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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Esther chapter six,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. That night,
Speaker 1: the king could not sleep, and he had a servant
Speaker 1: read him the records of what had happened since he
Speaker 1: had been king. When the servant read how Mordecai had
Speaker 1: kept Big Thana and Taresh from killing the king, the
Speaker 1: king asked, what has been done to reward Mordecai for
Speaker 1: this Nothing, your majesty, the king's servants replied. About this time,
Speaker 1: Hayman came in to ask the king to have Mordecai
Speaker 1: hanged on the tower he had built. The king saw
Speaker 1: him and ask who is that man waiting in front
Speaker 1: of the throne room. The king's servants answered, your majesty,
Speaker 1: it is Haman. Have him come in, the king commanded.
Speaker 1: When Haman entered the room, the king asked him, what
Speaker 1: should I do for a man I want to honor.
Speaker 1: Haman was sure that he was the one the king
Speaker 1: wanted to honor, so he replied your majesty, if you
Speaker 1: wish to honor a man, have someone bring him one
Speaker 1: of your own robes and one of your own horses
Speaker 1: with a fancy headdress. Have one of your highest officials
Speaker 1: place your robe on this man and lead him through
Speaker 1: the streets on your horse, while someone shouts, this is
Speaker 1: how the King honors a man. The king replied, hurry
Speaker 1: and do just what you have said. Don't forget a thing.
Speaker 1: Get the robe and the horse for Mordecai, the Jew,
Speaker 1: who is on duty at the palace gate. Hamon got
Speaker 1: the king's robe and put it on Mordecai. He led
Speaker 1: him through this city on the horse and shouted as
Speaker 1: he went, this is how the King honors a man. Afterwards,
Speaker 1: Mordecai returned to his duties at the palace gate, and
Speaker 1: Hayman hurried home, hiding his face in shame. Hayman told
Speaker 1: his wife and friends what had happened. Then his wife
Speaker 1: and his advisers said, if Mordecai is a Jew, this
Speaker 1: is just the beginning of your troubles. You will end
Speaker 1: up a ruined man. They were still talking when the
Speaker 1: king's servants came and quickly took Haymen to the dinner
Speaker 1: that Esther had prepared. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you for the privilege
Speaker 1: of being able to look at it together today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of scripture, we can
Speaker 1: see that Mordecai was someone who eagerly desired to serve
Speaker 1: the king and eagerly desired to serve the Jewish people.
Speaker 1: And we get the impressed from this scripture that he
Speaker 1: was a man who exercised humility, and that stands out
Speaker 1: in great contrast to Haman, who just like to be
Speaker 1: elevated and praised and thought well of. But Lord, you
Speaker 1: tell us multiple times in your word that you oppose
Speaker 1: the proud, but give your grace to the humble. And Lord,
Speaker 1: it's clear that you were opposing Hayman. You despise pride. Lord,
Speaker 1: that's something that Satan himself displays continually, and that's something
Speaker 1: that we as human beings struggle with. Sometimes it results
Speaker 1: in us being unteachable. Sometimes it results in us elevating
Speaker 1: ourselves above others and the needs of others. Sometimes it
Speaker 1: results in us being in a spot where the only
Speaker 1: voice we want to listen to is our own, and
Speaker 1: we ignore your counsel because of our own pride. But Lord,
Speaker 1: you've shown us what true humility really looks like, and
Speaker 1: we see that in your son Jesus Christ, who willingly
Speaker 1: took on flesh even though he is one with you,
Speaker 1: and he did so with the desire to serve us,
Speaker 1: so that through faith in him, we could be part
Speaker 1: of your family forever. Lord. We're grateful that you've accomplished this.
Speaker 1: We're grateful for the privilege of being able to meditate
Speaker 1: on that truth today, and we pray, Lord that you
Speaker 1: would foster within our hearts the kind of humility that's
Speaker 1: been modeled for us by your son Jesus Christ, and
Speaker 1: that you'd be honored and glorified in all aspects of
Speaker 1: our lives. We love you, Lord, and we just thank
Speaker 1: you for all of these things, and we commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care. In Jesus' name. We pray Amen.