WEBVTT

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 Father, we thank you that you are, we can't see you.

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 You are invisible to us.

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 You are hidden to us.

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 But we thank you, God.

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 We thank you, Lord, that you are present, that you are powerful, and that you are active.

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 We thank you, Father, that you caused all Holy Scripture to be written,

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 that the words are here, that are here, the words that you wanted to have written,

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 that you were the one responsible for having these words recognized by people as having ultimately come from you.

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 And you are the one who has had them preserved so that we today can read them.

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 So we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would come and move within us gently but deeply at the level of our heart

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 so that we might receive all that you will give us through your word

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 and that we will respond with gratitude and praise.

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 And that we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

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 Amen.

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 Please be seated.

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 So a couple of people will know what I'm referring to when I share this.

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 But about a month or so ago, maybe a little bit more than that,

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 I and several others started to pray quite seriously that something wouldn't happen.

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 And many people who know lots of things about how organizations work said that not only was it wrong for us to even ask that it wouldn't happen,

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 but it didn't matter if we prayed because what we were praying about to not happen was going to happen.

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 And then a couple of weeks ago, when the time came for this thing to happen,

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 that people said we shouldn't have been praying about because it was going to happen,

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 there were powerful people, it had been publicized, etc.

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 Well, the thing we prayed about didn't happen.

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 Like our prayers were answered.

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 It's quite remarkable, isn't it?

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 And it's not, I mean, I'm sharing that because it's interesting.

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 How did, like, what is it that happens in prayer?

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 Sometimes when we pray about things, we're praying for a miracle.

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 You know, we're praying that maybe the cancer which is there will be gone.

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 And if it's gone, it's probably a type of a miracle.

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 If you, when the Dig and Del videos become available from the last one,

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 I really encourage you to go and listen to the one by Greg Kopchick.

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 I encourage you to listen to all of them, but go watch the one by Greg Kopchick.

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 And he tells you about something that happens that the non-Christian doctor had to acknowledge that it maybe was a miracle,

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 that there's no other explanation for what happened.

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 And we pray for that.

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 But for most of our prayers, we pray for things that involve God's providence,

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 that God will act through the normal, natural course of events,

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 so that something that we think is needed actually happens.

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 And that's actually how most prayer works.

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 Some of you know, in the Battle of Dunkirk, giving a very old example,

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 in Dunkirk, over 300,000 British troops were trapped along the edge of the sea.

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 They'd been caught flat-footed by the Nazis.

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 And the Nazi army was pushing them back, and they had their back to the sea.

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 And the Nazi generals were all calling for the annihilation of the British forces.

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 And the King of England at the time, with the permission of the Prime Minister,

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 while this was all happening, when it looked completely and utterly bleak,

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 he did something which no politician would do today in the Western world.

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 He got on the radio and called the nation to prayer.

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 Believe it or not, 1940, that's what he did.

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 He called the nation for a day of prayer for deliverance of the third of a million soldiers.

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 Now, what happened, as you know, you don't actually always know that,

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 because usually now modern movies, like there was a good movie about Dunkirk made about a year ago,

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 and it completely omitted this from the entire account.

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 But for some inexplicable reason, Hitler decided that the Nazi generals and the army would stop.

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 They just, yeah, I mean, that's what happened.

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 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, from the British point of view and from a world history point of view,

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 because the Nazis were evil.

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 But for some inexplicable reason, Hitler ordered the generals to stop,

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 rather than continuing to press on the battle.

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 There were other things that happened, and of course there was other actions.

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 But at the end of the day, after a day of prayer by the British people for deliverance of their troops,

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 over 300,000 troops, the biggest military evacuation in history was in fact successful.

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 And, I mean, it's not a miracle on one level, is it?

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 But isn't it something odd?

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 Isn't that how all of our prayers work?

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 That we ask that somebody will arrive safely, or that the promotion will happen,

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 or some other type of thing,

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 or that something that a powerful group of people want to have presented,

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 and we pray that it won't be presented, and it isn't presented.

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 And it's not a miracle, it's something else.

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 It's providence.

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 The story that we're going to look at today,

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 and in fact the entire book, if you could look at the title up here above me,

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 you'll notice that I've called the sermon series,

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 The Story of Esther,

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 The Hidden God in a Broken World.

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 And I think it was Amy who picked the image, or maybe it was Jen.

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 I know that sort of the artwork was done by some combination of the two of them.

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 It's not Ottawa here, but it's appropriate that it, I think it's Manhattan,

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 so it's appropriate that they picked as the image,

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 the center of a major, I mean, the Americans in a center have an empire.

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 But the book of Esther is all about precisely that.

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 I don't know how many of you know this, and I haven't talked about it in the sermon,

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 but the word God never appears once in the book of Esther.

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 Never appears once.

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 And many people throughout the years have been bothered by the fact

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 that there's a book in the Bible that never mentions the word God.

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 But what the book of Esther is really all about in a very, very powerful way

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 is just how the world actually works.

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 That in the world, it actually is.

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 We live in a broken world.

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 Not a perfect world, but a broken world.

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 A world where there is genocide, where there is sexual assault,

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 where there is robbery, where families break up,

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 where institutions don't act in a just and merciful way,

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 but act in a terrible way.

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 And we live in a broken world.

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 And in this broken world, there is a hidden God.

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 The hidden God still operates in this broken world.

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 And he operates according to his own purposes and his own plans.

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 And we as Christians know that the hidden God actually exists.

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 So we're to pray to him that he will act.

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 And we are to seek his will and his guidance.

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 But the book of Esther, in a sense, it's not a book of doctrine.

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 It's a story.

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 But by telling the story, it helps us to feel and get an image or a sense of how it is that divine providence works.

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 That even though human beings do what human beings are going to do,

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 and even though human beings are completely and utterly free,

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 and because human beings are completely and utterly free,

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 they are responsible for what they do.

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 But in the midst, or in the fact, even though every human being is free,

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 and human beings act according to their own plans and purposes,

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 sometimes very, very evil, and sometimes very, very virtuous,

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 that somehow or another, the Lord is still king,

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 and he is moving all things in human history towards his end.

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 That's what divine providence is.

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 That the Lord is sovereign over all things, over everything,

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 at the same time that human beings are free.

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 And I can say that,

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 and for many of you, you start to have intellectual problems,

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 and that's fine.

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 We'll maybe talk about a couple of them over the next couple of weeks.

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 But what the book of Esther does is help us to feel it,

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 to see what it's like to be in a world that's broken,

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 where the hidden God is still present, powerful, and active,

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 and moving things towards his desired end.

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 So if you have your Bibles, turn to Esther chapter 6,

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 which is where we are.

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 Those who don't have your Bibles with you,

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 you can either pick up a Bible,

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 or the text will be above us on the stage.

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 And just to sort of cap up to where we are in the story,

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 because we're in chapter 6 of the story that began at chapter 1, verse 1,

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 what's happened so far,

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 what's sort of immediately important for you to know,

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 is that genocide has been planned and is organized,

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 and it's all set to go against the Jewish people.

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 And it's going to be happening about 9 or 10 months down the road,

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 but it's all planned, it's all organized,

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 it's a fait accompli.

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 Nothing can stop it,

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 the genocide against every Jewish person in the empire,

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 in the Persian empire.

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 And a woman by the name of Esther,

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 and in a sense her conversion is reported

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 in chapter 4 of Esther,

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 of the book of Esther,

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 she is a woman who's lived like a Persian,

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 has a name,

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 she's named after the goddess Ishtar,

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 she looks like a Persian,

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 eats like a Persian,

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 worships like a Persian,

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 lives like a Persian,

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 and she's done all of this

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 under the direct instruction of the man

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 who was her adopted father by the name of Mordecai.

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 She becomes one of the queens of Persia,

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 Mordecai confronts her in chapter 4 of Esther,

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 and in that confrontation,

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 it's her conversion moment,

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 and out of this conversion moment

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 is that she has to come and try to speak to the king,

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 risk her life to speak to the king,

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 to plead for her people.

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 There's great prayer for this,

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 she actually does go,

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 and the king does spare her life.

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 She asks to have the king and Haman,

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 who is responsible for the genocide,

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 have a feast,

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 and that's what happened last week,

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 but lo and behold,

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 after this great act of courage by Esther,

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 she stumbles.

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 She doesn't follow through.

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 When it comes time to say,

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 King, I ask you here to plead for my life

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 and for the life of all of the Jewish people,

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 she's not able to do it.

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 She stumbles.

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 And all she can say is,

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 could you come tomorrow?

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 And she doesn't realize this, of course,

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 but by asking to come tomorrow,

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 she puts her adopted father's life in jeopardy

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 because Haman, that evening,

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 plans to have Mordecai,

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 the next day,

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 impaled on a stake

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 so everybody can see.

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 And Esther doesn't realize

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 that she's just risked,

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 potentially,

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 is going to have her adopted father

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 killed by her enemy.

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 And that's where the story continues.

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 Chapter 6, verse 1.

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 So on that night,

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 that's the night of the feast

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 and the night before the next day

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 when the second feast,

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 when hopefully Esther will have the courage

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 to talk to the king.

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 On that night,

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 the king could not sleep

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 and he gave orders

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 to bring the book of memorable deeds,

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 the chronicles,

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 and they were read before the king.

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 Now just sort of pause here for a second

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 because this is actually,

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 this is something that you wouldn't know.

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 I didn't know this

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 when I was just reading through the book.

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 I mean,

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 I've read through the book

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 quite a few times.

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 First of all,

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 literally in the original language,

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 the Hebrew,

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 good not sleep,

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 that's a perfect translation,

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 but literally it said,

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 it says,

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 sleep fled from the king.

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 Sleep fled from the king.

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 And for some scholars,

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 when they look at the whole literary structure

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 of the book,

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 and we can see it in a moment,

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 actually,

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 if we think about it,

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 this is a turning point

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 in the entire book.

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 On one hand,

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 the interpretive key to the book

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 is what's said around the time

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 of Esther's conversion.

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 Mordecai,

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 who has become now converted himself,

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 he says that,

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 I know that the Lord

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 will deliver his covenant people,

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 whether it's through you or not,

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 he will deliver his people.

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 But,

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 Esther,

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 are you here for such a time as this?

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 In other words,

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 has God in his providence

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 made you a queen of Persia

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 so you can be the one

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 that the Lord uses,

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 humanly speaking,

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 to deliver his people.

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 And Esther says,

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 I'm going to pray,

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 I will do it,

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 and if I perish,

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 I perish.

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 On one hand,

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 that little interaction

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 is the interpretive key

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 to the whole story,

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 but at a literary level,

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 this is the turning point

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 in the whole story.

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 At this point in time,

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 from the story on,

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 it is going to become clear

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 that that which could not change,

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 the genocide of the Jewish people,

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 because once the Persian,

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 once the king of Persia

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 has made a decree,

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 it cannot be changed.

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 That which is humanly impossible

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 to change will change,

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 and the Jewish people

00:13:30.199 --> 00:13:31.559
 will not die by genocide.

00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:34.480
 I know I'm speaking

00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:35.159
 a little bit ahead,

00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:36.460
 but this is the turning point

00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:37.159
 in the story,

00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:38.579
 a sleepless night,

00:13:39.319 --> 00:13:40.460
 a sleepless night

00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:41.120
 by the king.

00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:42.919
 And as part of that

00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:43.819
 sleepless night,

00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:44.980
 him asking to have

00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:46.019
 a book read to him,

00:13:46.420 --> 00:13:47.180
 hoping that maybe

00:13:47.180 --> 00:13:48.879
 these pleasant things

00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:49.600
 in the past

00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.600
 and the droning

00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:51.740
 of the person's voice

00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:52.840
 will help him

00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:53.600
 to fall asleep.

00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:55.240
 And one of the things

00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:56.180
 which is so interesting

00:13:56.180 --> 00:13:56.680
 about this

00:13:56.680 --> 00:13:57.779
 at a literary level

00:13:57.779 --> 00:13:59.460
 is that it's emphasizing

00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:01.019
 God's providence

00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:03.139
 to help to make it clear

00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:05.580
 that this is no human action

00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:07.000
 and help you to understand

00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:08.220
 that everything

00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:09.440
 that's been going on

00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:10.080
 in this book

00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:10.800
 is helping us

00:14:10.800 --> 00:14:11.539
 to understand

00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:12.659
 the Lord's providence.

00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:14.960
 It was by providence

00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:17.220
 that Queen Vashti

00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:18.480
 was banished.

00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:20.120
 It was by providence

00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:21.780
 that Esther became

00:14:21.780 --> 00:14:22.600
 the queen.

00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:25.040
 It was by providence

00:14:25.040 --> 00:14:26.220
 that Mordecai

00:14:26.220 --> 00:14:27.240
 gives instructions

00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:28.400
 that prevent the king

00:14:28.400 --> 00:14:29.700
 from being assassinated.

00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:31.180
 It is by providence

00:14:31.180 --> 00:14:32.519
 that Mordecai

00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:34.180
 wasn't rewarded.

00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.160
 It was by providence

00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:38.220
 that Esther was able

00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:38.620
 to go

00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:39.200
 and the king

00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:40.060
 showed her favor

00:14:40.060 --> 00:14:41.879
 so that she did not die.

00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:43.720
 And that even now,

00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:45.180
 even though now

00:14:45.180 --> 00:14:46.700
 Mordecai is in danger

00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:47.480
 of being killed

00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:48.040
 by Haman,

00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:49.759
 the Lord is acting

00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:51.100
 providentially

00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:52.100
 throughout this

00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:53.460
 and he does this

00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:55.019
 by having the man

00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:56.240
 have what many of us

00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:57.620
 have on a regular basis,

00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:58.980
 a sleepless night.

00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:01.200
 He has a sleepless night.

00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:03.620
 So what happens

00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:04.620
 with this sleepless night?

00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:05.379
 We'll look at verses

00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:06.200
 two and three.

00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:08.060
 So he asked for the book.

00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:08.700
 He asked for a book

00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:09.180
 to be read

00:15:09.180 --> 00:15:11.060
 of memorable deeds.

00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:12.579
 And so verse two,

00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.459
 and it was found written

00:15:13.459 --> 00:15:14.239
 in that book

00:15:14.239 --> 00:15:15.159
 how Mordecai

00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.619
 and the king

00:15:17.619 --> 00:15:18.219
 doesn't know

00:15:18.219 --> 00:15:19.039
 that Mordecai

00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:19.659
 is the man

00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:20.719
 who raised Esther.

00:15:21.439 --> 00:15:22.239
 And he doesn't know

00:15:22.239 --> 00:15:22.899
 that Mordecai

00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:23.599
 is Jewish

00:15:23.599 --> 00:15:25.439
 because Mordecai

00:15:25.439 --> 00:15:27.039
 means

00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:28.679
 worshipper of Marduk,

00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:30.719
 worshipper of Marduk.

00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:32.559
 And so

00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.219
 it was found

00:15:34.219 --> 00:15:34.939
 how Mordecai

00:15:34.939 --> 00:15:35.439
 had told

00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.720
 had told

00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:37.700
 about Bithana

00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:38.800
 and Teresh,

00:15:39.380 --> 00:15:40.680
 two of the king's eunuchs

00:15:40.680 --> 00:15:41.620
 who guarded

00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:42.380
 the threshold

00:15:42.380 --> 00:15:43.900
 and who had sought

00:15:43.900 --> 00:15:44.780
 to lay hands

00:15:44.780 --> 00:15:45.400
 on king

00:15:45.400 --> 00:15:46.920
 Assyrus,

00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:48.040
 Xerxes.

00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:49.340
 In other words,

00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:50.120
 they'd planned

00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:51.240
 to assassinate him.

00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:53.140
 And the king said,

00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:53.880
 what honor

00:15:53.880 --> 00:15:54.580
 or distinction

00:15:54.580 --> 00:15:55.960
 has been bestowed

00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:56.760
 on Mordecai

00:15:56.760 --> 00:15:57.300
 for this?

00:15:57.900 --> 00:15:58.840
 And the king's

00:15:58.840 --> 00:15:59.340
 young men

00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:00.140
 who attended him

00:16:00.140 --> 00:16:00.480
 said,

00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:01.940
 nothing has been

00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:02.620
 done for him.

00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:04.280
 Now just sort of pause.

00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.420
 If you've been following

00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:07.320
 along every week

00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:07.960
 and can remember

00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:08.520
 every word

00:16:08.520 --> 00:16:09.200
 that I said,

00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:09.860
 by the way,

00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:10.620
 I can't remember

00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:11.060
 every word

00:16:11.060 --> 00:16:11.580
 that I said

00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:12.300
 so I don't expect

00:16:12.300 --> 00:16:12.860
 anybody here

00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:13.280
 to remember

00:16:13.280 --> 00:16:13.860
 every word

00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:14.480
 that I've said.

00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:16.220
 There's five years gap.

00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:20.560
 So by providence,

00:16:21.140 --> 00:16:21.880
 Mordecai wasn't

00:16:21.880 --> 00:16:22.900
 rewarded immediately

00:16:22.900 --> 00:16:23.860
 five years ago.

00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:25.600
 By providence,

00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:26.900
 it slipped

00:16:26.900 --> 00:16:27.900
 the king's mind.

00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:29.200
 This is a huge faux pas

00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:30.520
 in the ancient world

00:16:30.520 --> 00:16:32.140
 and a huge faux pas

00:16:32.140 --> 00:16:33.420
 for a king like this

00:16:33.420 --> 00:16:34.880
 who desires

00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:36.980
 who has to reward

00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:38.299
 loyalty in such a way

00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:39.399
 that people will see

00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:40.700
 that he's rewarding

00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:41.340
 loyalty

00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:44.159
 and rewarding heroism.

00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:47.720
 And by providence,

00:16:47.939 --> 00:16:49.039
 five years earlier,

00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:50.559
 when Mordecai reports

00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:51.100
 the plot

00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:52.399
 to assassinate the king,

00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:54.860
 the king forgets.

00:16:55.860 --> 00:16:56.779
 And now,

00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:58.600
 after a sleepless night,

00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:01.159
 he is reminded.

00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:06.399
 And so he says,

00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:06.940
 well,

00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:07.899
 let's see what happens.

00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:08.619
 What's going to happen?

00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:09.539
 He has to deal

00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:10.319
 with this faux pas.

00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:10.980
 Verse four,

00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:14.379
 and the king said,

00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:15.519
 who is in the court?

00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:16.940
 Now,

00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:17.779
 Haman,

00:17:18.139 --> 00:17:19.039
 that's the man

00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:19.619
 who's planned

00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:20.240
 the genocide,

00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:21.659
 who's an anti-Semite.

00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:22.460
 Now,

00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:23.480
 Haman had just

00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:24.779
 entered the outer court

00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:26.420
 of the king's palace

00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:27.500
 to speak to the king

00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:28.159
 about having Mordecai

00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.580
 hanged on the gallows.

00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:32.140
 Another way to interpret

00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:32.700
 that would be

00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:34.320
 impaled on a stake

00:17:34.320 --> 00:17:35.840
 that he had prepared

00:17:35.840 --> 00:17:36.340
 for him.

00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:38.560
 And the king's young men

00:17:38.560 --> 00:17:39.380
 told him,

00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:40.700
 Haman is there

00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:41.779
 standing in the court.

00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:43.540
 And the king said,

00:17:44.100 --> 00:17:45.279
 let him come in.

00:17:47.100 --> 00:17:47.320
 Now,

00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:47.600
 just,

00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:49.540
 now remember this.

00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:50.860
 Haman

00:17:50.860 --> 00:17:53.400
 had gotten mad

00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:54.180
 at Mordecai

00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:54.960
 the night before.

00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:56.920
 He'd gone to talk

00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:57.580
 to his wife

00:17:57.580 --> 00:17:58.340
 and his advisors.

00:17:58.560 --> 00:17:59.039
 His wife

00:17:59.039 --> 00:17:59.940
 and his advisors

00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:00.360
 said,

00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:01.279
 what we need to do

00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.039
 is you need to get

00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:03.340
 a place

00:18:03.340 --> 00:18:04.259
 that's really public

00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:06.100
 and put a stake on it

00:18:06.100 --> 00:18:07.039
 and the next day

00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:08.420
 you need to go

00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:09.320
 and get Mordecai

00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:10.279
 and impale him

00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:10.820
 on the stake

00:18:10.820 --> 00:18:11.840
 so everybody can see.

00:18:13.080 --> 00:18:14.640
 And that's what happened

00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:15.420
 just before this

00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:16.740
 and Haman loved the idea.

00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:17.860
 That's exactly

00:18:17.860 --> 00:18:18.640
 what he wanted to do.

00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:19.900
 He did high fives

00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:20.720
 all around the room

00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:21.779
 for a great idea,

00:18:21.860 --> 00:18:22.460
 a great plan.

00:18:22.840 --> 00:18:23.800
 Had the thing built.

00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:25.980
 He's rushing in early

00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:27.839
 to get the king's permission

00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:29.539
 to have Mordecai

00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:31.200
 impaled on the stake.

00:18:32.860 --> 00:18:34.160
 And what's probably

00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:34.940
 happening here

00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:36.259
 is that when Haman comes

00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:36.900
 and he comes in

00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:37.460
 really early

00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:38.120
 so he makes sure

00:18:38.120 --> 00:18:39.200
 he gets on the appointment

00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:39.940
 list in time

00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:40.720
 to be able to speak

00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.240
 to the king.

00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:42.799
 And probably what goes

00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:43.740
 through Haman's mind

00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:44.380
 when the king

00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:45.779
 summons him in right away

00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:45.940
 is,

00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:46.339
 wow,

00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:48.200
 everything is going

00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:49.000
 my way.

00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:52.700
 but little does he know

00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:53.500
 that the king

00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:55.400
 is calling him here

00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:56.559
 to reward Mordecai.

00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:00.420
 Those of you

00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:00.740
 who are here

00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:01.200
 in time

00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.359
 to confess your sins

00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:02.799
 at the start

00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.460
 of the service,

00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.819
 many people

00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:05.839
 dislike the phrase

00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.900
 miserable offenders.

00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:07.900
 How many of you

00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:08.660
 were here early enough

00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:09.019
 and you remember

00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:09.519
 that phrase

00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:10.240
 in the confession?

00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:11.960
 Miserable offenders.

00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:14.059
 And the old word

00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:15.200
 for miserable offenders

00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:15.680
 isn't,

00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:16.599
 it isn't saying that,

00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:16.960
 you know,

00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:17.960
 we all feel miserable.

00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:18.680
 It might be that

00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:19.259
 when you were saying

00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:20.340
 that not a single person

00:19:20.340 --> 00:19:20.700
 in the room

00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:21.840
 felt miserable.

00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:24.480
 That miserable offenders

00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:26.720
 is an old English

00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.259
 and miserable,

00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:30.519
 miserable here means

00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.380
 worthy of pity.

00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:37.400
 Worthy of pity

00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:39.100
 or an object of pity.

00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:40.980
 So what the phrase

00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:42.039
 is actually saying

00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:43.279
 is to God

00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:44.460
 in the prayer

00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:45.400
 is that we are

00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:46.640
 objects of pity

00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:48.480
 because of our offenses.

00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:51.340
 And what that means

00:19:51.340 --> 00:19:52.640
 in the old prayer book

00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:53.480
 is that if you could

00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.140
 look at things

00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:55.700
 from God's point of view,

00:19:56.860 --> 00:19:57.860
 you could see

00:19:57.860 --> 00:19:59.840
 that if we live

00:19:59.840 --> 00:20:00.620
 our lives

00:20:00.620 --> 00:20:01.440
 and die

00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:02.100
 without giving

00:20:02.100 --> 00:20:03.340
 our lives to Jesus,

00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:04.940
 we are objects

00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:05.420
 of pity.

00:20:05.560 --> 00:20:06.440
 We don't realize

00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:07.780
 that what we are doing

00:20:07.780 --> 00:20:10.140
 is charting a course

00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:11.520
 for eternal separation

00:20:11.520 --> 00:20:12.200
 from God.

00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:16.759
 And you can see here

00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.620
 right now

00:20:17.620 --> 00:20:19.319
 that in a sense,

00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:20.640
 Haman,

00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:22.740
 right this moment,

00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:25.019
 filled with vim and vigor,

00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:26.620
 feeling happy,

00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:28.259
 feeling pumped,

00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.420
 feeling affirmed,

00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:31.819
 feeling that everything

00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:33.180
 is going his way,

00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:34.980
 feeling that the future

00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:35.840
 is just going to be

00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:36.860
 better and better

00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:37.299
 and better.

00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:37.899
 Tomorrow,

00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:39.319
 today is going to be

00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:40.319
 better than yesterday

00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:42.200
 and the day before this

00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:42.740
 is going to be

00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:44.099
 even better than today.

00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:45.519
 But the fact of the matter

00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:46.519
 is that each of us

00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:47.159
 reading this story

00:20:47.159 --> 00:20:48.240
 at this moment

00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.220
 know that he is

00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:52.639
 an object of pity.

00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:56.259
 He is coming

00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:58.180
 to get Mordecai

00:20:58.180 --> 00:20:59.599
 killed.

00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:02.099
 The king has summoned him

00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:03.919
 to reward Mordecai.

00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.360
 He is a miserable offender.

00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:10.680
 He is an object of pity.

00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:14.500
 So,

00:21:14.840 --> 00:21:15.500
 verse 6,

00:21:17.080 --> 00:21:17.820
 Haman comes in

00:21:17.820 --> 00:21:18.500
 to see the king.

00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:19.300
 So,

00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:20.200
 Haman come in,

00:21:20.580 --> 00:21:21.200
 came in.

00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:23.240
 And the king

00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:24.120
 said to him,

00:21:24.580 --> 00:21:25.920
 what should be done

00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:26.840
 to the man

00:21:26.840 --> 00:21:28.600
 whom the king

00:21:28.600 --> 00:21:29.820
 delights

00:21:29.820 --> 00:21:30.920
 to honor?

00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:32.340
 And Haman

00:21:32.340 --> 00:21:33.539
 said to himself,

00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:35.340
 whom would the king

00:21:35.340 --> 00:21:35.900
 delight

00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:36.980
 to honor

00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:38.279
 more than me?

00:21:39.340 --> 00:21:40.400
 Whom would the king

00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:41.519
 delight to honor

00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:42.460
 more

00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:43.580
 than me?

00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:46.160
 See,

00:21:46.300 --> 00:21:47.120
 his pride

00:21:47.120 --> 00:21:48.039
 blinds him,

00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:48.980
 doesn't it?

00:21:50.060 --> 00:21:51.420
 He doesn't say,

00:21:52.300 --> 00:21:53.980
 I don't know,

00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:54.300
 king,

00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:55.480
 like,

00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:55.960
 who is he

00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:56.400
 who you want to honor?

00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:57.160
 Sort of depends.

00:21:57.300 --> 00:21:57.380
 You know,

00:21:57.420 --> 00:21:57.519
 like,

00:21:57.580 --> 00:21:58.100
 are they poor?

00:21:58.200 --> 00:21:59.060
 They might like money

00:21:59.060 --> 00:21:59.700
 if they're,

00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:00.880
 you know,

00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:01.960
 if they,

00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:02.620
 you know,

00:22:02.619 --> 00:22:04.039
 they're widowed,

00:22:04.179 --> 00:22:04.699
 they might like

00:22:04.699 --> 00:22:05.359
 a new wife,

00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:05.699
 like,

00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:07.339
 like,

00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:08.159
 maybe they want

00:22:08.159 --> 00:22:08.659
 a promotion,

00:22:08.879 --> 00:22:09.059
 like,

00:22:09.179 --> 00:22:09.319
 you know,

00:22:09.379 --> 00:22:10.179
 he could have said

00:22:10.179 --> 00:22:10.379
 that,

00:22:10.419 --> 00:22:10.959
 but his pride

00:22:10.959 --> 00:22:11.579
 blinds him.

00:22:12.239 --> 00:22:12.419
 See,

00:22:12.479 --> 00:22:12.939
 this is one of the

00:22:12.939 --> 00:22:13.219
 things,

00:22:13.339 --> 00:22:14.099
 one of the reasons

00:22:14.099 --> 00:22:14.759
 why humility

00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:15.639
 is such an important

00:22:15.639 --> 00:22:16.739
 virtue for Christians

00:22:16.739 --> 00:22:17.619
 is that humility

00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:18.439
 helps you to enter

00:22:18.439 --> 00:22:19.179
 the real world.

00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.039
 Pride keeps you

00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:22.879
 from the real world.

00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.000
 and,

00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:25.460
 um,

00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:28.140
 so he's going to,

00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.180
 he doesn't even do this,

00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:30.480
 he's so filled with pride,

00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:32.120
 he's just so filled

00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:32.660
 with thinking

00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:33.860
 everything's going his way,

00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:34.780
 he doesn't even ask

00:22:34.780 --> 00:22:35.900
 any type of context,

00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:37.760
 he immediately starts

00:22:37.760 --> 00:22:38.940
 thinking of himself

00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:40.060
 and what he'd like

00:22:40.060 --> 00:22:41.380
 and so his request

00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:42.520
 reflects that.

00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:43.520
 You have to remember

00:22:43.520 --> 00:22:44.580
 he can't get promoted

00:22:44.580 --> 00:22:45.400
 any higher

00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.220
 and he's already

00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:47.580
 very,

00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:48.360
 very wealthy.

00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:50.160
 So what he suggests

00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:50.980
 to the king

00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:51.740
 is this,

00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:53.880
 verse 7,

00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:55.519
 and Haman said

00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:56.000
 to the king,

00:22:56.120 --> 00:22:56.700
 for the man

00:22:56.700 --> 00:22:57.299
 whom the king

00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:58.339
 delights to honor,

00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:01.000
 let royal robes

00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:01.680
 be brought

00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:02.480
 which the king

00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:03.079
 has worn

00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:04.640
 and the horse

00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:05.359
 that the king

00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:05.960
 has ridden

00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:07.839
 and on whose head

00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:08.700
 a royal crown

00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:09.039
 is set,

00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:09.759
 that's the crown

00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:10.519
 is on the horse

00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:11.120
 by the way,

00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:11.720
 that was the thing

00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:12.759
 they did sometimes,

00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:14.380
 put crowns on the,

00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:14.880
 the royal,

00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:16.059
 the royal horse

00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:17.140
 had its own crown

00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:19.140
 and let the robes

00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:19.859
 and the horse

00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:20.799
 be handed over

00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:21.720
 to one of the king's

00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:22.940
 most noble officials.

00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:24.420
 Let them dress

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:25.100
 the man,

00:23:25.620 --> 00:23:26.799
 the official that is,

00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:27.600
 whom the king

00:23:27.600 --> 00:23:28.500
 delights to honor

00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:29.579
 and let,

00:23:29.940 --> 00:23:30.339
 that is,

00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:30.920
 the noble

00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:32.380
 lead the man

00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:33.420
 on the horse

00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:34.319
 through the square

00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:34.860
 of the city,

00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:35.740
 that is where everybody

00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:36.779
 is and where all

00:23:36.779 --> 00:23:37.400
 the talking

00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:38.039
 and the gossip,

00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:38.880
 that's where the internet

00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.200
 is,

00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:39.960
 that's where Google

00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:40.400
 is,

00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:41.360
 it's where the newspapers

00:23:41.360 --> 00:23:41.880
 are,

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:43.100
 where everybody knows

00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:43.839
 what's going on,

00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:45.360
 proclaiming before him,

00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:47.059
 thus shall it be done

00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:47.799
 to the man

00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:48.779
 whom the king

00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:50.500
 delights to honor.

00:23:53.339 --> 00:23:53.899
 And,

00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.480
 and that's where he stops.

00:23:59.079 --> 00:23:59.639
 Now,

00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:06.960
 you know,

00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:07.819
 it's interesting

00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:08.960
 if you think about it,

00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:09.740
 like the way

00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:11.159
 the modern world works,

00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:13.019
 the modern world

00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.179
 extols three things.

00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:17.940
 it tells us

00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:18.380
 that we have

00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:19.160
 to be autonomous,

00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:21.060
 it tells us

00:24:21.060 --> 00:24:21.519
 that we have

00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:22.360
 to be authentic,

00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:23.200
 in other words,

00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:23.759
 we have to be

00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:24.759
 true to ourselves,

00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:27.019
 and it tells us

00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:28.580
 that what has

00:24:28.580 --> 00:24:29.080
 to happen

00:24:29.080 --> 00:24:29.940
 is that the world

00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:31.320
 has to affirm us.

00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:32.120
 It's very,

00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:32.960
 very powerful

00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:33.900
 in,

00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:35.539
 in all sorts

00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:36.299
 of different ways.

00:24:36.820 --> 00:24:37.580
 And it's,

00:24:37.580 --> 00:24:38.039
 it's funny

00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:38.860
 because you see,

00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:40.580
 Haman is living

00:24:40.580 --> 00:24:41.880
 the Canadian dream.

00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:44.700
 Haman is living

00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:45.660
 the Canadian dream

00:24:45.660 --> 00:24:46.420
 as articulated

00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:47.140
 by Hollywood

00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:48.279
 and by educational

00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:48.960
 institutions.

00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:50.980
 He's autonomous,

00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:52.039
 he has his power,

00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:53.380
 he's being completely

00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:53.860
 and utterly

00:24:53.860 --> 00:24:54.799
 true to himself.

00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:56.779
 He's true to himself,

00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:57.680
 hates Jews,

00:24:58.620 --> 00:24:59.380
 loves himself,

00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:00.700
 loves money,

00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:02.080
 loves prestige,

00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:04.840
 and he imagines

00:25:04.840 --> 00:25:05.400
 a world

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.160
 where not only

00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:07.080
 is he powerful

00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:07.960
 and autonomous,

00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:09.319
 and where he's

00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:10.559
 being true to himself,

00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:11.779
 but what really

00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:12.299
 he needs

00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:12.819
 to have it

00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:13.640
 be completely

00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:14.539
 and utterly perfect,

00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:16.039
 is lots of

00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:16.960
 affirmation

00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:17.920
 and applause.

00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:20.640
 Because it's very,

00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:21.220
 very interesting.

00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:22.100
 In the modern world,

00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:22.720
 it's not about

00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:23.799
 learning how to,

00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:24.140
 to,

00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:26.340
 to reciprocate

00:25:26.340 --> 00:25:28.340
 affirmation,

00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:31.240
 but in,

00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:31.779
 in,

00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:32.480
 for the,

00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.119
 the social,

00:25:33.419 --> 00:25:34.179
 so much of the

00:25:34.179 --> 00:25:35.539
 social justice stuff,

00:25:36.199 --> 00:25:37.299
 so much of educational

00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:37.679
 stuff,

00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:38.619
 so much of Hollywood,

00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:40.139
 is it's this.

00:25:41.419 --> 00:25:42.399
 I need to be

00:25:42.399 --> 00:25:42.980
 affirmed.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:44.379
 And that's,

00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:45.539
 Mordecai is living,

00:25:45.699 --> 00:25:45.859
 I mean,

00:25:45.899 --> 00:25:46.319
 not Mordecai,

00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.619
 Haman is living

00:25:47.619 --> 00:25:50.079
 the Canadian dream.

00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:52.759
 But he is a

00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:53.559
 miserable offender.

00:25:54.679 --> 00:25:54.899
 I mean,

00:25:54.899 --> 00:25:55.599
 that's what the story

00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:56.179
 is revealing.

00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:58.680
 So he says

00:25:58.680 --> 00:25:59.380
 all of this,

00:26:00.120 --> 00:26:01.580
 and then he's

00:26:01.580 --> 00:26:02.039
 probably,

00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:03.000
 after he said it,

00:26:03.060 --> 00:26:03.240
 you know,

00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:03.680
 nowadays,

00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:04.480
 it's almost probably

00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.299
 as if he drops

00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:06.480
 the mic after

00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.500
 saying all of this,

00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:08.740
 and just sort of

00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:09.700
 takes a step back,

00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:10.620
 waiting for the king

00:26:10.620 --> 00:26:10.960
 to say,

00:26:11.100 --> 00:26:11.340
 yeah,

00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:11.980
 that's it,

00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:13.299
 let's do this for Haman.

00:26:13.820 --> 00:26:14.600
 But instead,

00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.120
 after he's dropped

00:26:16.120 --> 00:26:16.620
 the mic,

00:26:17.060 --> 00:26:17.900
 after he stands

00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:19.000
 back like this,

00:26:19.360 --> 00:26:20.720
 ready for the applause,

00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:22.580
 the king drops

00:26:22.580 --> 00:26:23.660
 the bombshell on him.

00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:24.700
 Verse 10.

00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:28.160
 Then the king

00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:28.820
 said to Haman,

00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:29.620
 hurry,

00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:31.400
 take the robes

00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:31.900
 and the horse

00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:32.980
 as you have said

00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:33.960
 and do so

00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:34.980
 to Mordecai,

00:26:35.300 --> 00:26:35.840
 the Jew,

00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:37.680
 who sits at the king's gate.

00:26:38.320 --> 00:26:39.300
 Leave out nothing

00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:40.680
 that you have mentioned.

00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:42.300
 So Haman

00:26:42.300 --> 00:26:43.240
 took the robes

00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:43.720
 and the horse

00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:44.860
 and he dressed Mordecai

00:26:44.860 --> 00:26:45.440
 and led him

00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:46.100
 through the square

00:26:46.100 --> 00:26:46.640
 of the city

00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.180
 proclaiming before him,

00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.920
 thus shall it be done

00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:50.740
 to the man

00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:51.759
 whom the king

00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:52.880
 delights to honor.

00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.620
 Then Mordecai

00:26:54.620 --> 00:26:55.240
 returned

00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:56.400
 to the king's gate

00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.640
 but Haman

00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:58.500
 hurried

00:26:58.500 --> 00:26:59.400
 to his house

00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:00.720
 mourning

00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:02.700
 with his head

00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:03.560
 covered.

00:27:05.300 --> 00:27:05.860
 You know,

00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:06.440
 one of the things

00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:07.700
 about God's providence

00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:09.560
 is

00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:11.960
 by God's providence

00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:14.440
 some of you

00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:15.060
 know the rest

00:27:15.060 --> 00:27:15.580
 of the story,

00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:16.320
 you know that Haman

00:27:16.320 --> 00:27:16.820
 is going to come

00:27:16.820 --> 00:27:17.600
 to a bad end.

00:27:19.280 --> 00:27:20.000
 I should have said

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:20.760
 a spoiler alert

00:27:20.760 --> 00:27:21.220
 but I'm sure

00:27:21.220 --> 00:27:21.640
 some of you

00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:22.140
 have read ahead

00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:22.680
 to know that

00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:23.080
 that's going

00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:23.500
 to happen.

00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:25.540
 But this is actually

00:27:25.540 --> 00:27:26.600
 by God's providence

00:27:26.600 --> 00:27:27.560
 an opportunity

00:27:27.560 --> 00:27:28.220
 for Haman

00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:28.900
 to repent,

00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:29.860
 isn't it?

00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.540
 If you think about it.

00:27:31.860 --> 00:27:32.580
 Like one of the things

00:27:32.580 --> 00:27:33.620
 which is very interesting

00:27:33.620 --> 00:27:34.240
 in the Bible,

00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.020
 especially in the book

00:27:35.020 --> 00:27:35.520
 of Romans,

00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:36.420
 the book of Romans

00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:37.880
 says that in the last day

00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:38.880
 when the Lord judges

00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:39.840
 the living and the dead,

00:27:40.520 --> 00:27:41.240
 every human being

00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:41.980
 that exists,

00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:43.300
 no one will have

00:27:43.300 --> 00:27:44.040
 an excuse

00:27:44.040 --> 00:27:45.800
 about the Lord's

00:27:45.800 --> 00:27:46.720
 judgment against them.

00:27:46.820 --> 00:27:47.700
 Nobody will be able

00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:47.940
 to say,

00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:49.320
 oh but you didn't

00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:50.019
 take into account

00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:50.619
 this or you didn't

00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:51.019
 give me enough

00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:51.599
 opportunities,

00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:52.019
 whatever.

00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:53.980
 And I mean

00:27:53.980 --> 00:27:55.399
 it's just sort of said

00:27:55.399 --> 00:27:57.559
 but a story like this

00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:58.899
 helps us to feel it.

00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.759
 He could have mourned

00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.539
 and said to himself,

00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:06.619
 maybe I'm on the wrong path.

00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:10.799
 Maybe I have a problem

00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:11.679
 with pride.

00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:15.460
 Maybe I shouldn't

00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:16.600
 hate Jewish people.

00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:20.319
 But he doesn't

00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:21.600
 mourn any of those things.

00:28:22.600 --> 00:28:23.400
 What he mourns

00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:24.319
 is that

00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:27.519
 I didn't win.

00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:33.980
 I failed.

00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:37.480
 I was humiliated.

00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:40.920
 I did not get

00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:41.819
 what I wanted.

00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:44.140
 See, there's a difference

00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:45.100
 between mourning

00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:47.159
 a type of sorrow

00:28:47.159 --> 00:28:48.259
 over our life

00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:49.299
 that actually

00:28:49.299 --> 00:28:50.339
 leads to death

00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:53.039
 and a type of sorrow

00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.959
 that leads to life.

00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:56.819
 And Haman

00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:59.039
 chooses a sorrow

00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:02.339
 that will contribute

00:29:02.339 --> 00:29:04.039
 but will continue

00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:05.500
 on towards death.

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.279
 You see something else

00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:13.379
 very true to life

00:29:13.379 --> 00:29:13.679
 as well.

00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:14.480
 Verse 13,

00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:14.980
 and Haman

00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:16.500
 told his wife

00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:17.220
 Zeresh

00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:18.079
 and all his friends

00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:18.660
 everything that

00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:19.460
 had happened to him.

00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:21.099
 Then his wise men

00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:21.720
 and his wife

00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:22.700
 Zeresh

00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:23.519
 said to him,

00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:24.720
 if Mordecai

00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:26.680
 before whom you

00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:27.880
 have begun to fall

00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:29.759
 is of the Jewish people,

00:29:29.860 --> 00:29:30.319
 you will not

00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:31.200
 overcome him

00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.519
 but will surely

00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:33.539
 fall before him.

00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:34.779
 And it's very interesting.

00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:35.559
 None of them said,

00:29:36.120 --> 00:29:36.819
 maybe we shouldn't

00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:37.440
 help you come up

00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:37.980
 with this plan

00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:38.539
 for genocide.

00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.799
 Like, isn't it so true?

00:29:41.399 --> 00:29:42.059
 It's like they all

00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:42.859
 back off and say,

00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:44.579
 whoa, like you're toxic.

00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:45.379
 You shouldn't have made

00:29:45.379 --> 00:29:46.480
 such stupid decisions.

00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:47.579
 I didn't have anything

00:29:47.579 --> 00:29:48.159
 to do with that.

00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:49.180
 Like, I never gave you

00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:50.059
 any type of advice.

00:29:50.899 --> 00:29:52.559
 I never just last night

00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.659
 said maybe you shouldn't

00:29:53.659 --> 00:29:55.039
 have a gallo made.

00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:55.980
 Like, none of them

00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:56.740
 take responsibility.

00:29:56.819 --> 00:29:57.940
 It's very, very true to life.

00:29:58.659 --> 00:29:59.220
 Like, none of them

00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:00.639
 take responsibility for it.

00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:01.659
 But instead,

00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:03.480
 they pile on the guy

00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:04.399
 who's already down.

00:30:05.299 --> 00:30:06.019
 Verse 14,

00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:07.039
 And while they were

00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:07.980
 yet talking with him,

00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:09.099
 the king,

00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.099
 king's eunuchs

00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:12.019
 arrived and hurried

00:30:12.019 --> 00:30:12.759
 to bring Haman

00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:13.500
 to the feast.

00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:15.259
 That's the second feast

00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:16.539
 that Esther had prepared.

00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:17.420
 And we'll look at that

00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:17.980
 next week.

00:30:18.379 --> 00:30:19.039
 So how does this

00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:20.099
 sort of all tie together

00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:20.879
 with some of the things

00:30:20.879 --> 00:30:21.839
 that we've been looking at?

00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:22.960
 You know,

00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:25.559
 some of us

00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:28.019
 have problems

00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:28.559
 with the idea

00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:29.240
 of providence,

00:30:29.379 --> 00:30:30.319
 that the Lord

00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:32.079
 is present,

00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:32.680
 powerful,

00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:33.379
 and active,

00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:34.420
 that he's hidden,

00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:36.600
 and that he's moving

00:30:36.600 --> 00:30:37.300
 all things

00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:38.900
 towards his desired end,

00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:40.320
 and we have problems

00:30:40.320 --> 00:30:40.720
 with that.

00:30:40.800 --> 00:30:41.340
 We do.

00:30:41.560 --> 00:30:42.640
 But, you know,

00:30:42.680 --> 00:30:43.560
 it's interesting

00:30:43.560 --> 00:30:44.019
 that

00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:47.420
 at the same time

00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:48.519
 that we have problems

00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:49.259
 with that,

00:30:50.340 --> 00:30:51.620
 the fact of the matter

00:30:51.620 --> 00:30:52.060
 is,

00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:53.620
 is that at the serious

00:30:53.620 --> 00:30:54.980
 intellectual level,

00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:58.840
 when people become serious

00:30:58.840 --> 00:31:00.440
 in a worldview

00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:01.420
 without God,

00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:03.680
 what you end up seeing

00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:04.480
 is a world

00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.920
 where there's not providence,

00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:06.980
 but fate,

00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:09.080
 a fate

00:31:09.080 --> 00:31:10.340
 that you cannot avoid.

00:31:13.560 --> 00:31:14.640
 Stephen Hawkins,

00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:15.320
 who just died

00:31:15.320 --> 00:31:16.320
 a little while ago,

00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:18.799
 he was a very important physicist,

00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:20.279
 and one of the things

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.960
 that he was seeking

00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:23.019
 to try to figure out,

00:31:23.380 --> 00:31:24.940
 there's different names for it,

00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:26.440
 but he was trying

00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:27.680
 to figure out

00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:30.279
 a unified theory

00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:31.100
 of everything.

00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:32.919
 some people call it

00:31:32.919 --> 00:31:33.980
 the theory of everything,

00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:34.959
 some people call it

00:31:34.959 --> 00:31:35.859
 the final theory,

00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:36.799
 some people call it

00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:37.759
 the ultimate theory,

00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.119
 some people call it

00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.179
 the mastery theory,

00:31:40.859 --> 00:31:42.240
 sometimes it's mentioned

00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:42.799
 and called

00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:43.779
 the unified theory

00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:44.319
 of everything,

00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:45.480
 and it's the idea

00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:46.219
 that there's going to be

00:31:46.219 --> 00:31:47.179
 some way to come up

00:31:47.179 --> 00:31:48.659
 with a scientific equation

00:31:48.659 --> 00:31:50.759
 and a scientific theory

00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:51.939
 that will ultimately

00:31:51.939 --> 00:31:53.059
 explain everything.

00:31:53.059 --> 00:31:55.859
 And why would they think that?

00:31:55.919 --> 00:31:56.839
 Because they would say

00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:59.019
 that if you look at life

00:31:59.019 --> 00:31:59.940
 without God,

00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:01.359
 then what you have

00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:02.099
 is science,

00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:03.379
 and science measures

00:32:03.379 --> 00:32:04.299
 cause and effect.

00:32:04.419 --> 00:32:05.039
 It means that

00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:06.619
 I push this

00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.279
 and it moves.

00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:08.099
 Everything is,

00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:09.240
 something causes

00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:10.399
 something else to happen,

00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:11.279
 and that something

00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:12.299
 causes something else

00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:12.759
 to happen,

00:32:13.179 --> 00:32:14.220
 and in theory,

00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:15.559
 if you could get enough

00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.919
 of the right variables

00:32:16.919 --> 00:32:18.859
 and have the right type

00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:19.440
 of equation,

00:32:19.879 --> 00:32:20.539
 in theory,

00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:21.799
 according to this world,

00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:22.839
 where everything has,

00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:24.339
 every effect has a cause,

00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:26.039
 every effect has a cause,

00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:26.639
 and that effect

00:32:26.639 --> 00:32:27.419
 becomes a cause

00:32:27.419 --> 00:32:28.180
 of something else,

00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:29.180
 in theory,

00:32:29.399 --> 00:32:30.339
 you can come up

00:32:30.339 --> 00:32:31.700
 with a unified theory

00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:32.279
 of everything,

00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:33.180
 and you can predict

00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:34.180
 everything that's going

00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:34.579
 to happen.

00:32:34.879 --> 00:32:36.139
 But in such a world,

00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:37.519
 there is no human freedom.

00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:40.919
 There is nothing

00:32:40.919 --> 00:32:42.359
 called human responsibility.

00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:43.159
 There is nothing

00:32:43.159 --> 00:32:44.039
 like love.

00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:46.960
 It's an entire world

00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:47.899
 of fate,

00:32:49.639 --> 00:32:51.339
 of inexorable,

00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:52.399
 unstoppable,

00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:53.539
 scientific,

00:32:54.099 --> 00:32:55.339
 of processes

00:32:55.339 --> 00:32:56.339
 of cause and effect

00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.939
 that just move us around,

00:32:58.079 --> 00:32:59.059
 and that human beings

00:32:59.059 --> 00:33:00.079
 are no different,

00:33:00.199 --> 00:33:00.599
 ultimately,

00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:01.859
 than little corks

00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:03.179
 in the ocean

00:33:03.179 --> 00:33:04.779
 that just move around

00:33:04.779 --> 00:33:05.899
 and get banged around

00:33:05.899 --> 00:33:07.059
 and move by the tide

00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:07.579
 and the wind

00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:08.240
 and the waves

00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:08.879
 and just move

00:33:08.879 --> 00:33:09.459
 wherever they are

00:33:09.459 --> 00:33:10.399
 as we are completely

00:33:10.399 --> 00:33:11.339
 and utterly pushed

00:33:11.339 --> 00:33:12.639
 by these physical forces

00:33:12.639 --> 00:33:13.459
 that we have

00:33:13.459 --> 00:33:14.619
 no control over.

00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:17.179
 And at a serious level,

00:33:17.179 --> 00:33:17.939
 that's really

00:33:17.939 --> 00:33:18.819
 the only option

00:33:18.819 --> 00:33:19.500
 there is

00:33:19.500 --> 00:33:20.859
 outside of the

00:33:20.859 --> 00:33:21.639
 Christian worldview.

00:33:28.379 --> 00:33:29.299
 If you could put up

00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:29.939
 the first point,

00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:30.339
 Andrew,

00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:33.619
 because the Lord

00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:34.379
 is Lord,

00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:35.480
 fate

00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:36.980
 does not exist.

00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:39.079
 It's not just

00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:40.099
 through science

00:33:40.099 --> 00:33:40.799
 that people worry

00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:41.179
 about fate.

00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:41.779
 It's interesting

00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:43.879
 how many movies

00:33:43.879 --> 00:33:45.000
 talk about

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:45.799
 the whole idea

00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:46.460
 of fate.

00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:47.759
 I'm watching

00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:48.240
 a series

00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:48.960
 with my wife

00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:49.379
 right now

00:33:49.379 --> 00:33:49.639
 called

00:33:49.639 --> 00:33:50.819
 The Man in the High Castle,

00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:52.619
 and one of the

00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:53.579
 premises of that

00:33:53.579 --> 00:33:55.720
 is that there isn't

00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:56.079
 fate,

00:33:56.180 --> 00:33:56.879
 that people can

00:33:56.879 --> 00:33:57.960
 choose their own fate.

00:33:58.079 --> 00:33:58.220
 I mean,

00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:00.039
 it's just affirmed.

00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:00.759
 There's no particular

00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:02.059
 reason for believing it,

00:34:02.119 --> 00:34:02.539
 but it's just

00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:03.599
 completely and utterly

00:34:03.599 --> 00:34:04.220
 affirmed,

00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:05.279
 and it expresses

00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:06.460
 this fundamental

00:34:06.460 --> 00:34:07.680
 human desire

00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:08.519
 that fate

00:34:08.519 --> 00:34:09.380
 can't be true.

00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:11.300
 In the ancient religions,

00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.159
 fate was true.

00:34:12.279 --> 00:34:13.340
 The gods would have

00:34:13.340 --> 00:34:13.900
 you fated

00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:15.179
 to do a particular thing,

00:34:15.179 --> 00:34:15.719
 and you couldn't

00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:16.539
 avoid it happening.

00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:18.319
 In Hindu worldview,

00:34:18.859 --> 00:34:19.539
 through the whole

00:34:19.539 --> 00:34:20.619
 cycle of karma,

00:34:20.779 --> 00:34:21.519
 you are fated

00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:22.779
 to a certain spot,

00:34:22.859 --> 00:34:23.819
 a certain location,

00:34:24.259 --> 00:34:25.199
 in a certain life,

00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:26.179
 and there's nothing

00:34:26.179 --> 00:34:27.179
 you can do about it.

00:34:27.259 --> 00:34:28.259
 That there is this

00:34:28.259 --> 00:34:29.639
 overwhelming problem

00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:30.039
 of fate,

00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:31.079
 yet at the same time,

00:34:31.179 --> 00:34:31.980
 human beings

00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:33.159
 react to this

00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:34.039
 and say there has

00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:34.779
 to be something

00:34:34.779 --> 00:34:35.980
 that's not true,

00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:37.399
 that that can't be true.

00:34:37.759 --> 00:34:38.440
 Our understanding

00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:39.099
 of creation,

00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:39.639
 our understanding

00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:40.359
 of reality,

00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:41.799
 which seems to push

00:34:41.799 --> 00:34:42.359
 us to think

00:34:42.359 --> 00:34:42.940
 that there has

00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:43.599
 to be a fate,

00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.000
 that can't be true.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:46.000
 There has to be

00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:47.099
 some other option.

00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:48.239
 There has to be

00:34:48.239 --> 00:34:48.820
 some place

00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:49.619
 for human freedom.

00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:50.500
 There has to be

00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:51.099
 some place

00:34:51.099 --> 00:34:51.940
 for me to have

00:34:51.940 --> 00:34:52.579
 some control.

00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:53.420
 There has to be

00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:54.440
 some place for love.

00:34:54.780 --> 00:34:55.760
 And it's only

00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:56.860
 in the Christian faith

00:34:56.860 --> 00:34:57.920
 that that is made clear.

00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:00.960
 The Bible reveals

00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:02.840
 that because the Lord

00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:03.599
 is the Lord,

00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.119
 fate does not exist.

00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:07.079
 There is no fate.

00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:08.239
 Instead,

00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:09.000
 if you could put up

00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:09.780
 the next point,

00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:12.620
 the Lord is the good

00:35:12.620 --> 00:35:14.840
 king moving all

00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:17.320
 things to his desired

00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:17.980
 end,

00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:20.160
 and he is the just

00:35:20.160 --> 00:35:22.040
 judge who will

00:35:22.040 --> 00:35:24.500
 judge every human

00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:25.300
 being.

00:35:27.240 --> 00:35:28.740
 The Lord is the good

00:35:28.740 --> 00:35:30.600
 king moving all

00:35:30.600 --> 00:35:31.880
 things to his desired

00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:32.440
 end,

00:35:32.660 --> 00:35:34.340
 and he is the just

00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:36.120
 judge who will

00:35:36.120 --> 00:35:37.780
 judge every human

00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:38.820
 being.

00:35:40.140 --> 00:35:40.640
 See,

00:35:40.720 --> 00:35:41.280
 what the book of

00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:42.080
 Esther reveals

00:35:42.080 --> 00:35:42.920
 and what the Bible

00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:45.040
 reveals is that

00:35:45.040 --> 00:35:47.240
 the Lord is a just

00:35:47.240 --> 00:35:47.720
 judge.

00:35:48.240 --> 00:35:49.040
 He really is.

00:35:49.560 --> 00:35:50.440
 Human beings are

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:50.760
 free.

00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:51.780
 We make our own

00:35:51.780 --> 00:35:52.120
 decisions.

00:35:52.220 --> 00:35:52.780
 You look through the

00:35:52.780 --> 00:35:53.800
 book of Esther.

00:35:53.800 --> 00:35:56.560
 It's the king who

00:35:56.560 --> 00:35:57.300
 decides to get

00:35:57.300 --> 00:35:57.680
 drunk.

00:35:58.680 --> 00:35:59.620
 It's King Xerxes

00:35:59.620 --> 00:36:00.519
 who decides to get

00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:00.780
 drunk.

00:36:00.900 --> 00:36:01.800
 It's King Xerxes

00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:02.720
 who, while he's

00:36:02.720 --> 00:36:03.640
 drunk, demands

00:36:03.640 --> 00:36:05.220
 his wife, one of

00:36:05.220 --> 00:36:06.300
 his wives, one of

00:36:06.300 --> 00:36:07.660
 his queens, Vashti,

00:36:07.780 --> 00:36:08.300
 come and do

00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:09.260
 something indecent.

00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:11.180
 It's her decision

00:36:11.180 --> 00:36:12.300
 to say no to that.

00:36:12.380 --> 00:36:13.300
 It's his decision

00:36:13.300 --> 00:36:14.700
 to punish her and

00:36:14.700 --> 00:36:15.400
 punish all of the

00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:15.580
 women.

00:36:16.200 --> 00:36:17.500
 It's his decision

00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:18.260
 to do a horrible

00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:19.060
 thing that ends up

00:36:19.060 --> 00:36:19.820
 leading to Esther

00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:20.400
 being the queen.

00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:21.519
 It's Haman's

00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:22.700
 decision to be

00:36:22.700 --> 00:36:23.560
 anti-Semitic and

00:36:23.559 --> 00:36:24.420
 to plan genocide.

00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:25.779
 It's Haman's

00:36:25.779 --> 00:36:26.559
 decision that he

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:27.159
 wants to have

00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:27.900
 Mordecai killed.

00:36:28.199 --> 00:36:29.019
 These are all

00:36:29.019 --> 00:36:30.320
 their decisions.

00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:32.039
 It's not that the

00:36:32.039 --> 00:36:32.960
 Lord forced them

00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:33.400
 to do that.

00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:34.239
 These are all

00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:35.259
 their decisions.

00:36:35.539 --> 00:36:36.500
 And so the Lord

00:36:36.500 --> 00:36:37.960
 is a just judge.

00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:41.400
 He judges us

00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:42.539
 according to what

00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:42.980
 we do.

00:36:43.400 --> 00:36:44.219
 There is real

00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:45.039
 human freedom.

00:36:46.259 --> 00:36:47.039
 But at the same

00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:47.840
 time, the Bible

00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:49.739
 teaches a second

00:36:49.739 --> 00:36:50.719
 truth at the same

00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:52.179
 time, that not

00:36:52.179 --> 00:36:52.920
 only is he the

00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:54.340
 just judge who

00:36:54.340 --> 00:36:55.079
 judges human

00:36:55.079 --> 00:36:55.800
 beings on the

00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:56.619
 basis of their

00:36:56.619 --> 00:36:58.400
 free acts, what

00:36:58.400 --> 00:36:59.139
 they've done and

00:36:59.139 --> 00:36:59.820
 what they've not

00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:00.480
 done, but at the

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:02.019
 same time, he is

00:37:02.019 --> 00:37:02.619
 the king.

00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:05.700
 And he is not a

00:37:05.700 --> 00:37:07.599
 God who, like

00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:08.920
 open theists, try

00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:10.400
 to say that he

00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:10.800
 doesn't actually

00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:11.440
 know what's going

00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:11.840
 to happen.

00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:12.480
 He's just trying

00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:13.900
 to muddle through,

00:37:14.659 --> 00:37:15.340
 and as he's

00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:16.059
 trying to muddle

00:37:16.059 --> 00:37:16.880
 through, eventually

00:37:16.880 --> 00:37:17.599
 he'll have some

00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:18.320
 type of a plan.

00:37:18.420 --> 00:37:19.019
 No, that's not

00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:19.659
 the way the Bible

00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:20.519
 describes the

00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:20.759
 Lord.

00:37:21.859 --> 00:37:22.619
 And he's not

00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:23.259
 just sort of

00:37:23.259 --> 00:37:24.119
 acting on a

00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:24.359
 whim.

00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:26.359
 I like Daniel.

00:37:27.219 --> 00:37:27.579
 You know, I

00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:28.379
 don't like Bob.

00:37:28.799 --> 00:37:29.619
 I like Sue.

00:37:29.960 --> 00:37:30.579
 You know, I

00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:31.699
 don't like, you

00:37:31.699 --> 00:37:32.239
 know, Mary.

00:37:32.619 --> 00:37:33.539
 He's not a God

00:37:33.539 --> 00:37:34.219
 who's just filled

00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:34.899
 with whims.

00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:37.019
 He's not capricious.

00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:38.539
 He's not trying to

00:37:38.539 --> 00:37:39.199
 muddle through.

00:37:39.799 --> 00:37:40.539
 He's not sort of

00:37:40.539 --> 00:37:41.440
 having to struggle

00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:42.539
 with human beings.

00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:43.119
 He's not saying,

00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:43.879
 I have to struggle

00:37:43.879 --> 00:37:44.420
 with George.

00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:45.119
 He's not doing

00:37:45.119 --> 00:37:45.679
 what I want him

00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:45.859
 to do.

00:37:45.859 --> 00:37:46.159
 I've got to

00:37:46.159 --> 00:37:47.159
 struggle with him

00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:48.039
 because, you

00:37:48.039 --> 00:37:48.739
 know, dang it,

00:37:48.799 --> 00:37:49.239
 Church of the

00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:50.079
 Messiah is just

00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:50.920
 not doing what

00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:51.399
 I want.

00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:52.579
 How do I win?

00:37:52.839 --> 00:37:53.359
 No, he doesn't

00:37:53.359 --> 00:37:53.779
 do that.

00:37:55.819 --> 00:37:56.719
 And he's not

00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:57.279
 just up in

00:37:57.279 --> 00:37:58.399
 heaven waiting

00:37:58.399 --> 00:37:59.279
 for human beings

00:37:59.279 --> 00:38:00.359
 to act and

00:38:00.359 --> 00:38:00.879
 they say, okay,

00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:01.279
 that's what

00:38:01.279 --> 00:38:01.619
 they're going to

00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:01.879
 do?

00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:02.619
 Well, then this

00:38:02.619 --> 00:38:03.179
 is what I'm

00:38:03.179 --> 00:38:03.559
 going to do.

00:38:05.259 --> 00:38:05.719
 That's what

00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:06.039
 they're going to

00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:06.219
 do?

00:38:06.319 --> 00:38:06.879
 Well, this is

00:38:06.879 --> 00:38:07.819
 what I'm going

00:38:07.819 --> 00:38:08.099
 to do.

00:38:08.839 --> 00:38:09.519
 He's not doing

00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:09.960
 that either.

00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:11.819
 But all the way

00:38:11.819 --> 00:38:12.500
 through the Bible,

00:38:13.379 --> 00:38:14.019
 right from

00:38:14.019 --> 00:38:14.899
 Genesis chapter

00:38:14.899 --> 00:38:15.699
 three when human

00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:16.460
 beings fell,

00:38:16.460 --> 00:38:17.659
 right from

00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:18.420
 Genesis chapter

00:38:18.420 --> 00:38:18.900
 three when

00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:19.519
 human beings

00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:20.679
 fell, he

00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:21.800
 has an end.

00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:23.260
 He has

00:38:23.260 --> 00:38:23.960
 something that's

00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:24.619
 going to happen

00:38:24.619 --> 00:38:25.320
 in the future.

00:38:26.199 --> 00:38:26.860
 And he is

00:38:26.860 --> 00:38:27.320
 king.

00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:28.780
 And even

00:38:28.780 --> 00:38:29.320
 though human

00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:30.099
 beings act

00:38:30.099 --> 00:38:30.579
 with their

00:38:30.579 --> 00:38:30.960
 freedom,

00:38:31.099 --> 00:38:31.500
 sometimes

00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:32.199
 virtuously,

00:38:32.360 --> 00:38:33.420
 sometimes with

00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:34.519
 evil, he

00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:35.220
 is moving,

00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:36.900
 while respecting

00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:37.699
 human freedom,

00:38:37.820 --> 00:38:38.320
 he is moving

00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:39.019
 all things

00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:40.000
 towards his

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:41.480
 desired end,

00:38:42.039 --> 00:38:43.880
 which we

00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:44.500
 know will be

00:38:44.500 --> 00:38:45.099
 when the

00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:45.840
 Lord returns.

00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:46.240
 And there

00:38:46.240 --> 00:38:46.519
 is a

00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:47.039
 judging of

00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:47.320
 the living

00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:47.800
 and the dead,

00:38:47.860 --> 00:38:48.140
 and there's

00:38:48.140 --> 00:38:48.380
 a new

00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:48.780
 heaven and

00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:48.980
 the new

00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:49.180
 earth.

00:38:49.260 --> 00:38:49.519
 So in

00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:49.940
 some ways,

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:50.280
 the end

00:38:50.280 --> 00:38:50.660
 is also

00:38:50.660 --> 00:38:51.180
 the beginning.

00:38:53.019 --> 00:38:53.400
 He is

00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:53.780
 sovereign.

00:38:58.260 --> 00:38:58.620
 It's

00:38:58.620 --> 00:39:02.420
 Spurgeon said,

00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:03.800
 I think it was

00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:04.500
 Spurgeon who

00:39:04.500 --> 00:39:05.320
 said, he never

00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:05.860
 wants to

00:39:05.860 --> 00:39:06.500
 separate the

00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.320
 truth that the

00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:08.240
 Lord is king

00:39:08.240 --> 00:39:09.280
 from the

00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:09.920
 truth that the

00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:11.120
 Lord is judge,

00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:12.519
 judge, because

00:39:12.519 --> 00:39:13.480
 they're friends,

00:39:13.880 --> 00:39:15.819
 which is a

00:39:15.819 --> 00:39:16.779
 wonderful phrase,

00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:17.920
 they're friends.

00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:20.159
 And one of the

00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:20.719
 things we have to

00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:22.000
 fight against is

00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:22.519
 that some

00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:23.579
 Christians talk

00:39:23.579 --> 00:39:24.880
 as if freedom

00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:25.779
 is so important

00:39:25.779 --> 00:39:26.460
 that you have to

00:39:26.460 --> 00:39:27.099
 deny that the

00:39:27.099 --> 00:39:27.839
 Lord is sovereign,

00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:28.400
 and other

00:39:28.400 --> 00:39:29.440
 Christians talk so

00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:30.039
 much about the

00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:30.900
 Lord being sovereign

00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:31.599
 that you have to

00:39:31.599 --> 00:39:32.759
 forget that human

00:39:32.759 --> 00:39:33.199
 beings are

00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:34.179
 responsible, and we

00:39:34.179 --> 00:39:34.799
 have to hold the

00:39:34.799 --> 00:39:35.299
 two truths

00:39:35.299 --> 00:39:36.900
 together, because

00:39:36.900 --> 00:39:37.420
 that's what the

00:39:37.420 --> 00:39:38.039
 Bible teaches.

00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:39.940
 He's king, and

00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:40.619
 he's judge.

00:39:41.260 --> 00:39:41.960
 He's a good

00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:43.400
 king, and he's a

00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:44.079
 just judge.

00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:46.000
 And one of the

00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:46.619
 reasons that we

00:39:46.619 --> 00:39:47.539
 can say that these

00:39:47.539 --> 00:39:48.300
 things are both

00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:50.099
 true is because of

00:39:50.099 --> 00:39:50.480
 Jesus.

00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:51.480
 If you could put up

00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:52.800
 the third point, and

00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:53.539
 by the way, I

00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:54.740
 adapted this, just so

00:39:54.740 --> 00:39:55.340
 you don't think I'm

00:39:55.340 --> 00:39:55.920
 really clever.

00:39:56.519 --> 00:39:58.039
 I adapted this from

00:39:58.039 --> 00:39:59.059
 something I read in

00:39:59.059 --> 00:40:00.119
 J.I. Packer like

00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:00.800
 a hundred million

00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:01.320
 years ago.

00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:02.000
 I'm pretty sure it

00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:02.820
 came from Packer,

00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:03.260
 and I've just

00:40:03.260 --> 00:40:05.360
 adapted it slightly, so

00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:06.420
 the shout-out goes

00:40:06.420 --> 00:40:07.400
 to him, not

00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:07.860
 to me.

00:40:08.320 --> 00:40:09.099
 The cradle and

00:40:09.099 --> 00:40:10.539
 the cross reveal

00:40:10.539 --> 00:40:12.599
 the crown, and

00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:13.160
 the cradle and

00:40:13.160 --> 00:40:15.400
 the cross reveal

00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:16.500
 the judge.

00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:18.160
 And that's the

00:40:18.160 --> 00:40:18.900
 thing which is so

00:40:18.900 --> 00:40:19.880
 wonderful about the

00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:20.639
 Christian faith.

00:40:21.300 --> 00:40:22.059
 In John chapter

00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:24.619
 118, it says that

00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:25.619
 Jesus is the one

00:40:25.619 --> 00:40:26.380
 who makes God

00:40:26.380 --> 00:40:26.760
 known.

00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:28.240
 And the word

00:40:28.240 --> 00:40:29.360
 that it, and what

00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:30.360
 it's basically saying

00:40:30.360 --> 00:40:31.240
 is when we look at

00:40:31.240 --> 00:40:32.000
 Jesus, that we

00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:33.200
 understand more fully

00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:34.800
 and completely who

00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:35.980
 God is, who the

00:40:35.980 --> 00:40:36.840
 Lord is as the

00:40:36.840 --> 00:40:37.160
 king.

00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:38.380
 of all things.

00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:40.460
 We don't have a

00:40:40.460 --> 00:40:42.059
 king who's

00:40:42.059 --> 00:40:43.920
 distant, who's

00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:44.660
 locked out of his

00:40:44.660 --> 00:40:46.519
 creation, who's

00:40:46.519 --> 00:40:48.360
 cold and

00:40:48.360 --> 00:40:49.200
 heartless.

00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:50.519
 He's not like a

00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:51.820
 divine watchmaker who

00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:52.880
 made creation, wound

00:40:52.880 --> 00:40:53.700
 up the watch, and

00:40:53.700 --> 00:40:54.460
 then he's off on a

00:40:54.460 --> 00:40:55.119
 holiday doing

00:40:55.119 --> 00:40:56.039
 something else while

00:40:56.039 --> 00:40:57.180
 natural laws just

00:40:57.180 --> 00:40:57.519
 work.

00:40:57.940 --> 00:40:59.500
 No, we see the

00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:01.320
 Lord reveals that he

00:41:01.320 --> 00:41:02.539
 is active and present

00:41:02.539 --> 00:41:03.380
 in his creation when

00:41:03.380 --> 00:41:04.599
 we see the cradle,

00:41:04.599 --> 00:41:05.679
 we see Jesus being

00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:07.179
 born, we see his

00:41:07.179 --> 00:41:08.299
 humility, we see his

00:41:08.299 --> 00:41:09.719
 lowliness, we see his

00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:11.239
 desire to be the

00:41:11.239 --> 00:41:12.339
 Lord among us, to

00:41:12.339 --> 00:41:14.079
 bring a people to

00:41:14.079 --> 00:41:14.480
 himself.

00:41:14.599 --> 00:41:15.860
 And in the cross, we

00:41:15.860 --> 00:41:17.159
 see him dying to

00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:18.819
 redeem us.

00:41:18.860 --> 00:41:19.819
 And when we see the

00:41:19.819 --> 00:41:21.679
 cradle and we see

00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:22.860
 the cross, we

00:41:22.860 --> 00:41:24.099
 understand why it is

00:41:24.099 --> 00:41:25.679
 that we can trust that

00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:26.860
 he wears the crown,

00:41:27.239 --> 00:41:28.400
 that he is the king of

00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:29.619
 all things, the Lord of

00:41:29.619 --> 00:41:30.819
 all creation, that he is

00:41:30.819 --> 00:41:31.980
 moving all things to

00:41:31.980 --> 00:41:32.740
 their proper end.

00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:33.840
 Who is he who is

00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:34.780
 moving all things to

00:41:34.780 --> 00:41:35.480
 their proper end?

00:41:35.719 --> 00:41:37.119
 Not a God who is

00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:38.380
 evil, not a God who

00:41:38.380 --> 00:41:39.840
 is unjust, not a God

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:41.400
 who does not care about

00:41:41.400 --> 00:41:42.500
 his creation, not a

00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:43.940
 God who is powerless,

00:41:44.300 --> 00:41:45.960
 but a God, the Lord,

00:41:46.260 --> 00:41:47.240
 who was born amongst

00:41:47.240 --> 00:41:48.740
 us, God amongst us,

00:41:48.840 --> 00:41:49.719
 and who died on a

00:41:49.719 --> 00:41:51.079
 cross for us, and that

00:41:51.079 --> 00:41:52.000
 is the one that we

00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:53.599
 trust is the God of

00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:54.880
 providence, who is

00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:56.599
 moving all things to

00:41:56.599 --> 00:41:57.420
 their proper end.

00:41:57.639 --> 00:41:59.340
 That is the God who

00:41:59.340 --> 00:42:00.480
 wears the crown, the

00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:01.679
 one who came in a

00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:02.819
 cradle and died on a

00:42:02.819 --> 00:42:03.279
 cross.

00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:05.799
 And why can we trust

00:42:05.799 --> 00:42:06.859
 that he is a just

00:42:06.859 --> 00:42:07.859
 judge?

00:42:08.679 --> 00:42:09.940
 Because he is not

00:42:09.940 --> 00:42:12.399
 some guy manipulating

00:42:12.399 --> 00:42:13.899
 us and pushing us

00:42:13.899 --> 00:42:14.819
 here and there, who

00:42:14.819 --> 00:42:15.960
 doesn't understand

00:42:15.960 --> 00:42:17.000
 human weakness, who

00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:18.079
 doesn't understand the

00:42:18.079 --> 00:42:19.179
 profound need that we

00:42:19.179 --> 00:42:20.199
 human beings have for

00:42:20.199 --> 00:42:20.599
 a savior.

00:42:21.079 --> 00:42:22.879
 What reveals the

00:42:22.879 --> 00:42:24.739
 justness of the judge

00:42:24.739 --> 00:42:25.659
 and how we will

00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:26.019
 judge?

00:42:26.319 --> 00:42:28.259
 What reveals that is

00:42:28.259 --> 00:42:29.539
 the cradle and the

00:42:29.539 --> 00:42:29.919
 cross.

00:42:31.679 --> 00:42:33.139
 The cradle and the

00:42:33.139 --> 00:42:34.119
 cross reveal the

00:42:34.119 --> 00:42:34.500
 crown.

00:42:34.919 --> 00:42:35.659
 The cradle and the

00:42:35.659 --> 00:42:37.000
 cross reveal the

00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:37.359
 judge.

00:42:39.919 --> 00:42:40.799
 If you could put up

00:42:40.799 --> 00:42:41.619
 the final point.

00:42:44.259 --> 00:42:45.639
 You know, as I've been

00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:46.579
 going through the book

00:42:46.579 --> 00:42:47.440
 of Esther and before

00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:48.099
 that, Ruth, because

00:42:48.099 --> 00:42:49.379
 both Ruth and Esther are

00:42:49.379 --> 00:42:51.339
 all about helping us at

00:42:51.339 --> 00:42:53.819
 a literary level to feel

00:42:53.819 --> 00:42:55.199
 the doctrine of

00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:58.019
 providence, to see how

00:42:58.019 --> 00:42:58.480
 it works.

00:42:58.480 --> 00:42:59.980
 Rather than giving us a

00:42:59.980 --> 00:43:01.340
 series of propositions, it

00:43:01.340 --> 00:43:02.880
 helps us to enter into a

00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:04.539
 world where God is

00:43:04.539 --> 00:43:06.260
 hidden, but he's present,

00:43:06.420 --> 00:43:07.460
 powerful, and active.

00:43:09.960 --> 00:43:11.260
 That's what Ruth and Esther

00:43:11.260 --> 00:43:11.559
 do.

00:43:12.840 --> 00:43:14.380
 And it really has helped my

00:43:14.380 --> 00:43:14.860
 prayers.

00:43:15.539 --> 00:43:16.420
 It really has.

00:43:17.699 --> 00:43:18.960
 I hope it helps yours.

00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:20.380
 That's why, as our final

00:43:20.380 --> 00:43:22.539
 point is, Lord, please grow

00:43:22.539 --> 00:43:25.900
 in me a lively, living,

00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:29.239
 trusting, knowing that you

00:43:29.239 --> 00:43:31.059
 are sovereign and your

00:43:31.059 --> 00:43:32.139
 providence is real.

00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:35.679
 That you are sovereign and

00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:36.900
 your providence is real.

00:43:37.539 --> 00:43:38.920
 Could you all stand, please?

00:43:38.920 --> 00:43:51.720
 One of the things I hope you

00:43:51.720 --> 00:43:52.680
 get from that is that the

00:43:52.680 --> 00:43:53.680
 whole point of the cradle

00:43:53.680 --> 00:43:58.400
 and the crown is that you

00:43:58.400 --> 00:43:59.340
 have an opportunity to

00:43:59.340 --> 00:43:59.920
 repent now.

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:00.780
 If you've never given your

00:44:00.780 --> 00:44:03.200
 life to Jesus, call out to

00:44:03.200 --> 00:44:03.300
 him.

00:44:03.740 --> 00:44:06.220
 Don't have a mourning or a

00:44:06.220 --> 00:44:07.579
 sorrow or an unhappiness

00:44:07.579 --> 00:44:09.900
 about your life that's just

00:44:09.900 --> 00:44:12.460
 focused on yourself and is

00:44:12.460 --> 00:44:15.639
 a type of death, but to

00:44:15.639 --> 00:44:18.460
 use that unhappiness and

00:44:18.460 --> 00:44:19.799
 sorrow to realize your

00:44:19.799 --> 00:44:21.319
 profound need for the one

00:44:21.319 --> 00:44:22.920
 who is revealed through the

00:44:22.920 --> 00:44:23.940
 cradle and the cross.

00:44:26.139 --> 00:44:29.119
 And to begin to know the

00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:31.860
 Lord's providence in your

00:44:31.860 --> 00:44:32.199
 life.

00:44:33.819 --> 00:44:35.219
 And so you figure out that

00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:36.679
 prayer for yourself, but I

00:44:36.679 --> 00:44:37.480
 urge you to call

00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:38.519
 call upon him.

00:44:38.579 --> 00:44:39.880
 I'm going to ask those of

00:44:39.880 --> 00:44:40.539
 you, if you put up the

00:44:40.539 --> 00:44:41.460
 fourth point, that would be

00:44:41.460 --> 00:44:42.360
 great again, Andrew.

00:44:42.460 --> 00:44:43.480
 I'm going to ask people if

00:44:43.480 --> 00:44:44.300
 you would pray that.

00:44:44.980 --> 00:44:46.179
 Those whom the Lord has

00:44:46.179 --> 00:44:47.740
 moved, if you would pray

00:44:47.740 --> 00:44:48.679
 this with me and then I'll

00:44:48.679 --> 00:44:49.300
 just close.

00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:51.519
 And then Daniel's going to

00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:53.219
 come up and finish this off

00:44:53.219 --> 00:44:54.059
 with intercessions.

00:44:54.159 --> 00:44:55.740
 But let's just pray that

00:44:55.740 --> 00:44:56.139
 together.

00:44:57.300 --> 00:45:00.360
 Lord, please grow in me a

00:45:00.360 --> 00:45:02.719
 lively, living, trusting,

00:45:03.260 --> 00:45:04.900
 knowing that you are

00:45:04.900 --> 00:45:07.059
 sovereign and your providence

00:45:07.059 --> 00:45:07.800
 is real.

00:45:09.039 --> 00:45:10.380
 Father, bring this home to

00:45:10.380 --> 00:45:11.780
 us in a very powerful and

00:45:11.780 --> 00:45:12.119
 deep way.

00:45:12.240 --> 00:45:14.559
 Bring this home to me, that

00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:16.059
 you really are present,

00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:17.920
 powerful and active even

00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:18.840
 when you are hidden.

00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:22.039
 And that you do answer

00:45:22.039 --> 00:45:22.500
 prayer.

00:45:23.220 --> 00:45:25.280
 Even prayers, Father, which

00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:26.500
 other people say are

00:45:26.500 --> 00:45:28.340
 impossible, that you answer

00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:28.619
 them.

00:45:28.619 --> 00:45:31.019
 And in all things, Father,

00:45:31.779 --> 00:45:33.420
 help us just to desire to

00:45:33.420 --> 00:45:34.599
 know you and to be known

00:45:34.599 --> 00:45:36.679
 by you and to grow in these

00:45:36.679 --> 00:45:37.460
 great virtues.

00:45:37.579 --> 00:45:38.519
 And we ask this in the name

00:45:38.519 --> 00:45:38.980
 of Jesus.

00:45:39.559 --> 00:45:39.880
 Amen.