We've understood what he wants of us.
Now we get to add the sweet scents of cinnamon, the cassia, sweet cane, to soak in that for a season. We have to complete the second season so that the foundation of purity we built on can mingle with the sweet perfume of Jesus and it can be fully blended together for the strength that we will need to walk out our destiny in the marketplace palace. Without the element of the oil of myrrh in our anointing, it will smell sweet for a while, but then it will begin to put off an offensive odor because we skipped a step in the process. We bought the cheap stuff and I don't know about you, but I want to save up for the good stuff.
My favorite perfume in the world right now is Joe Malone. There are tons of fragrances, but Joe Malone uses such pure ingredients that it lingers, it stays on, it just somehow melts into my skin and I just love that sweet fragrance that it diffuses throughout the day and I don't know what your favorite fragrance is, but it sure is a lot nicer than anything I could pick up just at an inexpensive Walgreens or something off the shelf that has a lot of alcohol in it and won't stay very long and that can even start smelling sour. So I want the good stuff because I want to make sure that I'm diffusing the sweet-smelling scent of Christ in my life and everything that I say and do. Did you know that Esther's Hebrew name is Hadassah, which means fragrance of the myrtle tree?
Is that not... God? How sweet is her Jewish name? The one who will find favor before the king because she carries the sweet anointing of the 12-month training program and purification process?
She didn't skip a step. In the biblical mixture of anointing oil, half of the mixture was myrrh. If we leave that preparation time out, our anointing will be counterfeit and we will never have complete authority to break the issues of bondage in our lives. Isaiah 10 verse 27 tells us that the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
No one ever says, hey, just give me half the anointing. Or no, that's okay, take that back, I just want half the blessing. We want the full meal deal for sure. I want the complete blessing.
I don't want the counterfeit or the half blessing. You and I, while on this earth, are still human. So from time to time, we'll probably need a little touch-up or injection of myrrh. God will see a new wrinkle or blemish that could trip us up.
So the unseen hand of the Holy Spirit comes in again and anoints us with a little bit of myrrh here, a little bit of myrrh there, and shows us another area that we now need to bury with Christ. It's that whole concept of dying to self, dying to old attitudes and issues that we love to wrestle with at times because it's what we know. And ladies, sometimes we find comfort in what we know, but I guarantee you, you will find freedom when you reach out beyond yourself into the limits, beyond the limits you set for yourself into what God has for you. And oddly enough, I think we find comfort in what we know even if we know that it's not God's best for us.
So we have to purify our walk in order to create a new reality. It just doesn't happen by accident or because we go to church every Sunday or because we join a small group. Those things can help us in our walk and I think they're great, but it takes soaking time to clear our way to walk in full authority. When we spend time training with God in this 12-month purification process, we usually have to open the door of our heart and remember that the cross of Jesus Christ is not just a one-time event in our lives.
It's a daily sacrifice. We have to encounter Jesus and the power of his cross every single day. That's why Paul says that we have to die daily. Or in Luke chapter 9 verse 23, Jesus says, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Don't get comfortable with your wrinkles. If that's not a confirmation for both eyes, I don't know what is. Just kidding. But seriously, wouldn't that be awesome?
Biblical permission for both eyes from the Lord himself. So don't get comfortable with your wrinkles. Do what you need to do. Esther not only went through the complete training program, but she got a mentor and asked questions as she was soaking.
She wanted to not just look beautiful for the king, but she wanted to make a difference before the king. She wanted to use her influence and make an impact on the king that he would remember. So she took her time to soak off the old Esther and sweetly prepare herself for the refined Esther who would capture the heart of the king. She knew that character counted just as much, if not more, than physical beauty.
She wanted to be the best she could be in every area of her life in hopes of finding favor, not even understanding the task that she would be asked to do that would save the nation. I think it's the same with you and me. I really do. I think we don't even comprehend the favor and the tasks that God has in store for us.
And if we were just willing to go through the process of purification and follow kingdom protocol, I just think our minds would be blown. And I want that for you. Esther was willing to go through the process of purification the way God designed and organized it for her. And God has a specific process of purification designed just for you.
A time that might include renewal of your faith or commitment to follow Christ in all areas of your life, not just your Sunday morning experience. It might include healing, physical or old emotional spiritual wounds. It might include cleansing of old thought patterns. It might just be a time that he will use for you to unveil your voice in order to change a nation.
And once we finish this process of purification, we can walk into our palace marketplace wherever that may be and walk in full authority as women of influence and impact. It might be a time he will use for you to unveil your voice in order to change a nation. I want you to know how important it is for me to make sure that we bring scripture into everything that we talk about on the show. And I want you to go to scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to interpret it for you.
But 1 Peter 5 verse 10 does a great job of reflecting this 12-1 process that Esther went through and really brings it back to how it will affect each of us. But the God of all grace, who has called us into his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that you have suffered a while, makes you perfect, established, strengthens, and settles you. Now I'm a word geek for looking at the Greek and Hebrew words. I love doing that because they have so much more flavor and depth in their original language and intent.
So let's make you perfect from that verse. It means a perfect fit, deficient in no part, set you up, equip you, and prepare you personally. In the word settle in the Vines Word Dictionary means to lay the foundation, to ground, to establish, and to confirm. After we suffer a while, go through the bitterness and the sweetness of the purification process in our 12-month training program with the Lord.
His Word tells us God will establish us. He will confirm our calling and lay the foundation for us to build on for the kingdom. That's kingdom business from the perspective of the palace. And Esther teaches us through her story and God's Word confirms it.
I love the Living Bible Translation. That same verse in 1 Peter says, He personally will come and pick you up, set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever. Who doesn't long for that? And the truth of God's Word cannot return void.
And since God is not a respecter of persons, this Word is true for all of us who have gone through the process. It's like the last piece of the puzzle that gets put together for you to see the complete picture of His plan for you. Isn't that amazing? I want to leave you with this.
Don't give up on the process that God has you in or is leading you to. Don't skip it. Soak in it. Bathe in it.
Let it wash over you to renew and refresh you so that God can pick you up, set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever. You and I have kingdom business work to do. And from the perspective of the palace, this is the first step in the protocol we have to follow. Just as Esther did in her marketplace, the palace.
First the bitter, then the sweet. And maybe a little baltox, I mean myrrh, on the side, now and again. All of the authority that Esther received was a direct result of her willingness to be anointed with myrrh, to soak in the process of purification that would release her to favor beyond her comprehension. It's time we start walking together in divine authority.
We will for sure have seasons of the myrrh anointing, the bitter and the sweet, but I long to walk as a woman infused with the sweet fragrance of Christ and the scent of divine authority in the marketplace to fulfill my calling here on this earth in preparation for eternity. So bathe us, Jesus, in the myrrh anointing. We desire to be beautiful and carry with us your sweet smelling fragrance. One more thing before I go, if you've enjoyed this podcast, I want to invite you to download the Women Infused app.
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