Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Esther’s Finest Hour │ Msg 612 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Esther’s Finest Hour │ Msg 612 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: When you wait on the Lord, you don't have to
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  Speaker 1: walk around in a day's humming sweet our prayer or
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  Speaker 1: some other old him. You don't have to go out
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  Speaker 1: on some hillside and strum a guitar all by yourself.
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  Speaker 1: Mostly you keep up your regular activities, You go right
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  Speaker 1: on with your business. Your spirit, however, settles into a
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  Speaker 1: posture of trust as you prayerfully place your problem into
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  Speaker 1: the Lord's hands, and you wait for his timing and
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  Speaker 1: for his strength. That's right where we find Esther in
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  Speaker 1: today's account. When she accepted her mission to save her people,
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  Speaker 1: the Jews, she asked Mordecai to gather all the Jews
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  Speaker 1: in Susa to pray and to fast for three days.
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  Speaker 1: She and her maidens did the same. The three day.
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  Speaker 2: Fast was a quiet yet powerful interlude in the queen's life.
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  Speaker 2: Waiting on the Lord strengthened her resolve, so when it
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  Speaker 2: came time for her to act, she was prepared emotionally
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  Speaker 2: and spiritually, and she knew that God was with her.
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  Speaker 2: I want to read for you sections from the fifth
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  Speaker 2: chapter of Esther, which describes the precarious moment when Queen
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  Speaker 2: Esther goes before the King uninvited, I'm reading again from
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  Speaker 2: the New American Standard Bible. Listen please, as chapter five
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  Speaker 2: begins at verse one. Now, it came about on the
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  Speaker 2: third day that Esther put on her royal robes and
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  Speaker 2: stood in the inner court of the King's palace, in
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  Speaker 2: front of the King's rooms, and the King was sitting
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  Speaker 2: on his royal throne in the throne room opposite the
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  Speaker 2: entrance to the palace. When the King saw Esther, the Queen,
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  Speaker 2: standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight.
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  Speaker 2: And the King extended to ester the golden scepter which
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  Speaker 2: was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched
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  Speaker 2: the top of the scepter. Then the King said to her,
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  Speaker 2: what is troubling you, Queen Esther, And what is your request?
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  Speaker 2: Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be given
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  Speaker 2: to you. Esther said, if it pleases the King, May
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  Speaker 2: the King and Hayman come this day to the banquet
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  Speaker 2: that I have prepared for him. Then the King said,
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  Speaker 2: bring Hayman quickly, that we may do as Esther desires.
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  Speaker 2: So the King and Hayman came to the banquet which
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  Speaker 2: Esther had prepared. Now, in verse twelve we get a
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  Speaker 2: glimpse of Hayman's inflated ego. Don't miss that, although honored
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  Speaker 2: to be invited to the banquet, he was obsessed with
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  Speaker 2: rage toward Mordecai, and what he did next sealed his fate.
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  Speaker 2: Now listen closely, as I began in verse twelve, Hamon
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  Speaker 2: also said, even as to the Queen, let no one
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  Speaker 2: but me come with the king to the banquet which
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  Speaker 2: she had prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by
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  Speaker 2: her with the King. Yet all of this does not
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  Speaker 2: satisfy me. Every time I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting
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  Speaker 2: at the cake's gate. Then Zeresh, his wife and all
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  Speaker 2: his friends, said to him, have a gallows fifty cubits
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  Speaker 2: high made, and in the morning asked the King to
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  Speaker 2: have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go joyfully with the
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  Speaker 2: King to the banquet. And the advice pleased Hayman, so
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  Speaker 2: he had the gallows made.
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  Speaker 3: When it comes to touching the heart, few things can
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  Speaker 3: be compared to a song or a story. We all
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  Speaker 3: know occasions where the right music mixed with the right
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  Speaker 3: lyrics wooed us back to God, or maybe a friend
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  Speaker 3: of ours, a song that our mother taught us, or
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  Speaker 3: sang or some song we heard in a church service
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  Speaker 3: years ago. There is nothing quite like the nostalgia that
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  Speaker 3: brings us like a magnet back to the heart of God.
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  Speaker 3: Seems to soften the soil of our souls. And a
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  Speaker 3: story will do the same. When you have the right
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  Speaker 3: acts who carry out life issues in a plot that
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  Speaker 3: is mixed with adventure and surprise and some humor, along
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  Speaker 3: with purpose and an ultimate moral of the story, there's
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  Speaker 3: something about that story that sweeps us into a right
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  Speaker 3: state of mind. I don't know of a song that's
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  Speaker 3: found in the book of Esther, but what a story, huh.
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  Speaker 3: It's a story of adventure and suspense mixed with enough
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  Speaker 3: courage and hope and a little bit of humor and
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  Speaker 3: a measure of surprise, and it sort of holds our attention.
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  Speaker 3: I was thinking this past week how great it would
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  Speaker 3: be to make this story into a film, or to
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  Speaker 3: have it become a play where people who knew the
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  Speaker 3: lord of the story could carrry out with passion words
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  Speaker 3: like Mordecai, as he says to Esther in Ester four,
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  Speaker 3: verse fourteen. If you remain silent at this time, relief
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  Speaker 3: and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place,
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  Speaker 3: and you and your father's house will perish. And who
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  Speaker 3: knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a
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  Speaker 3: time as this. And with incredible courage esther answers Mordecai's
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  Speaker 3: admonition with go and assemble all the Jews who are
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  Speaker 3: found in Sousa, and fast for me. Do not eat
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  Speaker 3: or drink for three days night or day. I and
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  Speaker 3: my maidens also will fast in the same way. And
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  Speaker 3: thus she answers, I will go to the king, which
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  Speaker 3: is not according to law. And if I perish, I perish.
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  Speaker 3: And I can just hear the audience applaud as the
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  Speaker 3: curtain closes, and this grand speech that prepares her to
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  Speaker 3: step into the place where she is not invited, and
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  Speaker 3: to do what the king had not expected. And she says,
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  Speaker 3: if I perish, so be it. What courage C. S.
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  Speaker 3: Lewis would have been proud of her. You may remember
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  Speaker 3: he is the one who said, we have people with heads,
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  Speaker 3: and we have people with hearts. What we need is
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  Speaker 3: people with chests. The old American word is guts. We
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  Speaker 3: need people with guts who will say, I will stand
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  Speaker 3: for this. If I Die reminded me when I read
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  Speaker 3: it first, of the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling, as
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  Speaker 3: he has put them to gather in a piece that
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  Speaker 3: has outlived him, entitled If you will remember these lines
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  Speaker 3: from your English literature class, huh. If you can keep
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  Speaker 3: your head when all about you are losing theirs and
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  Speaker 3: blaming it on you. If you can dream and not
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  Speaker 3: make dreams your master. If you can think and not
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  Speaker 3: make thoughts your aim. If you can meet with triumph
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  Speaker 3: and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.
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  Speaker 3: If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
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  Speaker 3: or walk with kings, nor lose the common touch. If
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  Speaker 3: neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all
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  Speaker 3: men count with you, but not too much. Yours is
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  Speaker 3: the earth and everything that's in it, and which is more,
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  Speaker 3: You'll be a man, my son. I love those lines.
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  Speaker 3: Kipling is telling his boy to stand alone, to be
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  Speaker 3: courageous to vote his conscience and his convictions, even if
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  Speaker 3: it means being cut off from a major supply of support.
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  Speaker 3: Speaking of that, I was thrilled this past week with
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  Speaker 3: the telephone conversation I had with a longtime friend of mine.
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  Speaker 3: He's been a member of our church for years, and
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  Speaker 3: he was telling me about his twelve year old grandson
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  Speaker 3: who recently resigned from delivering the San Francisco Examiner. Twelve
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  Speaker 3: year old boy cut off his only source of financial supply,
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  Speaker 3: and before he did it, he wrote a letter, and
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  Speaker 3: he dates the letter and he gives the proper statement
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  Speaker 3: at the top. The San Francisco Newspaper Agency, agent of
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  Speaker 3: the San Francisco Examiner Circulation Department, remembers is twelve year
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  Speaker 3: old boy gentleman. I am a carrier for the Sanford
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  Speaker 3: Cisco Examiner, as provided in section fourteen A of the
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  Speaker 3: youth Carrier delivery contract. I am giving the newspaper agency
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  Speaker 3: a minimum of thirty days written notice prior to my resignation.
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  Speaker 3: Please note my resignation will go into effect Tuesday, and
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  Speaker 3: he dates it. I am quitting as a form of
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  Speaker 3: protest against the series you printed in early June entitled
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  Speaker 3: Gay in America and the very unprofessional and biased manner
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  Speaker 3: in which you report on touchy subjects like gay liberation
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  Speaker 3: and abortion issues. I could not in good conscience comply
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  Speaker 3: with all the terms of my contract as stated in
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  Speaker 3: paragraph three and solicit a paper that I personally disagree with, sincerely,
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  Speaker 3: and he signs it. His father is an attorney, I
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  Speaker 3: might add, and I applaud that boy's decision. Would you
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  Speaker 3: have written that letter? Would you have cut off your
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  Speaker 3: source of financial supply? Would you have stood alone against
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  Speaker 3: a company that stands for what you stand against? Would
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  Speaker 3: you do what a twelve year old has done. It's
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  Speaker 3: amazing what it does to the story of Esther. She says.
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  Speaker 3: If I perish, I perish. But my conscience will not
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  Speaker 3: let me do other than what I have decided to do.
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  Speaker 3: I'm reminded of another who did the same. His name
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  Speaker 3: was Martin Luther. The date was April eighteenth, fifteen twenty one,
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  Speaker 3: at the Diet of Arms, where he said, here I stand,
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  Speaker 3: I can do no other. God help me, amen. And
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  Speaker 3: the major prelates of the Roman Church despised him to
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  Speaker 3: the bone, and they would have killed him if they could.
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  Speaker 3: They excommunicated him, But there he stood. God helped him,
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  Speaker 3: and he struck the torch that lit the fire for
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  Speaker 3: the Protestant Reformation. Would you do that? Would you be
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  Speaker 3: excommunicated from your church that stands against the very things
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  Speaker 3: of scripture? Would you have that kind of guts. That's
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  Speaker 3: why we admire a woman like Esther. And she not
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  Speaker 3: only says she will do it, she does it. She
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  Speaker 3: doesn't talk theory and then deliver trash. She does what
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  Speaker 3: she says she will do, not knowing if she would
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  Speaker 3: live to see that evening sunset. Between chapter four and
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  Speaker 3: chapter five of this ancient book of Esther. There is
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  Speaker 3: a white space in my Bible, and there is in yours.
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  Speaker 3: Nothing is recorded. We began reading in chapter five of
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  Speaker 3: a woman who walks into the presence of the king,
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  Speaker 3: not knowing what the future held, literally breaking the law
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  Speaker 3: of the land to interrupt the king uninvited. And it's
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  Speaker 3: easy for us to pass over this white space and
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  Speaker 3: miss the significance of it. It represents a silent yet
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  Speaker 3: powerful interlude. How easy to forget the source of Esther's strength,
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  Speaker 3: How easy for us to believe that she was just
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  Speaker 3: sort of born with a joan of arc conscience, that
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  Speaker 3: she was a Florence Nightingale right out of the womb.
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  Speaker 3: Just as no one is born prejudice, no one is
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  Speaker 3: born courageous. Do you teach your children to stand alone?
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  Speaker 3: Are you teaching your grandchildren to be people of character regardless,
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  Speaker 3: that is the way they will learn it better. Still,
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  Speaker 3: are you modeling it that leaves the message permanently etched
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  Speaker 3: in their minds? You see, Esther did not come onto
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  Speaker 3: this earth with a courageous heart. She learned it from
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  Speaker 3: her mentor and adoptive father, Mordecai. He knew how far
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  Speaker 3: he could stretch her with his challenge, and she took
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  Speaker 3: the bait and said, I'll do exactly as you have
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  Speaker 3: taught me to do. But remember it isn't in her
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  Speaker 3: own heart. You may have already forgotten her request. She
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  Speaker 3: says in the fourth chapter, verse sixteen, you and all
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  Speaker 3: the Jews in Sousa fast for three days, and my
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  Speaker 3: maidens and I will do the same. I take it
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  Speaker 3: that implied in this time of fasting where they do
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  Speaker 3: not eat, is also a time of prayer. She is
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  Speaker 3: waiting on the Lord. That's what fasting is all about.
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  Speaker 3: She has challenged Mordecai to round up as many as
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  Speaker 3: he can find, who are the people of God in
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  Speaker 3: the streets of Sousa and the vast residential areas where
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  Speaker 3: the Jews lived, And she is saying, pray for me,
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  Speaker 3: fast for me and my maidens, and I will do
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  Speaker 3: the same, and we will see what God will do.
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  Speaker 3: We will wait on the Lord now. Even though there
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  Speaker 3: is white space between these two chapters, don't think for
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  Speaker 3: a moment that God is wiling away his time busy
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  Speaker 3: with other things. The period of no involvement, God is
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  Speaker 3: at work. That's the beauty of his invisibility. Not only
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  Speaker 3: is he invincible, he is invisible. He can be moving
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  Speaker 3: in a thousand places at the same time, working in
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  Speaker 3: circumstances that are beyond our control. You see, during a
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  Speaker 3: waiting period, God is not only working in our hearts.
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  Speaker 3: He's working in the hearts of other people, and all
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  Speaker 3: the while He is giving added strength. Hold your place
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  Speaker 3: here at Esther chapter five, and turn ahead to Isaiah forty,
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  Speaker 3: verse thirty one. For some of you, it is a
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  Speaker 3: favorite verse of scripture. Others, I'm convinced have never seen it.
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  Speaker 3: Let me introduce it to you. If you have not,
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  Speaker 3: Isaiah forty thirty one. Those who wait for the Lord
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  Speaker 3: will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings
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  Speaker 3: like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They
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  Speaker 3: will walk and not become weary. Even though Isaiah's penn
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  Speaker 3: put this on the manuscript centuries ago. That verse of
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  Speaker 3: scripture is as pertinent and relevant as what you read
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  Speaker 3: in the paper this morning, and far more trustworthy. Let
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  Speaker 3: me point out, if you like to mark certain things
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  Speaker 3: in your Bibles from this verse. Four things that happen
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  Speaker 3: when we wait. First, we gain new strength. Second, we
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  Speaker 3: get a better perspective, he says, we will mount up
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  Speaker 3: with wings like eagles. Eagles can spot fish in a
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  Speaker 3: late three four miles away on a clear day by
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  Speaker 3: soaring like eagles. While waiting, we gain perspective on what
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  Speaker 3: we have been dealing with. We wait, we gain perspective.
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  Speaker 3: We get new strength. Third, we store up extra energy.
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  Speaker 3: We will run and not get tired. Notice its future tense.
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  Speaker 3: When we do encounter the thing we have been dreading,
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  Speaker 3: we will encounter it with new strength. There will be
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  Speaker 3: extra energy. We'll run and not get tired. Fourth, we
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  Speaker 3: will deepen our determination to persevere. We will walk and
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  Speaker 3: not become weary. Will deepen our determination to persevere, will
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  Speaker 3: gain new strength, We'll get better perspective, will store up
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  Speaker 3: extra energy, will deepen our determination to persevere. That's what
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  Speaker 3: happens when you wait, and you know what, During the
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  Speaker 3: period of waiting, nothing is happening. Nothing visible. You could
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  Speaker 3: easily teach yourself or tell yourself at the time, nothing
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  Speaker 3: is going to change. I am waiting in vain. It's
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  Speaker 3: not going to change. Don't you believe it. That's one
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  Speaker 3: of those times you can't believe the enemy's message that's
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  Speaker 3: coming into your mind. In fact, look down at forty
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  Speaker 3: one to ten still in Isaiah forty one ten, Do
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  Speaker 3: not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously
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  Speaker 3: look about you. That's what we do when we wait.
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  Speaker 3: If our eyes on the Lord, do not anxiously look
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  Speaker 3: about you. I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely,
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  Speaker 3: I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with
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  Speaker 3: my righteous hand verse thirteen. For I am the Lord
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  Speaker 3: your God, who upholds you, who upholds your right hand,
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  Speaker 3: who says to you, do not fear, I will help you. See.
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  Speaker 3: It's those kind of thoughts that Esther poured over when
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  Speaker 3: she was waiting for three days. Mordecai followed, look back
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  Speaker 3: at Esther four seventeen. Mordecai did just as Esther had commanded,
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  Speaker 3: because now the roles are reversed, He's no longer in charge.
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  Speaker 3: She is, or better still, the Lord is, and the
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  Speaker 3: Lord has her heart, and she is now unafraid of
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  Speaker 3: what she's going to be facing. It is a silent
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  Speaker 3: yet powerful interlude in the time of the Queen's life.
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  Speaker 3: And may I pause and say, this may be one
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  Speaker 3: of those times in your life. You see, God hasn't
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  Speaker 3: recorded esther chapter four, in chapter five for us to
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  Speaker 3: learn a little Persian history. God has recorded this book
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  Speaker 3: for us to apply it on a daily basis. Maybe
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  Speaker 3: it's time for you to fast, and for you to
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  Speaker 3: call upon a few close friends to fast with you.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe it's time for you to say, I'm not going
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  Speaker 3: to get involved in this unpredictable and unprecedented situation. I
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  Speaker 3: don't know my way, true, I can't find the path
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  Speaker 3: to walk. So I'm going to wait. In the meantime,
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  Speaker 3: I'm going to give it to God. I'm going to
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  Speaker 3: listen with a sensitive ear. I'm gonna watch with a
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  Speaker 3: sensitive eye. Remember the psalmist words for this, shall everyone
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  Speaker 3: that is godly pray unto THEE In a time when
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  Speaker 3: thou mayst be found surely in the floods of great waters,
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  Speaker 3: they shall not come nigh to him. The Psalmist says,
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  Speaker 3: thou art my hiding place. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble.
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  Speaker 3: Thou has accompass me about with songs of deliverance and
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  Speaker 3: God answers. I will instruct thee and teach thee in
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  Speaker 3: the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee
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  Speaker 3: with mine eye. I will guide thee with mine eye.
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  Speaker 3: You hear that the eye makes no sound when it moves.
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  Speaker 3: It requires a sensitive eye to watch the movement of
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  Speaker 3: God's directions. And all he may do is turn your
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  Speaker 3: attention in another direction. And that's all you may need.
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  Speaker 3: When you wait, you listen, You pour over a passage
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  Speaker 3: of His word that you love. You quietly give attention
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  Speaker 3: to His presence and to his direction. That's what happens
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  Speaker 3: in between these two chapters. You're going to love Esther's
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  Speaker 3: approach as she steps into the presence of the King.
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  Speaker 3: Your Bible has now opened to Esther chapter five. You
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  Speaker 3: will find her introducing a calm, yet very wise plan.
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  Speaker 3: Now comes the moment of truth. The three days are over.
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  Speaker 3: She doesn't know if she's going to live through the
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  Speaker 3: first glance of the King. Watch closely came about on
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  Speaker 3: the third day that Esther put on her royal robes,
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  Speaker 3: and stood in the inner court of the king's palace,
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  Speaker 3: in front of the king's rooms, And the king was
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  Speaker 3: sitting on his royal throne in the throne room opposite
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  Speaker 3: the entrance to the palace. And it happened when the
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  Speaker 3: King saw esther, the queen, standing in the court, she
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  Speaker 3: obtained favor in his sight. Now look at that. She
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  Speaker 3: had no idea what would happen when she stepped into
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  Speaker 3: the courtroom of the king. She found favor in the
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  Speaker 3: king's sight. Put in the margin of your bible. If
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  Speaker 3: you have a penhandy Proverbs sixteen seven. Just trust me
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  Speaker 3: Proverbs sixteen seven. When a man's ways pleased the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him,
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  Speaker 3: which you love. That verse. When my ways please the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: God honors that by doing something in the heart of
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  Speaker 3: my enemy. And in some period of time, and I
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  Speaker 3: don't know how long he changes his heart toward me.
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  Speaker 3: You might also put Proverbs twenty one one. The heart
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  Speaker 3: of the king in the hand of the Lord is
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  Speaker 3: like water. No king has ever made God sit up straight.
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  Speaker 3: God is not intimidated, no matter how powerful the authority.
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: God is not chagrined in the presence of your enemy.
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: He can handle him. He can even handle your husband.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: He can handle your wife, he can handle your kids.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: He can handle your pastor he can handle the person
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: that gives you grief, your ex mate, that person who
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: made you all those promises and then went bad on him.
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: He can handle the most intimidating situation, because in the
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: hand of the Lord, any heart is like water. Look
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: at this woman, she walks in. She's not trembling. She's
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: confident in God. And when the King saw Esther standing
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: in the court, she not only obtained favor in his sight,
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: he extended to Esther the golden scepter. Remember she mentioned
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: this in chapter four earlier, when she was telling Mordecai
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: she wasn't sure she could follow through, and now confident,
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: the king extends the scepter, and she touches the top
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: of the scepter, which is making a connection with the king.
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: And look at his response. The King said to her,
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: what is troubling you, Queen Esther? I love that. I mean,
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: she didn't know what to expect. And he says to her,
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: what's on your mind? What's troubling you? He goes further,
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: what is it that you request, what's your request? Even
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: Not only does she find favor, he says, what do
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: you want? Name it? It's yours now. This is her
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: moment to rip on Hayman. But she doesn't. She could
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: have said, I'm glad you asked. I've got a list
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: of complaints you will never believe. She doesn't even tell
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: him what's troubling her. This is a wise woman. She
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: isn't in a hurry. You know why she has been
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: waiting on the Lord. You get in a hurry when
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: you don't wait on the Lord. You do rash things.
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: You operate from your hip pocket, You shoot off the
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: top of your head, you run off at the mouth,
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: you say things you wish to goodness you hadn't said
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: a day or two later. But when you wait on
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: the Lord, he's got a hold of your spirit. He's
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: got you under his control. And look at her response.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: This is beautiful. Esther said, if it please the King,
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: May the King and Hayman come this day to the
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: banquet that I have prepared for him. Is that incredible?
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: You say, what are you laughing at? Well? When in
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: the world did she prepare the banquet. I thought she's
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: been fasting. Well, she's been preparing the banquet while she
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: was fasting. That represents enormous control. If you have ever dieted,
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: you know what I'm talking about. Here is a woman
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: for three days has been working with her maidens on
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: this fabulous bank which he's going to serve her husband,
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: the King, and her enemy Haman. And she says, I
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: have it ready. By the way, this is a perfect
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: time for me to say. When you wait on the Lord,
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: it doesn't mean that you do weird things like walk
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: around humming sweet our prayer. It doesn't mean you go
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: on a hillside and eat bird seed and strum a guitar.
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: It doesn't mean you wear a robe and look for
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: the closest monastery. You go right on with your business,
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: You go right on with your activities. You just focus
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: fully on the Lord. You can do that. While preparing
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: the banquet, she was thinking about how God was working.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: He gave her the thought, serve a banquet, Invite Hayman,
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: here's what you need to say. She began to capture
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: these fleeting thoughts. It was an unusual surprise to her.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: I'm sure will you notice what she doesn't do. She
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: doesn't tell everything that's troubling her, doesn't point a finger
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: in Hayman. She doesn't play on the King's emotions by
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: bursting into tears and manipulating him to do what she
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: wants him to do. As you can do, ladies, you
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: can do it, you can turn it on, and we
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: can two men. She determines not to do it her way.
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: She very calmly says, no frenzy, no tears. She says,
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: I planned a banquet. I'd love to have you and
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: Hayman attend. Well, the King says, great idea, and banquets
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: are my thing. Verse five. Bring Hayman quickly, that we
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: may do as Esther desires. Look who is in the
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: driver's seat. Oh wait, you're gonna say Esther, it's the Lord.
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: The Lord is having his way. She is virtually invincible
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: in the nucleus of God's plan. That's the beauty of
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: this whole story. Bring Hayman quickly, that we may do
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: as Estra desires. So the King and Hayman came to
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: the banquet, which Esther had prepared. What a surprise. Two
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: days ago. They had no idea it was going to work.
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: And here they are in the middle of a banquet,
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: and Esther must must have been sitting there thinking, isn't
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: God great? I could have lost my head a day ago,
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: and here they are at this banquet I prepared. It's
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: working beautifully. What a surprise? May I say to you
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: that God is still full of surprises. But it takes
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: a sensitive spirit. It takes the ability to still be
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: jolted when he reveals his surprises. You haven't just begun
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: to mouth all these Christian songs, have you, and spout
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: all these Christian verses from this Christian book. You haven't
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: become cauterized, have you? Your Christian life hasn't gotten jaded,
• 31:10
  Speaker 3: has it. See when that happens, you become calloused and insensitive,
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: and you're in for a life of boredom and mediocrity.
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: The walk of faith is the most adventurous walk, filled
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: with periodic surprises you would never ever guess. Some man
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: has said it's easy for Christians to become like the
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: people who once greeted President Franklin Roosevelt at a gala ball,
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: tired of shaking hands and smiling his big smile and
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: saying all the usual inanities at such occasions, Roosevelt tried
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: doing something outrageous. Convinced that no one was listening anyway,
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: he greeted each person by saying, I murdered my grandmother
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: this morning. Everyone smiled vacuously and said things like wonderful, lovely,
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: keep up the good work. One diplomat was listening, however,
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: he leaned over and whispered in Roosevelt's ear. I'm sure
• 32:27
  Speaker 3: she had it coming to her. Sometime. Christian talk drives
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: me crazy when it is marked by cliche and tired sayings.
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: Doesn't it just make you want to throw up, especially
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: when you look back a day or two and you
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: realize you were guilty of it. You were guilty of it.
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: And I'll tell you, as long as that's going on
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: in our lives, that Christian life has lost it. Zip
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: We're no different from the lost person except for our eternity.
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: We're just as empty as they Esther has stepped into
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: a banquet because she was willing to trust God to
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: do the unexpected. Are you still open to the unexpected?
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, are you really waiting on the Lord to
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: do his will. Let's say you're single and you really
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: want to be married, and you're waiting on the Lord
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: to do what find you a mate? Are you ready
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: for him to say My answer is that you find
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: happiness in being single for the rest of your life. Oh,
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: he said, I don't wait a minute. That's not surprising. That's
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: tragic for me to think about something like that. You
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: may be married and be in deep water with your mate,
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: and you may think, as you wait on the Lord, God,
• 34:03
  Speaker 3: take care of him, take care of her, and you
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: may be surprised to know in the waiting period the
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: Lord says, We've got to take care of you. You're
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: a greater part of the problem than your mate. You
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: may not have run, and you're a major reason that
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: mate ran. It's hard to hear that when it could
• 34:26
  Speaker 3: be could be with a wayward child, that God uses
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: the waiting time for the parent to realize I'm part
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: of the reason the child is such a rebel. As
• 34:39
  Speaker 3: I look back on the way I reared that boy
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: or that girl, I realize almost too late, that I'm
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: part of the problem, not part of the answer. Or
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: God may be saying to you, my plan for you
• 34:58
  Speaker 3: is You're not stay in this area ever like you
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: think you will. Are you open to a move are
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: you willing to shift agendas for God to get his way?
• 35:12
  Speaker 4: Oh?
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: I know your roots are deep, and I know you're set,
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: but not that set, are you. I would have never
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: guessed her plan would have been like this or God's plan,
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: But it was here. She is at the banquet verse six,
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: with the king and with Hayman. By the way, she
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: never told the king what was troubling her. Remember up
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: in verse three. She didn't answer. She said, you got
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: to come to the banquet. So he comes to the banquet,
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: and he says to her, as they're sitting together at
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: that feast, what is your petition? For it shall be
• 35:52
  Speaker 3: granted to you? What is your request? Even to half
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: the kingdom, it'll be done. Tell me. Look at her answer.
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: She said, my petition in my request is come to
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: another banquet. That's what verse eight is. If I have
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: found favor in the side of the king, and if
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: it please the King to grant my petition and do
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: what I request, May the King and Hayman come to
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: the banquet, which I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: I will do as the king says. This lady is
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: into banquets. I mean, she says, this is a nice one.
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: Tomorrow we'll have another one. So the king says, why not, Okay,
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: we'll go to that one. Can you believe this? So
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: convinced is she of God's hand in the whole thing.
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: I say this carefully. She can almost toy with the situation.
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: She says, let's have another banquet tomorrow. She could have
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: done everything tomorrow that she did today, but she's trusting God.
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: She said, there's something I want to say, and I
• 36:57
  Speaker 3: want to wait till tomorrow, and you're gonna find next
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: message we have on this what tomorrow would bring, and
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: why in God's timing it required overnight. His plan is
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: so intriguing sometime my mouth drops open. So he says, sure,
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: let's do it now before tomorrow comes Haymon verse nine.
• 37:22
  Speaker 3: Remember Hayman, he's a guy you love to hate. Hayman
• 37:26
  Speaker 3: went out that day glad and pleased of heart. He
• 37:29
  Speaker 3: is walking on cloud nine. I mean, look at it.
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: When Hayman saw Mordecai in the King's gate, and that
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: and that he did not stand up or tremble before him.
• 37:39
  Speaker 3: Hayman was filled with anger against Mordecai. He controlled himself, however,
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: went to his house and sent for his friends and
• 37:46
  Speaker 3: his wife's areas. He walks out of this meeting thinking,
• 37:49
  Speaker 3: for I was great. I was in audience with the
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: King and the Queen. I was the only one invited
• 37:54
  Speaker 3: to be there. They shared things that only I got
• 37:57
  Speaker 3: to hear. I mean, it was the ultimate opportunity to
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: draw names. Can you imagine Hayman at the office the
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: next day, I was with the King and queen. Last
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: evening with had a banquet for the three of us. Yes,
• 38:07
  Speaker 3: I was the only one invited. She personally sent me
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: an invitation. I mean, you can imagine that. And he
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: walks out and he runs into Mordecai, who will not
• 38:19
  Speaker 3: stand up or tremble before him. I love Mordecai. He
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: is a great kind of guy. By the way, he
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: is in the King's gate. Remember the last time he
• 38:28
  Speaker 3: couldn't go in the King's gate because he wore sackcloth
• 38:31
  Speaker 3: with ashes. I take it he's changed clothes because he's
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: now in the King's gate. He sends his gods at work.
• 38:40
  Speaker 3: He knows that something great is about to happen, and
• 38:42
  Speaker 3: he's still unintimidated by Haman. So great is Mordecai's god.
• 38:49
  Speaker 3: Hayman walks out. Mordecai doesn't stand up or tremble. He instead,
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: Hayman comes to his home, invites a few friends and
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: his wife. Look at versa left. Ever been at a
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: party like this? It is the pits. Hayman recounted to
• 39:05
  Speaker 3: them the glory of his riches, the number of his sons,
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: and every instance where the king had magnified him, and
• 39:13
  Speaker 3: how he had promoted him above the princes and the
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: servants of the king. Gag me, can you imagine being
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: in a group like that. Here's a guy who says,
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: now this is what I'm worth. You could just see
• 39:27
  Speaker 3: his wife. Oh boy, we've been over this before. And
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: my sons. Chapter nine, verse ten tells us that he
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: had ten sons. A Jewish targum says Hayman had two
• 39:39
  Speaker 3: hundred and eight other sons in addition to his own ten.
• 39:43
  Speaker 3: It's another story, no need to get into it. But
• 39:46
  Speaker 3: he has a lot of kids. And so he reviews
• 39:49
  Speaker 3: all of the sons, not the quality he has with
• 39:51
  Speaker 3: them relationship, but how many. What kind of a guy
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: is this? And then he tells instance after instance where
• 39:59
  Speaker 3: he is promoted and exalted. Such arrogance, you would think
• 40:05
  Speaker 3: he had enough to be satisfied. But people like this
• 40:10
  Speaker 3: are never satisfied. He's got one worry, Mordecai, who won't
• 40:17
  Speaker 3: stand up or tremble before him. And you would think,
• 40:21
  Speaker 3: if the guy has the world with the tale, has
• 40:24
  Speaker 3: over two hundred kids, if he has all of these riches,
• 40:29
  Speaker 3: and if he has been invited to be in an
• 40:31
  Speaker 3: audience with the king and the Queen, that'd be enough.
• 40:36
  Speaker 3: But what bothers a person like this is that everybody
• 40:39
  Speaker 3: doesn't bow to them, and if one doesn't, becomes his soul. Worry.
• 40:45
  Speaker 3: Look at how he puts it. He says he had
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: been promoted and magnified verse twelve. Even esther the Queen
• 40:56
  Speaker 3: let no one but me come with the king to
• 40:58
  Speaker 3: the banquet when she which she had prepared tomorrow. I'm
• 41:02
  Speaker 3: invited by her with the king. Yet all of this
• 41:07
  Speaker 3: doesn't satisfy me. Every time I see Mordecai get it
• 41:14
  Speaker 3: here the Jew, hear a little anti Semitism. And then
• 41:20
  Speaker 3: every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the
• 41:24
  Speaker 3: king's gate, so his wife pipes up and says, want
• 41:28
  Speaker 3: you do something about it? I tired of hearing you
• 41:31
  Speaker 3: complain about Mordecai Zeries, his wife and all of his
• 41:38
  Speaker 3: friends said, have a gallows seventy five feet high made,
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: and in the morning asked the king to have Mordecai
• 41:48
  Speaker 3: hanged on it, and then go joyfully with the king
• 41:51
  Speaker 3: to the banquet. Heyman thought, hot dog of an idea,
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: and he put the guys on the on the gallows detail,
• 42:01
  Speaker 3: and they started building it. And now I call that overreacting.
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: Seventy five feet that's seven and a half story, and
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: it doesn't mean gallows. You know what the word means.
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: The original word here means tree. In fact, literally it
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: means pole or steak. They didn't hang them from a
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: noose in Persia. They impaled them. The pole was thrust
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: into the body, and the body was hung on a
• 42:39
  Speaker 3: pole seven and a half stories high. You know, the
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: Romans got the idea of crucifixion from the Phoenicians, who
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: learned it from the Persians. That's why Jesus was referred
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: to as hanging on a tree or on a pole.
• 42:57
  Speaker 3: Romans developed the idea of driving nails in the hands,
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: but the Persians simply impaled the body on a pole.
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: It was an anguishing, torturous death. You see, that's what
• 43:10
  Speaker 3: you do with people you hate, and that's why Jesus
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: was put on a cross. It pleased him to do that,
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: and he went to sleep that night listening to the
• 43:26
  Speaker 3: thump and the bump and the pounding of the construction
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: crew through the night as they were building the pole
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: on which his enemy would hang. It's a great story.
• 43:46
  Speaker 3: It certainly isn't anywhere near over. But let me pause
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: here and say some things that are what I call
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: direct and timely advice for today. Share with you three
• 44:00
  Speaker 3: or four thoughts that I get as I read through
• 44:03
  Speaker 3: this passage regarding our lives and how we must deal
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: with difficult situations. Here's the first quhen preparing for an
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: unprecedented event, wait on the Lord before getting involved. When
• 44:23
  Speaker 3: preparing for an unprecedented event, wait on the Lord before
• 44:29
  Speaker 3: getting involved. Maybe I'll set it too quickly earlier, so
• 44:36
  Speaker 3: I want to repeat it now. At least as important
• 44:39
  Speaker 3: as the thing we are waiting for is the work
• 44:44
  Speaker 3: God does while we wait. He works on us, He
• 44:50
  Speaker 3: works on others. He works on our circumstances. If we
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: plunge in, if we run ahead, as it were, his
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: hands are tied and we frustrate. The better arrangement. You're
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: on the verge of a big decision, I suggest you wait.
• 45:13
  Speaker 3: You wait, don't hurry, especially if it's unprecedented, if you
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: have to cut a new path, if you're walking a
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: journey that you you've never walked before and there's no map.
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: Better wait, better wait for the Lord. And I don't
• 45:33
  Speaker 3: know how long. Could be three days, could be three weeks,
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: could be three months. But in the waiting period, don't
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: get involved. Wait on the Lord. Here's a second. When
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: dealing with an unpredictable person, count on the Lord to
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: open doors and hearts. When dealing with an unpredictable person,
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: I'm thinking here of the king. Count on the Lord
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: to open doors and hearts. And remember Proverbs sixteen seven.
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: When a man's waist please the Lord, he makes even
• 46:16
  Speaker 3: his enemies to be at peace with him. Count on
• 46:19
  Speaker 3: the Lord to do that. Amazing things happen to our
• 46:24
  Speaker 3: courage while we're waiting. Rather than getting more afraid, we
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: become less afraid. The Lord becomes more important. His presence
• 46:35
  Speaker 3: overshadows the threatening, even intimidating circumstances that would otherwise immobilize
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: us or paralyze our thoughts. When dealing with an unpredictable person,
• 46:47
  Speaker 3: count on the Lord to open doors and hearts. Here's
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: a third thought. I get it again from chapter five.
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: When working through an unpleasant situation, trusts the Lord for
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: enduring patience. When working through an unpleasant situation, trust the
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: Lord for enduring patience. Realize the patience she had to
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: carry out when she was in the presence of Haman,
• 47:16
  Speaker 3: the man who hated her people. Realize the patience she
• 47:20
  Speaker 3: had to have to serve the banquet, only to serve
• 47:23
  Speaker 3: another banquet, and to wait for just the right time.
• 47:27
  Speaker 3: Perhaps she sensed it wasn't the right time. In situations
• 47:31
  Speaker 3: that are unpleasant, timing is as important as actions. Sometime
• 47:36
  Speaker 3: more so, pace yourself. It takes patience for the situation
• 47:45
  Speaker 3: to become bearable and workable. Fourth, and finally, when standing
• 47:53
  Speaker 3: against an unprincipled enemy, ask the Lord for inventncible courage.
• 48:03
  Speaker 3: When standing against an unprincipled enemy, asked the Lord for
• 48:10
  Speaker 3: invincible courage. You know what occurred to me when I
• 48:16
  Speaker 3: was speaking on this earlier. Perhaps in the midst of
• 48:21
  Speaker 3: that first banquet, she sensed a growing invincibility and courage,
• 48:29
  Speaker 3: and she sends the need for that to continue to build,
• 48:33
  Speaker 3: for her to save. What she's going to say has
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  Speaker 3: recorded in chapter six, when standing against an unprincipled enemy,
• 48:43
  Speaker 3: asked the Lord for invincible courage. The good news is
• 48:46
  Speaker 3: God will grant you your request. It may not be
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  Speaker 3: as you plan, but He will give you the courage
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  Speaker 3: to see it through. I said earlier. Nothing touches the
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  Speaker 3: heart like a song, like a story. You know, the
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  Speaker 3: one to whom we sing more songs than to any
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  Speaker 3: other person who has ever lived, Jesus Christ. There are
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  Speaker 3: more songs composed to the person of Jesus Christ than
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  Speaker 3: to any other human being who ever lived. You know why,
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  Speaker 3: because his story is like none other. Did you know
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  Speaker 3: that they put him on a pole, that they hung
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  Speaker 3: him up to die. Did you know that more people
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  Speaker 3: hated him than loved him? You know that more cheered
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  Speaker 3: than wept. You know that when he died, more applauded
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  Speaker 3: than sighed, despised and hated by men and women he died.
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  Speaker 3: Why do we sing to him then, Because, like no
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  Speaker 3: other person who ever died, he came back from the
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  Speaker 3: dead alive, and he gave us a song. He arose
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  Speaker 3: from the grave, and he still lives. Now the question
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  Speaker 3: real question is is do you know why he died?
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  Speaker 3: Not because some hayman hated him and decided to put
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  Speaker 3: him on a pole. He died because you and I
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  Speaker 3: are sinners. The only way to satisfy the demand of
• 50:32
  Speaker 3: a holy God in dealing with humanity was to pay
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  Speaker 3: the penalty for sin, and that required the price of
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  Speaker 3: blood from the unspotted lamb of God Jesus himself. I'd
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  Speaker 3: like us to bow together for a moment of reflection,
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  Speaker 3: for some of us a time of gratitude, and for
• 50:56
  Speaker 3: others a time of decision. All the way through this message,
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  Speaker 3: I've talked about waiting on the Lord. Now I'm going
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  Speaker 3: to encourage you to do just the opposite. If you
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  Speaker 3: do not know this Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I've
• 51:15
  Speaker 3: referred here at the end of the message, you don't
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  Speaker 3: need to wait any longer. You can meet him today
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  Speaker 3: in the sacred sanctuary of your heart, where he has
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  Speaker 3: built a conscience, where you have been pouring sin and
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  Speaker 3: failure and hopelessness all the years of your life, and
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: he has come to cleanse your heart and to give
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  Speaker 3: you a new inner person, a new being on the inside.
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  Speaker 3: He's come to forgive you and to release you from
• 51:57
  Speaker 3: the grinding prison of guilt. Today, the Lord Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 3: is knocking on that door, waiting for you to open it.
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  Speaker 3: Won't you let him in? Today? In a big church
• 52:22
  Speaker 3: like this, it's easy to busy ourselves with finding our
• 52:25
  Speaker 3: cars and getting into our vehicles and finding our way
• 52:29
  Speaker 3: to home or to lunch, and to miss the most
• 52:33
  Speaker 3: significant part of a worship's service, and that is coming
• 52:39
  Speaker 3: face to face with the reality of Jesus Christ's death
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  Speaker 3: and resurrection. Come today, don't put this off any longer.
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  Speaker 3: You're surrounded by people who, like you, thought they could
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  Speaker 3: make up their mind later, and finally came to the
• 52:56
  Speaker 3: realization the most intelligent decision they could make was to
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  Speaker 3: give their life to Christ. Father. I thank you today
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  Speaker 3: that in the incomplete story that we are reading and learning,
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  Speaker 3: there is truth to live by. Thank You for giving
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  Speaker 3: some this day courage to continue to wait, for giving
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  Speaker 3: others the determination to stand alone, even if it means
• 53:25
  Speaker 3: personal loss and public misunderstanding. Thank You for modern day
• 53:31
  Speaker 3: Esther's women and men alike who have stood up to
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  Speaker 3: be counted. They model for us what the Christian life
• 53:42
  Speaker 3: is all about and father. I pray for the person who,
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  Speaker 3: like Hayman himself, has blamed others for his unhappiness, and
• 53:56
  Speaker 3: deserves the very gallows upon which he would place. Mordecai,
• 54:00
  Speaker 3: that you'd bring us to an end of our blaming,
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  Speaker 3: and bring us to an end of our sinful lifestyle,
• 54:09
  Speaker 3: and bring us face to face with the claims of
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ. We this day acknowledge his right to rule
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  Speaker 3: in our lives, and may he be glorified with our
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  Speaker 3: decision to trust him and him alone for eternal life.
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  Speaker 3: We pray together in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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  Speaker 4: The preceding message, Esther's Finest Hour was copyrighted in nineteen
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  Speaker 4: eighty nine, nineteen ninety nineteen ninety seven, two thousand and five,
• 54:41
  Speaker 4: twenty eighteen, and twenty twenty six, and the sound recording
• 54:45
  Speaker 4: was copyrighted in twenty twenty six by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated.
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  Speaker 4: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 54:54
  Speaker 4: commercial use is strictly prohibited.