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[0:00] Esther chapter 5. Esther 5. Remember, if you can't find Esther, go to Psalms, back up to Job, back up to Esther, back up!

[0:12] Esther chapter 5. Last week, I read to you Esther chapter 5, verses 1 through 12.

[0:30] I'm not going to do that again today. We will look at a lot of those verses as we're going through today's message. So I'll just remind you where we started last week, Esther chapter 5.

[0:42] We were talking about decisions that people make. People make decisions that are going to affect the rest of their life. Who you marry. Do you move?

[0:53] What job you're going to take. All of those type of things affect your life and affect it from long term. We talked about Adam taking of the fruit. We talked about Noah building the ark.

[1:05] We talked about Abraham having a child with Hagar. And we said that we even see that still in effect today. The Arab-Israeli stuff you see going on goes all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac, sons of Abraham.

[1:23] Wow. Talk about a decision that had a lasting effect. That was one of them. You know, Haman and Ahasuerus, the king, are going to make a decision that's going to have an effect.

[1:40] Actually, go back to chapter 4 and look at verse 3. And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

[1:56] There was an effect on the entire Jewish nation. Why? Mordecai, because Haman and Ahasuerus had decided that all the Jews were going to be killed. Twelfth month of the year, all of them were going to be killed.

[2:11] Esther, in her new position as queen, Mordecai comes to her and says, look, you've got to help us out here. You have a position that you can talk to the king.

[2:23] She says, I haven't seen him in 30 days. He hasn't called me to come in in 30 days. She said, I don't know if I can do this or not. But Haman reminds her, he says, God puts you here as queen of Persia for such a time as this.

[2:40] Verse 14 of chapter 4. For such a time as this. She thinks about it. She says, you know what? Okay, I'm going to do it. Chapter 4, verse 16.

[2:53] At the end of the verse, she says, I'm going to go in. I'm going to see him. If he gives me the scepter to come, great. If not, I'm probably going to die.

[3:05] But you know what? If I perish, I perish. This is something greater than me. I've got to do this for my people. So what does Esther do? Esther makes a petition for the king.

[3:17] That's the thing we talked about last week. She makes a petition for the king. She says, look, the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.

[3:28] Proverbs 21.1. And he turneth it where the sword of it he will. The king's heart is in God's hands. And if God is in this and God wants me to do this, he will make sure that I live and I get the chance to do this.

[3:42] So she makes the decision. But she makes the decision to do it. But she does it in such a way that's an example to all of us. Remember the first thing she did? It was a prayerful decision.

[3:55] Prayerful. She says, okay, Haman, we're going to do this. If I'm going to do this, here's what's going to happen. Look at verse 16 of chapter 4. Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Susanne.

[4:08] And fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise. And so will I go in unto the king, which I, not according to law.

[4:24] And if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. We're going to pray about this. Before I go walking in in front of that king, before I go in and take my chances with him, we're going to spend some time in prayer that God's in this and God's going to work this out.

[4:40] Because if he doesn't put that scepter out to me, if he holds that scepter back in, I'm going to be killed. Even though she was the queen. If he did not appreciate her being there, if he didn't care if she was there or not, he could just withhold the scepter and they'd kill her right there.

[5:00] I mean, think about what she's going into. God gave favor to her. You know, and why did he do that?

[5:10] Because of the prayers. Proverbs 16.1. The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Verse 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established.

[5:25] The preparation to go before the king. And to know exactly what to say. That's of the Lord. The Lord's going to guide me.

[5:37] The Lord's going to direct me. And if I commit my works to him, he will give me the thoughts that I need. He will give me the words that I need. We talked about Daniel. Remember, Daniel did basically the same thing with Nebuchadnezzar.

[5:50] Nebuchadnezzar was killing the wise men of Babylon because they could not tell him what his dream was, let alone the interpretation of it. And Daniel says, we're not going to wind up dead like these other guys.

[6:02] So he goes to Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, and the four of them pray. And God reveals the dream to Daniel. And God goes into Nebuchadnezzar and says, here's your dream, here's the interpretation.

[6:14] And Daniel's made second in all the kingdom. You know, I gave you a quote last week. If Christians spend as much time praying as grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about.

[6:26] Now, we spend a lot of time complaining. How long have we spent more time praying? Asking for God's help and what we need. She was also differential.

[6:44] What do I mean by that? She showed deference to him and his position. Notice from chapter 5, verse 1. Now, it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on a royal apparel.

[6:55] She dressed for him. She dressed in a royal outfit for him, showing honor to him, showing honor to his position, showing honor to the kingdom that she was a part of as queen.

[7:09] So she dressed the part that she's going in there to do. She also went with a calm demeanor. A calm demeanor. Notice also there in chapter 5, verse 1.

[7:20] It says that she stood in the inner court of the king's house over against the king's house. She stood. She wasn't pacing back and forth. She wasn't wringing her hands.

[7:32] She wasn't, oh, man, what are we going to, what if this doesn't go right? She stood. In the entrance, where he could see her. And she did it calmly. You know, Esther could go and do that, we said last week, for four reasons.

[7:50] Let me give you those again real quick. First of all, because they had been fasting and praying. She knew that that was the most effective way to get God's will done, is to go and pray and fast.

[8:01] She knew that God had covenanted with the children of Israel, with the Jews. Remember in Genesis chapter 12?

[8:13] Those that bless you, I will bless. Those that curse you, I will curse. She knew that God was going to take care of his people. Number three, she knew that God was a forgiving God.

[8:24] They were in captivity because of sin in their life. But here, she's got the people praying for the last three days. What did God say in 2 Chronicles 7, 14?

[8:39] If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

[8:51] We've been praying. God is a forgiving God. Number four was the fact that God had already sent people back to Israel, back to Jerusalem, back to build the temple.

[9:04] God's not going to start something and just leave it halfway done. God's going to finish what he starts. And they had already started doing that. You know, one of the great verses that Bonnie was telling me, she saw a thing somewhere.

[9:16] She was looking. The most underlined verses online, when you're reading the Bible, the most highlighted verses? Philippians 4, 6, and 7.

[9:28] Be careful for nothing. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[9:43] That's why she could stand in that doorway calmly. She could stand in that doorway going, God, it's in your hands. Whatever happens, happens.

[9:55] I'm trusting you. Warren Wearsby, remember, we had a quote from him. One of the greatest needs of the church today is the intercessors will pray faithfully for a lost world and for a church that desperately needs revival.

[10:08] Then we talked about the fact that she was favored. She was favored according to verse 2 there of chapter 5. And so it was when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that she obtained favor in his sight.

[10:19] She had also obtained favor in God's sight, the king of kings and lord of lords. She had obtained favor of him. Matter of fact, she attained so much favor.

[10:31] Remember in verse 3, the king says, you know what? What do you want? Anything you want, I'm going to give it to you. Up to half the kingdom you can have. Whoa.

[10:42] Okay. So now she has an opportunity to let him know what she wants. Can you imagine being offered half the kingdom? Forget these people.

[10:54] I want half the kingdom. No. No, that was not the attitude she had. So what does she do? Number two, our outline. This is where we left off last week.

[11:04] She has a plot regarding Haman, a plan. Maybe plan is a better word. She has a plan regarding Haman. And she asked for Haman and the king to come to a banquet at her house, at her part of the palace.

[11:22] Look at verse 4, chapter 5, verse 4 there of Esther. Esther answered and said, if it seemed good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for them. She has been praying for three days.

[11:34] She has been looking for God's guidance for three days. She has been wanting to know what God would have her to do. And this is the plan she comes up with. Let them both come to have a banquet with me. Let them both come and we will just have a nice time, quiet dinner, and have a good time of following just whatever the conversation is.

[11:54] She doesn't ask for anything other than they come to lunch. You know, inviting Haman to that banquet, and what you know about Haman already, he's got quite the ego.

[12:10] And he thinks he's just the greatest thing going second to the king. He is by far ahead of everybody else. That's his attitude. And now he's been invited to the queen's part of the palace to have lunch with just her and the king.

[12:26] I am pretty special. That's what he thinks. So they go and they have their thing. And the king says again to Esther, he says, you know, what is it you want?

[12:43] What can I give you? And again, she doesn't necessarily tell him. You know, they go to that first one. He makes the offer again in chapter 5, verse 6.

[12:54] Look at verse 7. Then answereth Esther and saith, my petition and my request is. You know, she's doing a good job of keeping the suspense going.

[13:09] She's doing a good job of keeping them on their toes. My request is, if I found favor, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request.

[13:21] Let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I have prepared for them, and I will do tomorrow, as the king has said. You guys come to another banquet tomorrow, and I'll let you know what it is I want.

[13:34] Can you imagine Haman? Haman is going, I have been invited once, and now I'm invited for a second day in a row to the queen with the king.

[13:50] Man, I'm special. Man, there's nobody like me. He gets to go and have this banquet with them. And think about it.

[14:01] He's had this time with them, just him. It's fed into his ego. He leaves there. I am the greatest thing in this kingdom other than the king himself. Whoa, I am so good.

[14:14] I am such an honorable man. I am so, you know. Can you imagine what your attitude would be? And then he walks out the door.

[14:27] Verse 9. Then went Haman forth that day, joyful and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he felt indignation against Mordecai.

[14:50] You know what his first reaction is? He hated Mordecai. He hates this man. He cannot think of anybody he hates more than Mordecai because Mordecai will not acknowledge who he is.

[15:05] And he hates him. He uses that word indignation. The Hebrew word that's used there has the idea behind it of being heat, rage, hot displeasure, burning anger.

[15:22] He really hates this guy. He really can't wait to see this guy dead. He just, ah, I need to get rid of him. Doesn't do anything right then.

[15:34] He's thinking about what could be done. But as he walks home, he remembers more about his night with the king and the queen there in the thing, in the apartment and stuff.

[15:46] And he's just, again, overwhelmed with everything that's gone on and everything that's happened and how much he has received and how great, again, that he is. So what does he do?

[15:58] He goes home and he brags to his friends. He brags to his friends. Look at chapter 5, look at verse 10. Nevertheless, Haman refrained himself.

[16:11] And when he came home, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children and all the things wherein the king had promoted him and how he was advanced above the princes and the servants of the king.

[16:29] Haman said, moreover, yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king into the banquet that she had prepared but myself. And tomorrow I'm invited unto her also with the king.

[16:44] Not only do I get to do it once, I get to do it twice. Oh, friends and family, notice how great I am. You ever have family members that are like that? They tell you everything they have been doing and have done and just how wonderful they are.

[16:59] And you're going, I remember you when you were a little kid. I have met people like that and known some people like that. It's like, you know, I knew you when you were a little kid.

[17:10] You're not as great as you think you are. But anyway, he has this attitude as he goes home, as he talks to them. And he tells all the different things that have been going on.

[17:22] You know, he's playing right into the hand of what God wants to point out. What does God say about people like Haman?

[17:35] In Proverbs chapter 6, verses 16 through 19. Proverbs 16 through 19 says, These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him.

[17:49] Now you've heard some things about Haman already. You know some things about Haman. There's more things coming up. Look at these things that God says that he hates. A proud look.

[18:01] There's Haman, number one. He has more pride than anybody we know. A lying tongue. How did he get the thing through to the king?

[18:11] He lied about it. Hands that shed innocent blood. What does he want to do? He wants to shed innocent blood. He wants to have an entire nation wiped out. A heart that divides wicked imaginations.

[18:25] He told the king, Oh, they're doing all these things behind your back and they're trying to take over and they're doing. He's lying. Feet that are swift and running to mischief. That sound like him?

[18:37] A false witness that speaketh lies. That's him. And he that soweth discord among the brethren. He's sowing discord in the kingdom. We're going to wipe out an entire nation that's part of our kingdom.

[18:49] That's not a guy I want in charge. You know, you would think with all the wealth, all the power and everything that Haman had, the position that he had, that he would be satisfied.

[19:01] He'd say, you know what? Life is good. I've got all these things going on in my life. I cannot think of anything better. But instead, he's upset by one man.

[19:12] Mordecai, who will not bow down to him. William Barclay, who's a commentator on the Bible, said this, Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow and the parent from which all the other sins come.

[19:35] Pride. Pride. When I stick the I in pride, when I become that I, he says, look, that's where all the other sins are going to come from. That's where all the other sins are going to grow from.

[19:46] When I start putting myself first, when I start saying that I am more important than anybody else, I am the greatest of all this, nobody else matters but me and what I think.

[19:59] He kind of has the attitude, when he sees Mordecai and he gets all that anger and stuff, you can just picture a little kid throwing a tantrum. And that's what he's doing.

[20:11] He's basically throwing a tantrum. Reminds you of a five-year-old boy. Came home from kindergarten. About the second week of school, he came home and he told his grandmother, he says, Grandma, he says, the teacher thinks I am the smartest kid in class.

[20:28] Did she tell you that? No, I had to tell her, but, you know. And in that way we are, we're always bragging about ourselves and how much we can do and how much we've done.

[20:40] Haman has no trouble doing that, telling other people about him. except for Mordecai. So what happens? He has a plan to kill Mordecai.

[20:54] Plans to kill Mordecai. In Haman's mind, the only way he can be satisfied, the only way he can be truly happy, despite all the things that he has, the only thing that will really make him happy is if Haman is gone.

[21:06] Look at verse 13, chapter 5. Yet all this availeth me nothing. He's just told him all the things that have been going on, the promotions, the gifts, none of this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

[21:29] Then said Zareth his wife and all his friends unto him, let a gallows be made 50 cubits high. A cubit's about a foot and a half, so 75 feet high.

[21:42] And tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Then go thou in merrily with the king into the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be built.

[21:56] Why don't you just build a place to hang him? You don't have to wait until the 12th month when all the other Jews are going to be killed. You can get rid of this guy now. Just build a gallows and talk to the king and have him killed.

[22:08] Haman was like, you know what? That's a really good idea. I don't have to wait for this guy. I can do it now. I can take care of him now. I can make a public spectacle out of him.

[22:20] I can hang him up on that gallows. Everybody can see. Everybody can watch. They'll know not to test me, not to go against me, not to do anything that diminishes my standing.

[22:34] Oh, I can do that. You know, it kind of reminds you back in chapter one. Remember what happened when Ahasuerus got angry and threw Vashti out of the kingdom, basically?

[22:49] He regretted that decision. Here's Haman. I'm going to have this guy killed. I'm going to make a spectacle out of him. You know, doing things in anger can cause you to regret the decisions you make.

[23:08] Proverbs 14, 13. Even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is a heaviness. He's so joyful. Yes, I have a plan.

[23:19] I can do it a way to get rid of him. I can do this. But even in the midst of that, there's going to be sorrow because Haman forgot something. Number three, God's plan.

[23:32] God's plan for his people. God has a plan. This section, I just love this section. To me, this shows that God has a sense of humor.

[23:43] This is a serious situation. There's some tough things coming here. And, you know, he's trying to get Mordecai killed and he's trying to sneak around and do it and all this. God has a sense of humor.

[23:56] God's plan, first of all, the king's sleeplessness. The king's sleeplessness. I don't know about you, but some nights I have trouble sleeping.

[24:07] Last night was one of them. I've been awake since about four o'clock this morning. And, you know, sometimes you just, you try everything you can think of to go back to sleep and it's just not working.

[24:21] So here's the king. He's asleep. He's not getting any sleep. He's, you know, look at chapter six, verse one. Chapter six, verse one. On that night could not the king sleep and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles and they were read before the king and it was found, written, that Mordecai had told of Bithana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, and the keepers of the door who sought to lay hand on King Ahasuerus.

[24:53] And the king said, what honor and dignity hath been done unto Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, there has nothing been done for him.

[25:06] He saved my life. He kept me from an assassination attempt and he warned us about it and we didn't do anything for him? Really? You know, this timing of his sleeplessness, is just uncanny.

[25:26] God kept him awake that night. God kept him so that he would go and look at the records and, you know, you want something to put you to sleep? Old history books, that'll do it.

[25:37] And here he is, he's like, read me some of the old history or even the recent history. Read me some of that stuff. And so they did and they covered the fact that Mordecai had never been rewarded for what he had done to keep the king alive.

[25:52] You know, and for Mordecai, probably from a human standpoint, he's probably like, I kept this guy alive, now they want to kill all the Jews, you know, why did I bother to keep him alive?

[26:03] Why did I bother to, how come God isn't taking care of me? How come God isn't, you know, he's like us, he's probably questioning a whole lot of things. He's probably wondering, why hasn't God seen to reward me?

[26:15] Why hasn't God seen to take care of this? Well, remember, Hebrews chapter 6, verse 10, I've read this to you before. Hebrews 6, verse 10 says, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which he has showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.

[26:38] God's not going to ever forget the things that you do. Remember we talked about the Lord can see everywhere, looks over everything, and he rewards for that which is done evil and that which is done good.

[26:56] And here's Mordecai, he's done good, but he's never been rewarded for it. God says, you know, I think now would be a good time to reward Mordecai for the things that happened. So here he is, the king's awake, he's been thinking about this all night, he's been chewing on this all night that we have never done anything, so what can we do for this guy?

[27:15] And then he hears a noise in the outer court and he asks, who's that out there in the outer court? Look at verse 4 of chapter 6. And the king said, who is in the court?

[27:26] Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's servant said unto him, behold, Haman standeth in the court.

[27:39] And the king said, let him come in. So Haman came in and the king said unto him, what shall be done of the man and the king delighteth to honor? Stop there for a second. Haman's there and he's ready.

[27:53] He's ready to go. He's a king. We need to kill this guy. We need to get near to this guy. We need to, and he walks through the door and the first thing out of the king's mouth is, you know, what should we do for the guy who honors me?

[28:05] Notice the next part of the verse there. Verse 6. Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more than myself?

[28:17] There's his ego again coming into play. I must be the guy. He wants to honor me because, I mean, who else is better than me? That's his attitude. Look at verse 7.

[28:28] And Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delighteth to honor, now remember he's thinking it's him, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal that is set upon his head, and let this apparel and horse be delivered into the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, thus shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

[29:04] The irony is just, he thinks it's going to be him. And so he comes up with, hey, if I'm going to get all this honor, if the king's going to take care of me, the king's going to honor me, here's what he should do.

[29:19] He should put me in his royal apparel, he should put me on his horse, he should give me one of his crowns, and he should parade me through the city and let everybody know that I am the greatest.

[29:30] You know, it's just, they're on totally different wavelengths. They're on totally different thinking processes about all this.

[29:44] You know, he's going there ready to say, I want to put Mordecai to death. The king jumps in, and it just takes him completely off track. And the king says all those things he wants to do, and Haman's going, oh, yeah, I'm going to get this.

[30:00] I'm going to have all these things happen to me. Notice the king's assignment for Haman, Haman's assignment. He's pouring out his heart, giving all these suggestions of things that he thinks he's going to get, things that he thinks is going to come his way.

[30:17] Look at verse 10 of chapter 6. Then the king said to Haman, make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou said, and do so, even so, to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth in the king's date, let nothing fail of the things thou hast spoken.

[30:38] Can you imagine Haman's face? I would like to add a picture of that. When the king says, yeah, let's do all of that, and we're going to do it for Mordecai.

[30:48] seriously? Mordecai? Do you know about that guy? Yeah, I know about him. He saved my life. He foiled an assassination attempt against me.

[31:02] Yeah, I know that guy. Verse 11. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, thus shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

[31:16] Haman, yeah, those are all great ideas, so let's get the clothes, let's get the horse, let's get the crown, and you know what, Haman? Why don't you lead the horse through the city?

[31:30] Why don't you be the one that proclaims all of this? Oh, Haman, that's a good idea. I'm so glad you thought of that. Let's make you in charge of it. Like I said, God has a sense of humor.

[31:42] It's just, you know, in 2 Samuel 22, 28, it says, the afflicted people wilt thou save, but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

[32:01] Jonathan had just killed one of Goliath's brothers, and David writes a song in 2 Samuel 22, and he's writing about this victory, and he says this, the afflicted people thou wilt save.

[32:16] The Jews were supposed to be all killed because of Haman, right? You're going to save them. It says, thy eyes are upon the haughty, thou mayest bring them down. What's he after? He's after Haman. Haman, this is not going to work to your advantage.

[32:29] Proverbs 16, 18, pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before fall. Pride goeth before destruction. Haman had plenty of it.

[32:40] He had lots of it. Haman's boasted about how honored he was. He's respected he was. He's let all his friends and family know just how great he was.

[32:53] Look at verse 12. And Mordecai came again to the king's gate, but Haman hasted to his house mourning and having his head covered.

[33:05] Don't let anybody know it was me that was doing all this. Verse 13, Haman told Zeresh his wife and all of his friends, everything that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

[33:29] They knew God's hand was upon the Jews. They knew that God was going to take care of them. And they're saying, if you're going against this guy and he's a Jew, don't go there. Don't do this.

[33:40] Verse 14, And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet which Esther had prepared.

[33:52] You want to just top it all off? He's had this day. I'm going to go get Haman killed, Mordecai killed. Oh, guess what? I'm going to lead Mordecai through the city on a horse and the king's robes and the king's crown and all this, saying how great he is.

[34:09] And he goes home and he's like, oh, man. And then all of a sudden king's chamberlains show up. Oh, yeah, by the way, don't forget, we're here to take you to the banquet that you're having with the king and queen.

[34:23] He's not had the best day. Think about the fact that he's going to go there. And Esther had said, I'll let you know what I want in the next banquet.

[34:36] this story is not over yet. You would think it would be over. Mordecai has been exalted. He's been lifted up. We're not done yet. There's still more to it.

[34:47] To what we've learned so far the last two weeks, though, remember these three things. Esther's faith to pray brought God's favor.

[34:57] prayer. When Esther said, what are we going to do? How are we going to handle this? Her answer was, go to prayer. When you've got things happening in your life, what's your answer to it?

[35:10] You've heard me say many times, prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.

[35:24] Go to prayer. That was Esther's plan. Haman's pride brought God's wrath. Pride will always lead to a downfall. And Mordecai was spared by God's grace.

[35:37] God preserved his life. God took care of him. Because that part of that prayer that Esther had included Mordecai being taken care of.

[35:50] No matter how dark things may seem for you, no matter how bad things may be going, God's way is perfect. He makes no mistakes.

[36:02] God's way is perfect. You know, have you seen God answer the prayers that you've had before him? No matter what's taking place, as we've been saying all along in this series about Esther, God's got this.

[36:17] God's got this. What is our response? What are we supposed to do to watch God take care of all this? trust and obey.

[36:27]  Trust and obey. Page 418. 418. Trust and Stop and obey. Stop and obey. Stop and obey. Stop and obey. Stop and