We're still in the book of Esther, so if you have a Bible, you can meet me in Esther chapter 6. That's where we're going to be this morning. It'll also be up on the screen. You can follow there as well. I'm not one to title my sermons. And I haven't titled this one either. But I did have a question as I was reading through it the whole, you know, over and over and over again. And it led me to this question. Have you...
Have you ever experienced a night so restless that it altered your destiny? Have you ever experienced a night where you're so restless that it altered your destiny? You see, in Esther 6, we encounter one of the most remarkable displays of divine timing in Scripture. The king of Persia is tormented by insomnia. He can't sleep. He finds himself wide awake, and it's a seemingly minor detail in this narrative, but it is one that God leverages.
to orchestrate a monumental reversal in this story. And that's what we're going to see this morning in Esther chapter 6. And so here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to read it. It's only 14 verses. So I'll read it to us, and then I'll pray, and then what we'll do is we'll just go, as we always do, line by line, and just unpack God's rich word. And so here are these words of our Father.
sleep escaped the king. So he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read to the king. They found the written report of how Mordecai had informed on and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus. The king inquired, what honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this act? The king's personal...
Now, Haman was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him. The king's attendants answered him, Haman is there, standing in the court. Have him enter, the king ordered. Haman entered and the king asked, what should be done for the man the king wants to honor?
Haman thought to himself, who is it the king would want to honor more than me? Haman told the king, for the man the king wants to honor, watch this have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse the king himself has ridden which has a royal crown on its head Put the garment and the horse under the charge of the one, the king's most noble officials.
Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and call out before him, this is what is done for the man the king wants to honor. The king told Haman, hurry and do just as you proposed. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai, the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.
So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, calling out before him, this is what is done for the man the king wants to honor. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered. Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisors and his wife Zeresh said to him, since Mordecai is Jewish and you have begun to fall before him.
You won't overcome him because your downfall is certain. While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word. There's so much happening in here. And so God, I pray that you would slow it down in such a way that we might be able to unpack all that is good in here, all that points to you, all that shows us who we truly are, the good and the bad, and that all of it ultimately would make us realize that we are in desperate need of a Savior.
And so God, I pray that our minds would be open, ears open, hearts open. Holy Spirit, would you do a work with each and every single person in here? Meet us where we are. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now, I wish I had time to kind of literally go back to chapter 1 and unpack where we've been. I don't have time to do that. But I will say this, that when we last examined our text last week Sunday, we saw the king and Haman had attended a feast that Esther prepared. We believed...
She was going to intercede for her people, but instead she invited the king and Haman to another feast to be held the following day. You see, Haman then leaves Esther's... and then had another confrontation with Mordecai. After receiving advice from his family and friends, Haman decided to have gallows constructed in order to hang Mordecai before... attending the second feast with Esther and the king. What we know is that Esther was unaware of Haman's plan. And so she could not...
throw on her royal robes and rush to the king to plead for her cousin's safety. She didn't know. Also, Mordecai was unaware of Haman's plans. So therefore he was unable to go home and pack his bags and try to catch the next caravan out of town. Neither of them understood the grave danger Mordecai faced. See, this is very unlike when Mordecai was aware of the assassination plot to kill the king. You see, in that...
No one in Haman's circle would break ranks. No one was going to send a message to Mordecai or the king. No, they stood united in their cause while Esther and Mordecai remained oblivious, sleeping somewhat peacefully. They were sleeping peacefully. They had no idea what was awaiting them. That's where the story begins. It's with that tension that we begin chapter 6. And so it reads, that night...
Sleep escaped the king. So he ordered the book recording the daily events to be brought and read to the king. Chapter 6 begins with six simple yet profound words. That night's sleep escaped the king. See, this wasn't just any night. It was... the night after Esther's first banquet, the very night before Haman planned to hang Mordecai. So we must ask the question, I believe it's fair to ask the question, what caused the king's insomnia? And again,
Like we've seen over and over again in the book of Esther, we're not given that information. The text doesn't tell us. And so we're left wondering. We're left pondering. We're left coming up with our own reasons. Was it maybe because he had too much to drink? Was it maybe he had too much to eat and was just uncomfortable? Was it maybe he was thinking about his next kind of, hey, we want to invade this place. We want to go here. We're not told what it is. But here's what we know.
is that this sleeplessness set in motion a chain of events that would save God's people. We've said it over and over again. This is how God is working in the book of Esther. It's in those places that we don't quite see, but his hand is at work. See, unable to sleep, the king... Order that the book of Chronicles, the royal records, be read to him. I don't know why he decided to do that. Maybe he's like, these things are so boring that they'll surely put me to sleep. I don't know.
But of all the possible sections that could have been chosen, the reader focused on the account of how Mordecai had uncovered an assassination plot against the king years earlier. And when the realization of being saved from assassination comes to Ahasuerus' mind, he was no longer drowsy, but now alert. It was as if a light bulb had illuminated in his mind about what a significant moment this was. I mean, one reason he was awake...
was the fact that Mordecai helped him to survive. He's going, I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for this man. And so upon deeper investigation, the king realizes that, hold on. Nothing has been done for this man. No recognition has been given for what Mordecai has done. Look with me in verse 2 and 3. It says,
on Bechtan and Teresh, the two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus. The king inquired what honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this act. I mean, it's God's hand working there to...
that it was that specific section that was read to the king. But Jewish tradition says this. Jewish tradition says that it actually wasn't, there's two stories here, it wasn't written in the daily records. They hadn't written it in there. when they got to that point, Jewish tradition says that the text just read itself. That it was that significant that, as can you imagine, as they are reading, all of a sudden they go, what's that noise?
Where does that sound come from? It's the text just reading itself. Now, I don't know if that's happened. I don't know. I don't know. These are some of the stories that they probably told around the fire every time they told the book of Esther. I mean, the story itself, it's so spicy. There's no need to add extra spice. you must, why not that? Another story goes like this. They say, no, it wasn't written in there. Because think about it for a moment. It's like, if you write it in...
If I'm the one taking record of this, and I go, wait, someone's trying to assassinate you. I would want to go tell the king. Because if they find out that I wrote it in there and didn't tell the king, well, that's bad. bad things are going to happen to me. So someone's saying, no, no, no, it wasn't written there. What happened was that Gabriel, the archangel Gabriel, came down from heaven and then wrote it in. It's a pretty cool story.
I don't know if it happened, but hey, why not add spice to a ready spicy story? The king's personal attendants replied, nothing has been done for him. Friends, let me ask you this. What is the longest period you've ever gone between accomplishing something significant and receiving public recognition for it? I mean, I sometimes feel that we can identify a little bit here with Mordecai. When last? When last did you do something and then no one says anything? They just kind of carry on.
Maybe they enjoy the fruits of it. The benefit of what it is that you did. And no one ever says anything. That was the case for Mordecai. But things were about to change. Things were about to change for Mordecai and the people of God. Some of us need to know that God oversees not only our eternal rewards, but also the blessings we receive here on earth, that God is in control of all of it. I think some of us, what we tend to do is we go, you know, it's just for heaven. No, no, no, no.
God is in the business of that, but he's also in the business of the right here and right now. The king could have called for music. The king could have called for more wine. He could have called for entertainment to help him sleep. Instead, he chose to hear the royal records. It just so happens that it was that specific portion about Mordecai's good deeds that was read.
And while we might think coincidence, I mean, we've been in Esther long enough to go, no, no, no, no, no. It's more than just coincidence. It's providence. God's hand of providence is evident here. And so let's keep going. As morning light brightened the sky, Haman arrived at the palace full of pride. He's drunk on his own pride. After attending Esther's exclusive banquet, he comes now to seek permission to have Mordecai hanged. I mean, his timing could not have been worse.
Or perhaps God's timing could not have been more perfect. See, before Haman could even get an audience with the king, The king asked, verse 4, who is in the court? Now Haman had just, was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared. For him. Now, this is for my Bible nerds, okay? Of which I am one of them. I love to read the text and I love to read a little bit deeper. And so this word hanged or hung.
It wouldn't leave me alone, so I dug a little bit deeper. And this word in the Hebrew is palah, right, palah. This is not the first time that this word appears in the scriptures. In fact, the first time that this word is seen in God's word is in Genesis 40. And to be specific, Genesis 40 verse 19. What's happening in Genesis 14? Well, this is the story of Joseph.
If you're unfamiliar with Joseph, he's the guy with the multicolored coat. God gives him a dream that one day sun, moon, stars are going to bow down to you. He makes the mistake of telling his brothers and going, hey guys, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to be a really big deal one day. I just want to let you know, if God gives you a dream, just be careful who you share it with. Just take your time with it.
Spend some time with God. Unpack it a little bit more. Anyway, he does that. Obviously, they're not having it. They're like, who on earth do you think you are? They decide to kill him, and then one of the brothers goes, maybe let's not do that. Look, I'm summarizing this real quick. They eventually sell him into slavery, and then he ends up in Potiphar's house where he does some really...
good work there. And then Potiphar's wife accuses him of rape. He didn't do it. And so then he ends up in prison. And so that's where he is. And he spends many years there and then is joined by Pharaoh's cup bearer, all right, and baker. Right? They're there because some
Shady things had happened, and so now they're sitting with Joseph there. This is before he is with Pharaoh, before he gets an opportunity to stand before Pharaoh and interpret Pharaoh's dream. He's now with these two individuals interpreting their dreams.
And so with the cupbearer, he has a dream, and then he shares it to Joseph. Joseph goes, look, I don't interpret dreams, but God does, but let me go ahead and tell you what it means. And he says, you know what? Three days from now, you will be restored. You'll be back with Pharaoh.
Back in your position. It's going to be great. And so the baker goes, that's really cool. I can't believe Joseph did that. Okay, well, I also had a dream. And he says, well, man, listen, with you, three days, you are going to be hung. That's where that word first appears. Now again, if we put on our gospel lenses and we go into the future, we know that Jesus was hung, but then three days later, right? And as I was reading the story, it was again, and I love to say this to you guys.
I use David as an example. And if you haven't heard me say it, then just hold on to your seatbelt here. I often say this about David. We read the accounts of David, but what's important for you to know is that you are not David. Okay? You've probably heard a sermon where it's like, you know, you're David and your boss is Goliath. No, no. Like, don't do that. You are not David.
Now, are there things that we can learn and go and apply 100%? But David is David. And if we're going to play that game, Jesus is, in fact, no, Jesus is the greater David. And so in the same way, you are not Joseph. Oh, but I feel like one day I'm going to be the second most important person. Maybe I'm praying that for you, but hey, hold on. Take some applications, but you are not Joseph. Joseph.
is a little bit more like Jesus. Or should I say, Jesus is the greater Joseph. Why? Because Joseph enters into the pit prison with us. And that story of these two dreams is like, well, here's what happens. If you trust in Christ, then you are either restored or you end up in eternal death. But it's because Jesus goes, no, they will hang me. But three days later, I will rise.
So here's this word, to hang. He wanted to hang Mordecai. And I was like, ooh, this is interesting. Is that going to happen? Or is it a picture of something else? Verse 5, the king's attendants answered him, Haman is there standing in the court. Have him enter, the king ordered. Haman entered and the king asked him, what should be done for the man the king wants to honor?
Haman thought to himself, who is it that the king would want to honor more than me? I mean, that's where he first goes. He doesn't ask for more questions. Can I get a little bit more detail? No, he's just going, no, obvious. It's me. See, it's in his arrogance, Haman assumed the king must be referring to him. Haman's response reveals the depth of his pride. And so he proposed a public ceremony for this honored individual who he thinks it's him.
So he says this, Haman told the king, for the man the king wants to honor, have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse the king himself has ridden. which has a royal crown on its head. This must be quite a sight, right? I didn't know that we were into putting crowns on horses, but that's cool. Put the garment and the horse under the charge of the one, the king's most notable officials.
Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor. Parade him on the horse through the city square and call out before him, this is what is done for the man the king wants to honor. Haman had clearly thought through this. I mean, he had probably imagined the scenario over and over and over again. Multiple times he had thought, you know what? You know what would be amazing?
I mean, he came in wanting to address the king about something. And then when asked something completely different, he was ready. He was ready. And he wasn't just seeking honor. No, it was more than just seeking honor. He wanted royal honor. So it was more than just a, hey, thanks for your good work. Appreciate you. No, no, no, he wanted more. He wanted to be treated like the king, even for a day. His request exposed the true desire of his heart.
To elevate himself above others and perhaps just maybe to be elevated above the king. To be seen as the king. This is giving, and Stephen preached this beautifully last week, this is giving Lucifer vibes. It is, right? It's giving Lucifer vibes. Like Lucifer was as amazing as he was. He wasn't content with that. He wanted more than just reflecting the glory of God. No, no, no. He wanted to be God.
He wanted it to end with him. He wanted it to be all about him. Jason Myers says this regarding Haman. And I don't want you to miss it. I don't want you to miss it because sometimes we go, yeah, that's Haman, that's Haman. Too often this is us. Here's what he says. He says, as finite creatures, we cannot fully grasp God's infinite... revulsion against pride's rebellion. God hates pride. What makes pride so singularly repulsive to God is the way that pride contends for supremacy.
with God himself. Pride sets itself in opposition to God. The only fitting response is for God to oppose the proud. That is probably why pride is not simply another sin among many, but a sin in a category of its own. Other sins lead the sinner further away from God, but pride is particularly heinous in that it attempts to elevate. the sinner above God. Friends, we've gotta take this seriously. We've gotta take it seriously. And so...
Haman thinking that the king is talking about him. He now is about to get a rude awakening. He's about to get a cold bucket of water to the face. Because hear the king's next words. They hit Haman like an unexpected sucker punch and he is the sucker. Verse 10, the king told Haman, hurry and do just as you proposed. He's going, yes, I definitely will. Take a garment and a horse for... For... It's totally fine. You're allowed to say it out loud. No problem. For... The... Thank you for the praise.
Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate, do not leave out anything you have suggested. Now, there's a lot happening here. One, he recognizes that it's Mordecai the Jew. Right? Because Mordecai was in Cyclones and Ashes. He was just going, you know what, enough's enough. We saw that transformation happen with Mordecai where he went from being kind of a silent ninja with...
God and God's revelation to be like, no, no, no, no. And I'm not hiding anymore. And the king was like, well, it's Mordecai. Just in case you're wondering, Haman, because there's probably a lot of people with the name Mordecai. Okay? And you're going, Mordecai, my cousin, no problem. No, no, no. Mordecai, the Jew. And you might go, you know what? I know quite a few Mordecai, the Jews. King goes, no, no, no, hold on. Who is sitting at the king's gate? There's only one.
There are times in your life where God's just going to be that specific with you. He just is. And my hope is that our ears are open so that we might hear. There are things where you go, you know what, here, I don't need to pray about it. He is that specific. It's affirmed by his word. It's affirmed by those who are around you. He's going to be that specific with you.
Do not leave out anything you have suggested. It's like great ideas, Haman, go do that. I mean, can you imagine Haman's shock? The very man he had come to have executed was about to receive... the honor Haman had designed for himself. And not only that, but Haman himself would have to be the one to lead Mordecai through the streets, proclaiming his honor.
It doesn't get any worse than that. I mean, it's one thing to be like, okay, let me order some people to go do it. I'm going to go home and just leave this off. No, no, no, you're the one parading the streets. I mean, how do you think both men felt when Haman came to the king's gate looking for Mordecai, accompanied by horses and one of the king's robes? Can you picture that for a moment? Verse 11 says this, so Haman took the garment and the horse
He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, this is what is done for the man the king wants to honor. I don't know if it was like crackling in his voice or if he was whispering it. Maybe he started off that way. this is the man. And the people are just like, ah, no, you need to say it louder. The king wants to hear it. I mean, can you imagine the scene at the king's gate?
Just for a moment, just put yourself there. Be a fly on the wall. I think jaws are dropped here. Mouths are opened. All in utter disbelief. These were the same people who had witnessed Mordecai sitting in sackcloth just days before. The same officials who had grown accustomed to bowing before Haman while Mordecai refused. Now, they stood speechless, watching this turnaround of events happen in front of their eyes. The man they expected to see swinging from the gallows was instead...
Being paraded through the streets in royal splendor. The person who had once been crying in sorrow is now joyfully celebrated with grand cries. And most shocking of all, proud. the second most powerful man in the empire, was leading the procession. His own voice strained as he called out, this is...
What is done for the man the king wants to honor? Don't mess with pride. Just don't. See, what we're seeing here is a... is the demonstration of a truth that is found throughout Scripture, but I believe is anchored in Proverbs 16, verse 18, that says this, pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
Let me read that to you again. Pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall. You see, it is at the height of Haman's arrogance he faced his inevitable downfall. The inevitability Haman experienced mirrors what happens in our lives. Pride doesn't just precede the fall. Listen here carefully. Pride doesn't just precede the fall. It actively creates the conditions that make it inevitable. See, we construct the pit in which we will eventually stumble.
And we do so by closing our ears to wisdom, blinding our eyes to warning signs, and hardening our hearts. to truth and grace. And here's how sneaky pride is. It'll tell you that you're not doing any of those things. In fact, it'll one-up you. It'll go, you know what? You're not doing those things. Those people are.
There are so many ways that we feed pride. There's so many ways that we feed pride. And here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to list a few of them. Now, look, some of them you might go, I have no idea what he's talking about. No problem. Praise Jesus for you. That's not your thing. But if you're honest enough, there's some things that you'll sit there and you'll go, you know what? Something's there. Some of them are the ones that I just read. I go, here's where my heart goes.
I'm just being honest with you. Here's where my heart goes. And then what I end up doing is I feed it. I feed pride. Like it starts off as a weed, right? Like it's a small little weed. It's an issue. You know what? Let's... By the grace of God and the power of the gospel, pluck this thing out and let's keep going. No, no, no. But what I do is I just keep watering it and watering it. I ignore it. Ever ignored weeds in your garden? Yeah, you'll wake up one day and they'll be in your face.
after choking out everything else that's good in the garden. So here's just a few things, right? Here's a few things. And as I walk through them, just ask yourself, am I on that cliff? Am I? Am I on that cliff? Here's one. Maybe ask yourself this question. Which areas of your life do you think have got all of this figured out? Hmm? Are there areas in your life where you can know it? This I've mastered.
Pray life, easy, no problem. In fact, when we hear a sermon on prayer, just turn down the volume. I don't need to listen to this because I've got it. Evangelism, easy peasy. Here's another question. In what areas... are you most resistant to constructive criticism or feedback? And then once you figure out what that area is, then the question you should ask is why is that? Why do I push back on that? Now look.
There is constructive criticism, and I'm all for it. And then there's just a critical heart. And there are people who just have a critical heart. There's zero constructive criticism. The whole time it's just critical, critical, critical. critical, and this is what pains me, is that, I mean, you jump on any YouTube channel, like there's tons of these YouTube guys who kind of go, you know,
They may not say it this way, but it's like, you know, one of my gifts that God has given me is to criticize the church. And so everything that happens in the church, it's like, well, I'd like to talk about this particular thing. And then they've got 40 minutes of it. Hear me, friends. We get enough already from the world. We do. It is not helpful to be in the community and to have this critical heart of everything.
Are there things that need work 100%? Why? Because we're not perfect. And so what? Opportunity to honor. He's not here. He's not here. He's here. I'm honoring your husband. So. What I love about Bongani is he showed up the one, and I don't know how the story goes, right? I've probably added quite a bit of spice to it. But anyway, there's a lot of truth in it. He shows up here, and one of the things he noticed, he was like, man.
The psalm on a team, man, could be better. Right? Just, you know? And instead of sitting here and going, you know, the psalm on a team sucks. I mean, anything else is great, but the psalm on a team is horrible. This place sucks. You'll never be welcomed yet. It sucks. He doesn't do it. He goes, you know what? Hey, I'd love to, can I serve? Here's an area in the church that I think I'm gifted maybe at it. Let me step in because it could be better.
And he does that. I don't know how many years he was in Potosabona. Long before he stepped into the eldership role. He was a man who was out there just faithfully welcoming people. That's a man who goes, I see something. How can I be constructive with it? Anyway, I felt that that was necessary. Next time you jump on YouTube and you see someone going, hey, let me tell you about this, just be mindful of that.
In what areas are you most resistant to constructive criticism and feedback? Here's another one. What accomplishments or positions do you find yourself subtly, or maybe not so subtly, mentioning in conversations to establish your importance? What's that thing?
And if you don't know, just ask your close friends. They'll tell you. Hey, but what's the thing that I talk about in terms of what I've done and what I've accomplished? Well, let's talk about it. Here's one. Who in your life have you been taking... for granted because you assume they'll always be there. But I'm telling you, these things, they can take you to places because what happens is that I can have this kind of relationship where it's kind of like it's master-slave.
I own you, man. Like, whatever. You're going to do the things. You will be here. Whose voice have you minimized or dismissed because their perspective challenges your self-image? I say this all the time, you don't need more fans. Leave your social media friends on social media. You need people who love you.
Who are going to tell you the truth? Who are going to come, step up and be like you? I'm noticing some things in your life. I'm noticing that you're not at these things anymore. What's going on? Who are the people? That can be completely honest with you. And if they were, what would they say to you about the things that you are blind to?
Let's talk spiritual life. What areas of spiritual growth have you convinced yourself that you've mastered? Similar to the first one. In what ways do you find yourself comparing your spiritual journey favorably to others? Comparison is the enemy of contentment. And so the whole time, if you're looking over at your neighbor going, what are they doing? What's happening? Over time, you quickly realize that your prayer requests are going this way. What's God doing in your life?
What's God doing with you? In what ways do you find yourself feeling superior in your spiritual journey compared to others? How often do you pray for guidance versus asking for confirmation of decisions you've already made? It's a big one. Can you please pray for me for my decision that I've already made to go to Cape Town? What am I praying for now?
And there's no shade on anyone that's moving to Cape Town. If that's you, praise Jesus or we'll see you at the end of the gathering up here. I'd love to pray for you. But we do this all the time. You're not seeking prayer. And then when you don't get, even if it's a little bit of a, can we talk about it? You go, nope, I cut you out of my life. Let me go find someone who's going to agree with what I've decided. And then we'll sprinkle some verses on it and we'll say God's in it.
And God's going, I have no, like, what are you doing? What small problems or concerns are you currently dismissing? that could become major issues, the unchecked weeds in the garden that will eventually choke out the flowers. Here's where I like to talk about the idea of us going, I can manage my sin. No, you can't.
You cannot, hear me, if you hear nothing, hear this. You cannot manage your sin. You cannot manage your sin. That's Satan lying to you, going, no, you've got this out of control. Don't tell anyone. Don't try to seek help on this. Don't seek accountability. Dude, you're fine. Just carry on. And so what ends up happening is you continue to secretly watch porn. And no one else knows.
you can secretly continue to go to the bottle to medicate. Every night. If every night you have to sit and have a drink, and you're going, no, no, no, but I've got this under control. But every night... Maybe. Look, I'm not saying that having a drink at night is better. No. But it's worth asking yourself the question, am I okay? If you don't feel that you belong unless you have information on the thing, check your heart. Check your heart. What feedback patterns keep recurring in your life?
that you continue to ignore? Where have you been saying we're good about a relationship while ignoring the growing distance, the unresolved tensions? or communication breakdown between you and that other person. And friends, this, I know, it begins with marriage. It's so easy to see in marriage, but it plays itself out in the greater community.
And then here this, the opposite could also be said. Which relationships are you holding on to that are actually likely to push you over the edge? Relationships you know deep down must come to an end before they become the very instrument of your downfall.
Friends, we need to check our hearts when it comes to pride. We need to ask the question, in what areas of our lives have we stopped being a disciple? I mean, what is a disciple? It is a learner, a follower, but we stop being a disciple. Why? Because we feel like we know it all. I've got 10 years experience in ministry, so I'm good. I mean, where are you seeking the approval of others more than the integrity with yourself and with God?
What could it cost you to admit that you might be wrong or need help? I talk to leaders all the time, and part of the struggle where I think Satan has them... is where they go, but if I shared this, I don't know if the people would come back the following week. I don't know if they would trust me. I don't know if they'd want to be a part of whatever it is that we're doing.
What fear might be driving your need to appear successful or in control? And having said all of these things, and I don't know if some of them resonate with you and you're going, what do I do with all of this? Hear this confession. Confession, because confession is courage. Confession is courage, so we confess it. Why? Because we have a God who is quick to forgive and eager to restore.
Well, Satan will tell you, no, he isn't. He, oh, you've done it again? Yeah, God's done with you. That's the lie that he's going to tell you. And then he's going to mock you. He's going to be like, well, you said you're not going to do it again. You said you're not going to look at that image again. You said you're not going to go to that place again. You said you're not going to go. You see? And he'll have you.
believe that you are defined by your own scars instead of being defined by Jesus' cause. I say this on repeat because we are forgetful people and it doesn't take too long. I'm telling you, you'll make your way out through those doors inspired and ready to go and by Wednesday you'll be like, I don't know how I got here again. And it's in those moments you need to remember the gospel. Confession is courage because pride kills. It'll kill you and it'll kill everything around you.
It'll kill your relationships. It'll kill all the things that you've established. I mean, I see it in ministry. I mean, how many stories do we know where you go, gosh, I wish that person had just confessed earlier. I wish that they'd brought it to the light earlier. I wish they'd believed the gospel earlier. Because yes, while restoration happens, the consequence of it all...
There's so many people today that I speak to that go, you know, I've given up on faith. And I go, why is that? Well, it's because, you know, I was at this church and this happened and this happened. And I just go, oh no. Because that's what pride does. Pride is destructive. but confession is courage. Little side note here and then I'll wrap up here.
I know we talk about honoring, we mentioned honoring, there's honoring here, and some might be sitting here going, you know, this is why we should not do this honor thing. I picked up that Rooted likes to do it, we shouldn't do it. And then I would say, okay, cool. Let's just let the scriptures speak. Because it's Paul who talks about this honoring thing. But Paul does not say, outdo one another in seeking honor.
Because there I'd be like, you're 100% correct. If we see that, then we should nip it. But what he does say is that we should outdo one another in showing honor. And so if that's the case, then I'm just going to do what the Bible says. I'm going to try to outdo in showing honor. A good friend of mine says this. He says, respect is earned. Honor is given. Respect is earned. Honor is given. I love that. He goes on to say this. He says, honor is not a feeling. It's an action. It's like gratitude.
And we know that unexpressed gratitude is worthless. Wives, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I mean, husband does nothing, never says anything. And then you go, I just wonder, I wonder if you, you're like, no, no, no, but it's in my heart. I said it in my heart. Well, it's like, it's unexpressed.
It's worthless if it's unexpressed. And so here's what I'm going to do. Some of y'all might go, no, we're not going to honor people. I'm going to outdo. Romans 12, 10 says this. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
And friends, we're brothers and sisters. There shouldn't be space for jealousy in comparison. That already, like, if we're bringing that up, then it's like, okay, pause that. We're not deleting it. Pause that. Let's address this issue of why is there jealousy in comparison? Y'all are my brothers and sisters. I want the best for you. Let's wrap up this story. The band can come up. Verse 12.
Then Monakai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried off home, mournful and with his head covered. Haman told his wife, Zeresh and all his friends, everything that had happened. His advisors and his wife Zeresh said to him, since Mordecai is Jewish and you have begun to fall before him, you won't overcome him because your downfall is certain.
While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared. End of story. See, the book of Esther has a few reversals. But I believe this one... is probably the most monumental one. The theme of reversal, it illustrates how God works for his people. You see, in Esther,
Haman manipulates, he coerces, he even bribes royal officials to fulfill his wicked desire to destroy Mordecai and the Jews. And he almost succeeds. He almost succeeds, but... But the moment when victory appears within reach, the narrative takes an unexpected turn. Mordecai is celebrated and honored by the king.
See, this theme of reversal is found not only in the book of Esther, but throughout the entire scriptures. Let me give you a few places where this theme of reversal happens. It's in the Garden of Eden. A significant shift takes place. You see, after humanity breaks the covenant, God doesn't merely come as a judge of his creation. Instead, he chooses this crucial moment to proclaim the arrival of a promised seed.
This seed, which is destined to defeat the serpent, signifies a deep truth that echoes even today. And that is that from the edge of death, new life arises. Or we can go to... To Israel, where they are by the Red Sea, where the Egyptian pharaoh is launching an attack with military force, Israel finds itself trapped with no escape in sight. It seems hopeless.
Yet the Lord transforms this moment into an extraordinary testimony of his redemptive work, shadowing the work of Christ. I mean, we're talking about the theme of reversal. We can talk about the gospel. The gospel that we love and share, that we proclaim week in and week out. It displays the reversal of all reversals. Christ's death on the cross signifies the darkest moment in human history. But God, but God transforms that with Christ's victorious resurrection.
And that everyone united with Christ dies to sin and then lives a new life in him. It's all over the scriptures. It's in the gospel. And so as we saw last week, the book of Esther. reinforces that nothing, nothing, nothing can prevent God from accomplishing his divine purposes. Friends, we know how the story ends.
Now I know we're in the middle of some really dark times and we're wrestling through things and there's uncertainty, but hear me, we know how the story ends and there's nothing that will stop God to get to that ending. The Lord is constantly present, constantly engaged in every moment of our lives, every hour of every day. He's never far away or distant.
And so this story, Esther chapter 6, after this humiliating experience, Haman rushed home in mourning like a little boy to his mother. And his advisors and wife recognized. what he couldn't yet see. I mean, it was so obvious to them, but he didn't quite see it yet. And it's found in the statement, since Mordecai's... and you have begun to fall before him, you won't overcome him because your downfall is certain. Friends, sometimes the situation is just simply obvious.
The things aren't going, you can pretend and perform. You can tell narrative after narrative. You can say, I'm fine as many times as you want. But there are people who will just look and go. This isn't right. Your anger isn't right. Your impatience isn't right. The thing that you're frustrated, this isn't right. The fact that this has gone on for so long isn't right.
Right. It's obvious. But pride, if you have pride sitting comfortably in your life, it'll tell you over and over and over again, the problem is not you, it's that. They're the issue. You're totally fine. It was obvious to Aman's wife and advisors. In the book of Esther, although God's name isn't mentioned, his presence, we say this week in, week out, his presence is clearly felt. And in chapter 6, we see a masterful display of timing. You can't miss it. It's there the whole time.
Timing, timing, timing, providence, providence, providence. And so when it feels like God is silent or distant, this is often when he is at work in profound ways. Like with Esther and Mordecai, God's timing in our lives is really early, but it's never late. And so I'm going to close with four things.
And we're going to respond to these four things. I don't know how you plan on responding. It's up to you. If you're sitting there in your chair and that's how you want to respond. If you get up and you want to sing and that's how you respond. Or you want to come up front here and you just want to kneel and pray and cry out to him. No problem. That's your response. But we must respond.
The gospel demands a response. And so here's four things as we close. See, what we learn from this passage is that we must trust God's plans. And let me not get ahead of myself. Before you can trust in God's plans, you need to first trust God. Some of us, we get ahead of ourselves. We're all about God's plans, but you haven't trusted God.
And that's why you're so quick to look to other people and go, well, if you did that, then you'll do it for me. And if you did that, then I see myself. No, no, no, no, no. Just trust God. And if that's you and it's for the first time, you've been around church, it's one of the scariest things for the church in Africa. I go from country to country and I love the fact that so many people are familiar with God's word and they're familiar with the songs and they're familiar with the songs.
with the practices and the customs that we have, but they don't know Jesus. Satan is not threatened by Africa's development, or prosperity. He's not. He wants to make sure that the message gets diluted. And so if it means giving Africa development and prosperity and flourishing so that we don't fully grasp the gospel, then I'm telling you, you'll give it.
And so trust God, put your faith in him, surrender your life to him as your Lord and Savior and just cry out and say, have mercy on me. And then trust God's plan. And when life feels... At its darkest and when all hope seems lost, God is actively working behind the scenes. Believe that. Just like the Jews who faced imminent destruction in Esther's story, you just...
might be one day away from your breakthrough. And so just take that next step of obedience. God's silence doesn't mean that he's absent. He's orchestrating events that you can't quite see. And so maybe your prayers as you come and kneel is to say, help me see. And where I cannot see, help me to trust your divine hand. Second thing that we learn.
Is that we need to stay humble. Haman's downfall wasn't sudden. It began with his inflated ego and need for recognition. It's slow. It's these people who have these pet lions and tigers. Like, it's cute in the beginning, but we all know how it's going to end. Because that thing is going to grow. And one day it's just going to go, it's going to go, hold on, it's going to look in the mirror and go, I'm not a cute, fluffy kitten.
I've been designed to devour. His pride blinded him to his inevitability. As James chapter 4 verse 6 reminds us, God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. So be humble. What are those areas in your life where you need to come and repent of and go, you know what? I let pride grow there. I need to be humble. God, humble me. Humble me now. Number three, small things matter.
A king's sleepless night, something so ordinary became the turning point that saved an entire people. God often works through seemingly minor events that we might overlook, that unexpected conversation. That delay that seemed random. That so-called coincidence. That thing that happened in your life that seems so ordinary is it could be God's hand moving.
Crucially in putting pieces together to do something far greater than you could ever imagine. So don't ignore the small things. In this situation, just stay humble. Oh, but he's not doing that. No, just stay humble. But he's growing other people's. No, no, just stay humble. But he's doing this and that. No, no, no. Stay humble. And just faithfully walk with God. And then the last thing.
is that we need to know that faithful actions get rewarded. I love this. I love the fact that we serve a God who rewards faithful actions. And I know some of y'all might be going, you're getting a little bit too much here. Is this prosperity gospel? No, hold on. Stay with me. See, Mordecai's good deed was temporarily forgotten by the king, but perfectly remembered by God.
Your acts of obedience and faithfulness may go unnoticed or unappreciated for a season, but God's timing for reward is perfect. What seems delayed is often divinely timed to maximize both the blessing and the impact. And so my prayer, my prayer is that you would receive your reward in this lifetime, that you would see it. That is a prayer that I do. I pray that. I pray that we here would see the incredible rewards and blessings that God has in store for us.
But then hear this. If we don't, if we don't, that's okay because we are holding on to the greatest reward. We are holding on to the greatest reward. You see, in the gospel, we've received the greatest gift. And so because we've received the greatest gift, we have the greatest reward.
And what is that reward? It's not the praises of other people. It's not your name in lights. It's not your name in history books. No, no, no, no. The greatest reward is like Mordecai, to be clothed in the king's robe. And in Revelation, we're told that we will be clothed in these robes that are white as snow. It is to be seated with him. to rule and to reign with him. Why? Because we are co-heirs with Christ. The greatest reward is to hear from God himself declare over you, well done.
good and faithful servant. And in this situation, it's not someone else saying it. No, it's God himself saying to you, well done. good and faithful servant. Oh, I saw you in those times, but well done, good and faithful servant. I saw you wrestling and wondering and pondering and asking and grieving, but you remained faithful. You remained humble.
Well done, good and faithful servant. And then you will hear these words that follow those. Enter into the joy of your master. There is no greater reward than that. And so if I get nothing this side of heaven, let me tell you something. I will be forgotten. I will. And I'm not talking about like, ah. 200 years ago. My grandkids were like, our parents talk about this guy. We've got pictures of him. Like, who is he? But I will not be forgotten by.
If we stay humble. And so we're going to respond. We're going to respond in song. I don't know where you're at. I really don't. I know where I am. And what I need to know is that there is a God who loves me, who is in the ministry of again. Oh, he loves again. Come to me again. Come and confess again. He has the capacity for again. Will we believe that? And so Father God, I pray for every single soul in here.
God, I pray that you would meet us where we are, that you would take a hold of our hearts, that pride is destructive. All it wants to do is burn everything in its sight. And so God, I'm praying, I'm praying that we would fall to our knees and we would be humble before you. That we would lay it all at the feet of Jesus. And so Holy Spirit, would you do a work that only you can do? That you are the great surgeon. Would you cut deep?
into our souls, into those places that we hide, and sometimes we try to hide them from ourselves. And would you begin to do the redemptive, restoring? The reconciling work. Where we need to repent when we do so. First to you. And then where we need to go to someone. There are phone calls that need to be made. There are coffees that need to be set. God, would you give us the strength to do that? Would you give us the wisdom to say the things that we need to say?
And would you give us the power to be able to walk away from those even if we didn't quite get the thing that we wanted. But it's all knowing that we've honored you and that we've been obedient to you. And my prayer is that every single person in here would one day hear the words from you, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter, enter into the joy of your master. God, we love you. We praise you. In Jesus' name we pray.