[0:00] Well, take your Bibles, if you would, and open them to Esther chapter 6. We are in the middle of a crazy story. It's a time in history. It shows God at work in the background.
[0:11] All the time things are happening, and you think that it's just the way it works out, and you think it's just coincidence, and God puts a story in the Bible to say, no, I was at work all along.
[0:23] So Esther's had a banquet, and in this banquet, she's brought the king in. This guy named Haman, who's a really bad guy, wants all the Jews to be killed in one day.
[0:33] And Esther is a Jewish girl, and she's got to do something to save her people. And Mordecai, he calls her, and that's her cousin, her stepdad. He raised her, and he tells her, you've got to do something.
[0:45] And so she goes to the king, she talks to the king, and now she's had a banquet for the king, and this banquet is just warming him up, just setting him up. You know how when your wife gets really sweet and really nice, and then you begin to wonder what's coming next?
[0:59] To say amen. Bunch of cowards. Come on, Dan. I know you know. And so, you know, I used to come home from church. I'd be working at the church, and I'd come home. We didn't have enough money to literally, we barely made it all the time.
[1:14] And I got home from church, and I would, in the afternoon after I'd been at church, at the office in a Christian school all day long, and I got home, and I walked in the door, and Betty and all my kids would be sitting on the couch, just beautifully dressed, hair combed.
[1:26] You know, kids don't ever look like that. And I walk in, and she'd say, I'm so glad you're home, baby. And I said, thank you. And she'd say, well, I'm going to get up and fix supper. You know, what would you like for supper? It's going to take a while.
[1:39] I'm like, I know this is a setup. And she says, well, I was just wondering if you might want to go to McDonald's tonight. That's a big deal for us. And I said, well, sure, that's what the banquet's about, getting them set up to take Haman out.
[1:53] But anyway, anyway, they just got through the banquet. Haman went to the house. And when he got home, he was like, man, my life is going great.
[2:04] Well, I can't stand that guy, Mordecai. I wish he was out of my life. And so he says, his wife says to him, well, why don't you build a gallows? Why don't you build it like 75 feet high where everybody can see?
[2:17] You take out this guy you don't like. He said, baby, that's why I married you. You're more mean and cruel and conniving than I am. Good plan. Tomorrow, I'll ask the king.
[2:28] The next morning, early, he runs down to the palace. And when he gets there, he has no idea what's been happening. During the night before, the king couldn't sleep. He was in his bed, and he couldn't sleep.
[2:41] And so he needed to be put to sleep. And he didn't have CNN and Fox News and TV to put him to sleep. And so he could have called for musicians, but he doesn't. He could have called for actors, but he doesn't.
[2:53] Instead, he calls for one of his men to read to him from the chronicles of his kingdom. Tell me what's been going on in the kingdom. And somehow, by coincidence, we don't believe in that, something happened.
[3:06] And he picked a book and sits down to read. And the king's just kind of letting this guy read to him. It's audible before audible came out. And he says to him, he says, on this night, two of the bad guys tried to kill the king.
[3:20] And Mordecai told and warned us so we could take them out and save the king's life. And the king said, wait a minute now. He said, I don't recall anybody telling me about that.
[3:31] Did y'all tell me that happened? And they said, well, sir, we don't remember whether we did or not. He said, well, what's been done to honor him? Man saved my life. What did we do to honor him? And everybody said, well, we didn't do anything.
[3:43] He said, well, I need to think of something really good to honor this guy. He saved my life. At that moment, back at the ranch, in comes Haman. And he walks in the room.
[3:55] And he comes in the room. He's like, I'm fixing to set up old Mordecai to get killed. And the king said, hey, who's out there in the court? And they brought old Haman in. And he said, Haman, if I wanted to honor a man, I mean really honor a man, what would you have me do?
[4:10] And Haman goes, it's okay, king. Let me think of what I'd like you to do for me. How about this? Dress him in all of your clothes, those fancy clothes you wear.
[4:21] Put your big crown on his head. Set him on your favorite horse and have your number one man parade him all over the city. And tell everybody, this is how I honor a man.
[4:32] And the king said, that's a great idea. Go find Mordecai and get all this set up so you can do that for him. Now, you want to talk about a twisted turn of events. I walk in here thinking I'm going to get Mordecai killed.
[4:44] And now I've got to go get Mordecai dressed. I walked in here thinking I was going to parade him in front of the world and kill him. And instead, I've got to put him on the fancy clothes, put him on the horse and walk all around town hollering, this is the guy the king wants to honor.
[5:00] This is the guy the king wants to honor. He gets through doing all that. You can imagine he is sad. Old Mordecai goes back, walks right into the offices at the city council place, walks right in, goes right back to work.
[5:13] Mordecai puts his hoodie on. Y'all didn't know they had hoodies. But he put his hoodie on, covered his face, the Bible says. And he walked home. And he got home. He got his wife and his buddies together. And he said, well, we had a plan about getting him killed.
[5:26] But it didn't work quite like I thought it was going to. The fact is, this is what happened. They said, oh, boy, you're dead meat. If that's happened, you're going to fall. And as soon as they got through having that little discussion, hey, we're here to take you to the next banquet Esther has prepared.
[5:42] That's what you got in this chapter today. So I want to show you how we got this Mordecai who's not looking for any fame. We got this Haman who's just eat up with fame. We got this Mordecai who's just trying to save his people.
[5:56] And we got this Haman who hates anybody that doesn't let him be big dog on the walk. King on the mountain. We got this guy doing that. And there's this big clash going on in this chapter.
[6:08] It could have been possible that Haman would have realized by the end of this chapter, seems like what I wanted to do is not working out. Seems like he might have thought to himself, my wife even told me I'm going to blow it.
[6:22] King, I got another idea. Why don't we undo that law I had you make and save those Jews? Because that's very obvious that something bad is going to happen. Things are going really bad for me right now.
[6:33] I got to change course. But proud people don't change course, do they? But proud people don't change course. Proud people are like, I know who I am.
[6:44] I am the man. And I'll work this out instead of repenting and getting right. And before long, Haman will be dead.
[6:55] Go with me if you would to Esther chapter 6. Let me read you a couple of verses before we get there. Do you know that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked? Write this in the margin of your Bible somewhere.
[7:05] Ezekiel 33, 11. Say unto them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. All I want is that the wicked turn from his way and live.
[7:18] Turn you, turn you from your weevil ways. For why will you die, O house of Israel? Haman. Listen, God doesn't really want you to die.
[7:30] God wants you to get right. By the way, you're sitting in here listening today to the message. And you came here and you're not born again. You don't know your sins are forgiven. And you are on your way to hell.
[7:41] Let me just explain to you. You are on your way to hell. And no matter how many popular preachers want to make you think it doesn't exist, the Bible's clear it does exist. But God doesn't want you to go there. God has no pleasure in anybody dying.
[7:54] He doesn't even want the wicked to die. He takes no pleasure in it. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
[8:11] He wants you to be saved. He wants you to get forgiveness of your sin. He doesn't want to send you to hell. He doesn't want you to suffer eternity. He doesn't want Haman to do that.
[8:21] But Haman is too proud. And you just might be that proud today. You've been witness to time and time again. You actually know you're a sinner.
[8:32] You actually know you deserve to go to hell. At least you know that's what the Bible says. You don't like it. You don't agree with it. But you know it's what the Bible says. And you continue to reject that. And you continue to say, I am too good to believe that.
[8:45] You're a proud man going on in your way. And you're going to deal with the consequences. But God doesn't want you to. Today is a day to humble yourself and be saved. Here's what you get in Esther chapter 6, I think.
[8:57] The first thing is God is at work behind the scene. God is at work behind the scene. You know in the book of Esther, his name is not even mentioned. The name God is not even mentioned. The word God is not found in the book of Esther.
[9:09] But God is at work. In Esther chapter 6 and verse 1, the king can't sleep. Now that's amazing. It's right after the banquet with his queen. It's right after God's in all this process of saving the Jewish people.
[9:22] And he can't sleep. In chapter 6 and verse 1, the king can't sleep. And he asked him to bring him the chronicles. The record of his chronicles. Well they brought him.
[9:33] They just so happened to pick to read. They just so happened to pick to read the part where Mordecai coincidentally saved his life.
[9:45] Verse 2. The king got interested. The king said, well, excuse me, repeat that. Mordecai and old Big Tanna and Teresh, they were my chamberlains.
[9:57] And they were going to kill me. And Mordecai turned them in. In verse 3, he said, well, what honor and dignity has been done for Mordecai for this? What did we do for him?
[10:09] And we don't see that we've done anything for him. And in chapter 6 and verse 4, he said, well, who's outside in the court? You know, he's got this room and he's got the court out there where all of his people gather.
[10:20] And he's in that room in his private room. And he said, who's out there? And they said, well, Haman's here. But if you've got your Bible open, look in verse 3 or 4 and underline this. He's there to speak to the king to hang Mordecai.
[10:32] I want Mordecai hung on my gallows that I have built for him. And they said, well, Haman's outside. The king said, well, tell him to come in. I need to talk to him.
[10:43] I need advice on how to honor this Mordecai guy. Haman's early. Haman's come to get him hung. But you don't forget what's happening right now. God is saving Israel.
[10:56] Because you see, we need Israel. Without Israel, there'll be no Jesus. Without Israel, there'll be no Bible. And that's God's plan. And you don't mess with God's plan. And so you got to understand, God is at work behind the scenes to save the nation of Israel.
[11:12] Before I go any further, I need you to know he's at work behind the scenes in your life. Listen to what the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 6. Be strong and of a good courage.
[11:22] Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is that does go with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. God with his people.
[11:33] You're going to say that's an Old Testament promise. Let me give you another Old Testament promise. Isaiah 41.10 said, I am with you. I am with thee. And he said, I will help thee.
[11:43] In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, he said, I will never leave you or forsake you. Did you know that when you leave the church, if you're a born-again believer, he'll go with you.
[11:57] He lives in you. And when they had that car wreck yesterday, he was there. And though we don't understand anything that's going on, God does. And we can trust that the great God of heaven will do right.
[12:09] The Bible says, cast all your care on him. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 7. He cares for you. Now, if you're here this morning, I want to know, have you considered that God may have brought you here today to hear the gospel and be saved?
[12:22] You think it's a coincidence. Oh, I just thought I'd go with my buddy. I just wanted to go to the church with him today. Not interested in church. Not interested in Christ. I'm just coincidentally here today.
[12:34] Well, coincidentally, Haman walked into the courtroom just at the right time. And coincidentally, Mordecai had saved him. And at just the right time, the king read it. Because behind all of that, God was at work.
[12:45] Did you ever think God might be at work trying to save you? Did you ever think somebody showed enough interest in you to bring you to church today so you wouldn't be saved? Did you ever think that somebody's been praying for you? A fellow in Peru got saved.
[12:57] I was so excited he got saved. I thought I was the first person to ever witness to him. And when we got through and we were talking one day, I said, well, was the first time you ever heard the gospel when I shared it? He said, no, when I was a kid, I had an aunt that used to try to get me saved.
[13:11] God had been working in his life a long time before I ever even showed up. God's working in your life. You're here and you have not trusted Christ yet, but he's at work in your life. He loves you and he wants you to be saved.
[13:22] He does not want you to die and go to hell. Is it possible for you believers that God's been working in your life to bring you to a place of decision and complete surrender to God? Is it possible God's saying it's time for you to quit messing around and get serious about me?
[13:36] Let's go, if you would, to Esther chapter 6 and verse 6. The next thing is pride sets a man up to fail. Pride sets a man up to fail. We've already read enough over the past few weeks about how pride goes before a fall, a haughty spirit before destruction.
[13:52] We have seen in the Bible that if you get proud, he'll bring you down. If you try to go up, he'll bring you low. And so when they walked in, Haman walks into the room. The king says in verse 6, what shall be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor?
[14:07] Now, Haman can't believe the king would think to honor anyone but him. It never crossed his mind. It never crossed his mind. That could be somebody besides me. He might be thinking about this guy or that guy or that guy.
[14:19] He just thought, well, that's a nice way. He's indirectly asking me how to honor me. I appreciate that, his kindness. Thinking about me. In chapter 6, Esther chapter 6 and verse 6. To whom?
[14:30] Would the king like to do honor more than to myself. If the king's going to honor somebody, I know who it'd be. It'd be me. I mean, just look around all these other losers.
[14:41] There's only one winner around here. That's me. All right. Well, king, now, Jess, I've been thinking about what you can do to make me look even better. I really appreciate it. Everything's been going good in my life up to now. And I don't mind having a little honor bestowed upon me.
[14:53] You can kind of like coronate me king for a day. Just make me the big shot for a day. So Haman thinks of everything he would want done for him. In chapter 6 and verse 8, he said, dress him in royal apparel.
[15:06] And he said, put him on a horse that the king rides and put the crown on his head. Say, hey, this will be good. You could dress me up in your clothes. Everybody knows you got the duds, buddy.
[15:17] You are the man. And you could put your crown on my head. And when I walk down the street up, I'd be like, whoa, don't nobody wear that crown. This guy really must be special.
[15:27] And by the way, while we're doing it, just put me on your horse. I mean, then they really will know I'm something. He said, but K-Safe, forget. What about if we put me on the horse?
[15:38] And instead of me riding it, you just put a man leading the horse. And all the way down the street, he keeps yelling, this is the guy the king wants to honor. This is the guy the king wants to honor. This is the way the king honors a man. This is the way the king honors a man.
[15:50] Isn't he something? He thought that'd be neat, man. I'll be riding down the street, my family, my friends. Everybody knows me. Everybody, whoa, check out Haman. That's what he's thinking.
[16:02] Chapter 6, verse 10. You're going to underline this. Right here, it would be a commercial break in a TV program. Leave you wondering, hanging.
[16:13] Come back next week to find out what's going to happen. Look what happens in chapter 6, verse 10. Go do that to Mordecai the Jew. Now, wait a minute. Aren't the Jews marked to die?
[16:26] Won't he be dead soon? Isn't this a guy I hate? He's the only person in the kingdom that does not honor me. When I walk in a room, everybody stands up or everybody bows.
[16:38] But one guy, that's Mordecai. I don't like him. I came in here to ask you to kill him. And now you want me to honor him? Well, how do you go about telling the king all that now?
[16:50] Too late. Chapter 6, verse 11. Look at it. Then took Haman the clothes, the apparel, and the horse.
[17:01] And he arrayed, he dressed, honored Mordecai. Puts a crown on his head, the clothes on his back. Puts him on the horse. And he brought him on horseback throughout the city.
[17:12] And proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor. Wow. You want to talk about a turn of events.
[17:26] Mordecai last night was so happy. Haman was so happy last night. His wife came up with a plan. Kill Mordecai. Hang him in front of everybody. He woke up in the morning going, I could hardly sleep last night.
[17:38] I'm so excited. We're just going to ask you to go ahead and kill him. He runs into the court thinking, I'm the man. I'm going to ask the king. I'll get her done. I'll get her done right now. They walk into the king.
[17:49] And the king says, Hey, before you say anything, let me find out. Tell me how to honor a guy. Mordecai thinks, Well, I mean, I could take a little honor and a little killing. Both would go good. Okay.
[18:00] This is what I want you to do for me. He has to put that other agenda on hold for a minute. And then he finds out. Go do it for the guy you hate.
[18:14] I want to ask you a question. Are you letting pride set you up to fail? In that very moment, Haman could have said, Oh, man, in heaven, I need God.
[18:27] I got to get right here. But no, not Haman. You see, Haman's stuck on Haman. You know why most people go to hell? Because they're stuck on themselves.
[18:41] And their abilities and their goodness. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus. And he goes away sorrowful because Jesus said, It's your money or me.
[18:52] And the guy said, I got to stick with my money. Haman's in his story. And it's Haman, it's your pride or me. And Haman said, I got to stick with my pride. How many of you came to church this morning?
[19:02] And you're willing to listen and judge the church and judge other people sitting in the room. But you are not willing to look at yourself in the light of eternity and realize you deserve to die and go to hell.
[19:13] You're willing to look around the room and find everybody else's faults. But you're not willing to say, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that includes me. There is none righteous. No, not one. And that includes me.
[19:25] For the wages of sin is death. And that includes me. You're not willing to do that. See, salvation will require that you humble yourself. That you admit that you are not good enough to save yourself.
[19:39] To get saved, you're going to have to admit you're sin sick. Now, I'm a sinner, but I ain't a sinner like you.
[19:51] I might have sinned a little bit. This is my sin. That's the other guy's sin. That's the pride still talking. Do you do know that in God's economy, all the good things you've ever done, he looks at them as filthy rags.
[20:06] He says, that's waste. Throw that away. That's filth. Have no use for that. All your righteousness as filthy rags. In Titus chapter 3 and verse 5, he said, it says in Titus 3, 5, Not by works of righteousness which we have done.
[20:23] Not by what I did. Nobody's going to go to heaven because they've been baptized. Nobody's going to go to heaven because they went to Sunday school. Nobody's going to go to heaven because they read the Bible through.
[20:35] Nobody's going to go to heaven because they've been a good neighbor. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by according to his mercy. Mercy? I don't need mercy.
[20:46] Huh? Me? Haman? I don't need mercy. That's why you'll go to hell. Mercy. Mercy.
[20:58] He saved us. I want you to go to hell. I know in your pride you're like, well, I'm not telling anybody I'm lost. I'm not telling anybody I've messed up.
[21:11] I mean, I've been baptized. Haman proud, nose up. I give money to poor people. I'm a good neighbor. And you can list every one, all your good merits.
[21:23] And God looks at you and says, not by works of righteousness which you have done. Ain't nobody going to get to heaven and walk in the doors of heaven saying, man, I did more than everybody else. Look at me.
[21:34] We're all going to get there saying, I came by mercy. I came by grace. I came by God saving me when I didn't deserve it. So watch the pride and the humility as they clash.
[21:46] As soon as they get through, look at Esther chapter 6 and verse 12. As soon as they get through with the trek around the city. I don't know. Did they walk just up and down Main Street?
[21:56] It said the street. Or did they walk all around the palace? Exactly where'd they go? Did they go down to North Point Mall and make a trip around and come back to the church? Not sure what they did. But when they got back, Mordecai's riding on a horse and everybody's like, wow, that is the man.
[22:10] That is the man. And Haman keeps saying, that is the man. And everybody's seeing that. And when they get back to the palace, chapter 6 and verse 12, he returned to the king's gate. King's gate, that's the offices of the courthouse, the city council.
[22:25] Mordecai's been greatly honored. But no mention is made of his tormenting Haman. No mention is he riding a horse going, hey, Haman. Check it out, buddy.
[22:38] It doesn't say a word about him doing that. No mention is made of him gloating with his friends. Like Haman's been calling his buddies together and bragging. Mordecai just goes back to work.
[22:49] Look, how you handle blessings says a lot about your character. How you handle blessings says a lot about your character.
[23:00] The fact that he returned to work and stood to a party shows that he trusts God. Don't forget, the day of his death sentence is just a few weeks out still.
[23:12] He knows he's going to die. He didn't ride on that horse saying, and they're going to kill me. All my people are going to die. He doesn't do any of that. He confidently trusting rests in the fact that things are under control.
[23:27] When he knows death is staring him down the gun barrel right now, he just rides that horse. Because they've got a death day set. But he's trusting. He's not dressed in sackcloth and ashes.
[23:40] He's not unhinged about the death sentence. He's trusting God. Work it out. Not Haman. Haman runs home. Esther chapter 6 and verse 12.
[23:50] Look at it. But Haman hasted to his house mourning. Mordecai doesn't go gloating. Haman goes home mourning, covered. He covers his head and walks into the house.
[24:03] He doesn't want anybody to know who he is. Every other day of his life, he walks down the street like this. Bow. Bow. Bow. I'm the man. Bow. Today he goes home.
[24:14] Mourning, crying. Oh my goodness. It's a good time to repent. It's a good time to say you're sorry, Haman. It's a good time. Because when God humbles you, he humbles you so you'll get right.
[24:28] No, not Mr. Haman. His dream has been crushed. He's had to bow before the one he wanted to bow before him. And he now tells his wife how he's been mistreated.
[24:40] In Esther chapter 6 and verse 13, Haman told Seirish, his wife, and all his friends, everything that had befallen him. But can I remind you, he didn't get mistreated. The king actually said, get one of your principal leaders.
[24:53] Get one of the main men. Let the main man walk down the street leading the horse. I mean, if anything, if anything, he could have said, well, I might not be the one on the horse, but I still want the main men.
[25:04] He picked me to lead him around the city. But no, no, he's upset. If I can't be on the horse, I don't want anybody on the horse. He had gone to get Mordecai the death penalty, but instead he had to glorify him and honor him.
[25:18] He got the opposite of what he wanted. Now his friends tell him, you're about to lose it all. Look at Esther chapter 6 and verse 13. Then said his wise men and Seirish, his wife.
[25:31] If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, the ones you're plotting to kill, you know, the ones you've been pulling all this stuff on. They said, our plot is falling apart.
[25:43] We had a plot to kill the Jews. Mordecai is a Jew and the Jew that should be dying is being honored. This is not looking good. He said, before whom the Jews, before whom thou has begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
[26:03] Mordecai is going to win. Haman, you're going to lose. His own wife and his friends, his counselors tell him it. Right now is a chance.
[26:15] He should have gone over and said, oh God, I messed up. He should have run into the kingdom and said, could I change that ruling? I'd like to be the man who saves the Jews. Let's change the law, please.
[26:27] But instead he's like, I will not bow my head to anybody. I will not bow the knee. I will not acknowledge that I have lost. I will not admit I lost.
[26:40] So while they're still talking about it, they come to get him for the party. Look at Esther chapter 6 verse 14. And while they were yet talking, came the king's chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman to the banquet. Is he beginning to notice something happening?
[26:54] Is he beginning to think that God is giving him a chance to repent and get right? Will he ask the king to change the law? I mean, he could have gone to that banquet and said, king, before we go in to get all that fancy food and stuff, could I just have a word with you?
[27:08] I had a word with you before. I'd like to have another word with you. No. I'd like to ask you, how have you responded to all that God's doing in your life? You're not here by accident.
[27:24] Somebody cared about your soul enough to invite you to church. Somebody cared enough about your soul to share the gospel with you. You've been told that you could go to heaven. You've heard it. You've been invited. How you respond to what God's doing in your life determines everything.
[27:41] And the crazy thing about God is everything's backwards. Humans want to go up. Humans want to be whole.
[27:53] Humans want to lead. Humans want to live. Here's some things you could think of. I've told you before. But the way up with God is down. To be whole with God, you must be broken. To get, you must give.
[28:05] To live, you must die. The way to lead is actually to serve. If you respond in pride, all will be lost.
[28:16] The Bible says in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 14. You need to look at this verse. You need to look at this verse.
[28:28] I'm going to get them put up on the screen for you. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you. Christ is become of no effect unto you.
[28:41] Christ can't help you. That's what that means. Are you ready? Christ can't help you if you think you are justified by the law.
[28:54] You are fallen from grace. Now listen to this. Listen to me. Listen. Listen. Basically, God says there's two ways to handle this. I'll save you or you can try to save yourself.
[29:05] You can be good enough to go to heaven, which you'll never do, or you can let me save you. Because see, if you think I don't need Jesus down on the cross, I don't need what God has done, I can do it.
[29:20] Then it says right here, whosoever of you is justified by the law. If you're giving me your list of things you've done, I've been baptized. My wife was sprinkled and sprinkled again and then baptized.
[29:33] Boy, if anybody's going to get in, she got her list of credentials. If that's the way you're living it, then you've fallen from grace. You'll either trust God and receive salvation by what he did, or you'll trust you and receive salvation by what you do.
[29:50] If you respond in humility, you can be saved. Every Christian, every truly born-again person in this room knows this.
[30:02] We came just like we were. We came filthy and lost and deserving to go to hell. And we humbled ourselves before a great God and said, I can't save myself.
[30:13] I can't save myself. I'm not smart enough. I'm not strong enough. And I'm not able. And we humbled ourselves. And he saved us. God has done everything for you to be saved today.
[30:27] And just like in this story, he's working behind the scenes to save the nation of Israel. He's been working behind the scenes in your life. He got you here today. Somebody loves you.
[30:39] Somebody invited you. Somebody's sitting next to you. God wants to save you. Are you going to be Haman and ignore the warning?
[30:53] And say, there ain't nobody like me. Or are you going to humble yourself? It's pretty hard. One of the things the Lord condemns Israel for all the time is they got a stiff neck.
[31:04] It means they have a hard time bowing. You see, before God, we all bow. Before God, we double our knees.
[31:17] Before God, we acknowledge, I can't. But you can. If you're here and you're not saved, today's your day. If you're here and you're a Christian and you're still living in your pride, let's get it right.
[31:28] Let's get it right.