if you would. Turn there with me. And I've said this, I like the Old Testament. I like all of the Bible. I like all of it. But I do like to look at some of the ways, because they didn't have, well, none of the Bible times, or none of these times that are in Scripture, the era that they lived in, the men and women that were involved in this, they didn't have technology. So, I just like going back to where there was no technology, and the yays were yays and the nays were nays, and there was still sin, there was still iniquity, there was still lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, but I do believe things were certainly different. There was a lot more reliance on God. The men and women that trusted God from God's Word, His people, there was trust. There was absolute trust in him and there was no ifs, ands, or buts. I'm sure they had markets, I understand that, but there was no McDonald's, there wasn't Wendy's, there wasn't... There was no Lindos, and I don't know how they made it this long without an El Mexico Lindo, but they did. If God didn't provide rain for the fields, for the crops, they didn't grow. And if the crops didn't grow, it wasn't like there was any other option. What else are you going to do? So they had to trust God. I was reading through Esther again today, and I really like this book. We spoke of a woman this morning, and uh... a woman that had a very very negative plight, if you will. She had a, she had a lifetime or 22 years plus of, of things laid in her lap that were certainly inconvenient. Not, not a, not a desire for anyone to go through, but here we have another, another woman through this and a lot to go through in the book of Esther. But chapter six, something just really grabbed ahold of me again, once again today. And I just want to read all of it. It's not too many, too many verses. It's 14, but let's start in chapter six verse one. And on that night could not the king sleep. I want to talk about the providence of God, God's providence. And I don't know all the deep, dark details of God's providence, but I can read God's word and I can see God's providence in my life. I've watched it a little bit in the lives of those that are in this place. And I've seen it in our nation. You know, I've watched God and we've watched it worldwide. And who knows what God has ahead. But we know who holds tomorrow, don't we? I've watched it for almost 39 years now, who holds tomorrow. And so, without a doubt, we can trust in that. The outcome may not be exactly what we want. The things that are coming may not be the desire of our hearts or what we want. But God knows what's best, and He's given us an outline. He's given us a basic, and I heard this, this was a song by a group and I can't remember, the B-I-B-L-E, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. It's a basic instruction book. So let's keep going. This is on the night could not the king On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hold on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, what honor and dignity have been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, there's nothing done for him. And the king said, who is in the court? Now Haman was coming to the outward court of the king's house to speak unto the king, to hang Mordecai on the gallows." Many of you know, we know the story. Haman was a wicked man. He hated the Jews, just like many folks throughout time, throughout history, hated the Jews. They hated God's people. They hate righteousness. Jesus said, if they hate me, love, they're going to hate you. And folks, that's just the truth of God's Word that has been passed down from generation to generation that the wicked hate righteousness. This wicked Haman had made a plot, had made it a plan, had formed a scheme, if you will, to hang Mordecai, but I just want to keep going here, to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in, and the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Notice how we were talking this morning about testimonies and Brother Arliss had mentioned about certain times in life where someone was woke up in the middle of the night. Couldn't sleep. Here this king, definitely not a godly king, he couldn't sleep. It's neat how God uses certain things. Do you have times in your life where you just cannot sleep? I have that. I've had that a number of times here lately where I just couldn't fall asleep. I've told Nicole, I just was tossing and turning all night. There's got to be a reason. God uses those times. But for the reasons and the purposes of God, here this king couldn't sleep. And notice where he goes to. He goes to the Chronicles. He goes to the records. He goes to those books of that time. Do you go to the book? Do you go to God when you can't sleep? Are you seeking His face when you can't sleep? Haman came in, and the king said unto him, What shall be done of the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? How often, I wonder, do folks think that way? Who more than me? the pride and the arrogance, who more than me would the king, and I don't know, I shouldn't laugh, I don't know, it's not, there's something about this whole thing that, let's keep going. And Haman answered the king for the man whom the king delighted to honor, let the royal apparel, and he lays it on thick, he lays it on thick, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head. And let his apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, and they may array the man with all whom the king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. Then the king said to Haman, now think of this, have you ever had that moment where it felt like you hit a brick wall just as fast as you could run and just smoked it face first? I can't imagine the way that Haman's heart sunk I don't know the words to even give it. But he hit a brick wall, I guarantee he hit a brick wall. Then the king said to Haman, make haste, don't wait, don't jack around, get to it, and take the apparel and the horse as thou has said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, a man in whom he hated. There's folks out there that hate us. There's folks out there that have hated God's people all down through the centuries. And God's providential hand has worked things out like this time and time again. And I don't know what you might be going through. I'm not going through anything negative, dark, and deep, but maybe I needed a laugh. And the Scripture says God looks down and He laughs at them. He laughs at those that are in derision, the wickedness and those things that are going on. that sitteth at the king's gate. Do so even to Mordecai the Jew that sitteth at the king's gate. Let nothing fail. Don't miss anything. Don't let no jot or tittle from your little speech pass. Don't let it go. Do it all. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse and arrayed Mordecai and brought him on the horseback through the street of the city and proclaimed before him, thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor. And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning, and having his head covered. Now think about this. This is the way God works, because God I've said this, we've used this, but all things, all things work together for good. To them that love God and to them who are called according to his purposes. Haman was a man called to God's purposes here, was he not? God used him to work out the plan in which God had forth. And down through the centuries, down through the times, God has done that again and again. But Haman Haman goes home and I just say to my own words, he's upset and he's broken hearted and his face is smashed because of the brick wall that he's hit. And I don't mean to laugh. I hope that's not irreverent here because I don't mean it to be. But it's neat to see how God cares for His people. And it's exciting to know that even in a time like this, when wickedness is all around, and this man desires, they're looking, and we'll go back maybe the chapter before, Haman's looking to destroy them. The decree that's given is a destruction. He desires to see the Jewish people all because one man. And maybe he didn't hate all the Jews. I would say he would because of the decrees that were written out. But basically, because Mordecai wouldn't bow the knee, he wouldn't honor Haman the Great, whom he thought he was. But Haman, upset and brokenhearted, probably crushed to the very center of his being, he goes home and he tells Zeresh, his wife, and all of his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail. against him, but shalt surely fall before him. And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared." Esther had called in the king to the banquet the day before, and as they go into the banquet she calls him in again. But I wanted to go back into chapter 5, and the providential hand of God, I couldn't expound much on it anyways, I just know a little bits and pieces on how He's worked in my life, and we can read that. But if you'll go back to chapter 5, verse 8, and this is just a little before of what had started there, but He says, And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, Think about this. As I spoke earlier about the woman there, I can't fathom the heart and the mind of those people that were doing the things that they were doing. Jaith and I were talking a little bit before church. I don't have that in me. I don't think anyone in here has that in me to treat people, to do to people what they have done. But this wicked man, Haman, he says, there is a certain people scattered abroad. I pray that God would have a certain people scattered abroad here in Harrison, Arkansas that would be this type of people. and dispersed among the people in all the provinces, this is all the areas, of thy kingdoms, and their laws are diverse from all people. The laws of God for God's people, they are diverse. They're different, are they not? God's words, God's commandments, his statutes and judgments are different for his people. He calls us to be a peculiar people, to come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord. And Haman doesn't like that. And it's amazing to see how God works this all out. But he says, He wasn't looking for folks to be handcuffed and jailed. They were looking for the destruction of these people. And it's been throughout the times, the ages, the countless days, months, and years where men and women have had a wicked heart of unbelief and have desired to destroy the people of God. They've desired to destroy God's Word. They've desired to destroy anything righteous, anything holy. Now I did just a little bit of digging this afternoon, and I was looking at King Ahasuerus. They said that he was likely to be King Xerxes of that age, that hour, the king of Persia at the time. They said that he was over 127 provinces. They called it, there was 20 regions, I think it was called 20 regions that were therefore broke down into 127 provinces. Roughly, this is just a rough, now this is what I read, roughly the size of the United States. That's a lot of folks. That's a lot of regions. That's a lot of areas to reach out. How many folks in America do you think are Christians, are born again believers? And there's a wickedness out there that desires to snuff out the light of Christ. But God had a different plan, didn't He? The king took his ring, and he gives it to Haman, and they settle it. He says, Haman the son of Hamadathah the Agagite, the Jew's enemy. He was an enemy of the Jews. He was an enemy of God. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given unto thee. This 10,000 talents. Now I've got a couple different numbers on how much that was. But one of the accounts, one said that roughly 13.2 Billion US dollars was equal to one said 3.4 billion And another was a couple hundred million is what this amounted to, this amount of money that would go out to fund the genocide basically of this Jewish race. And as you well know, God intervened for them just as well as I believe he'll intervene for you and I. And God cares about us. He really, truly cares. And as I thought of that woman today, I kept thinking about her this afternoon, thinking about all the little ones. We sing a song, Jesus loves the little children. all the little children of the world. He cares about every man, woman, boy, or girl. And I closed our service this morning with John 3.16, and I hope that that will be a verse that will never go away. And I know we hear it, and it seems like everybody and their brother knows, and I think Jessica and I were talking about this, judge not lest we be judged. Everyone knows that because you're not to judge. And everybody knows John 3.16. But not everybody has that verse planted a seed in their heart and changed their lives. I know that there's certain things going on around us that aren't for our good, but I've said this before and I fully believe this, we'll not get out of this place alive, physically, what would be a greater joy and an honor as Esther had given here back, I believe it's earlier in chapter two, maybe it's afterwards. No, sorry, chapter four. She was willing to die. Esther was just willing to die for her people. She says, if I perish, I perish. She was willing to go ahead, you guys know the story, and I don't know this, and Ryan mentioned this, we don't live in a monarchy, we don't live in a kingdom, we don't live under that sort of authority, so I don't fully understand a lot of that stuff, but they weren't allowed to walk into the king's court unless they were summoned. And if they so did come in, the king had to point his staff at them, or he had to basically give them rite of passage to come in. You know the story, she was given the rite of passage, but she was so willing, she was so willing to give up everything, and she came basically from nothing to a queen position. And I just wonder today, if I would be, if I, and I don't point this at you, if I would be willing to do such a thing as that, and if you would stand with me, I know basically what I have said is nothing new, but I was encouraged this afternoon as I read that, and I know I laughed, and I hope that doesn't sound, like I said, I hope that wasn't, because it's not an irreverent laugh, because I know who I have believed in, I know who my Redeemer is. I know how He works by reading through Scripture, how He has worked. But it's exciting to see, and I say exciting, that might not be the best word, but it's an encouragement for a man like myself that goes through things in life, whether they be great or whether they be small, and God sees the ends, and He works those things out. And as I talked to the youth earlier, The challenge today, the challenge for all of us, is to be faithful, to stay faithful. Stay faithful through that. God's providential hand will see us through, will He not? He saw us this far. Father, we thank You for Your Word. Lord, and I know that it may not have been a long, drawn-out sermon, may not have been anything new, but Your Word says that there's nothing new under the sun. And Lord, that we can look back to the times of the Old Testament. We can look back through the times of the New Testament. We can see how God worked in their lives. We can compare to see how God has worked in our lives. And I just want to encourage those that are in this building tonight, as you've encouraged me, Lord, just to stay faithful. Stay the course. As we said this morning, press towards that mark which has been given. in Christ Jesus, the mark above all marks. Father, may we stay faithful throughout our days. And Lord, I pray that you'd go with each of us as we leave this place tonight. Thank you for meeting with us. Thank you for the songs. Thank you for the specials. Lord, thank you for giving us something to sing about. Lord, this world, I've listened to secular music, I've heard, I've been around it, Father, and there is no peace. There is no joy. There is no eternality in that stuff. But Lord, there is in You, Father. And I pray that each one of us, Father, as we go from this place today, would be encouraged by God's Word. And Lord, as we've asked this week, that we were challenged last week, Father, would You fill us with the Holy Spirit. Lord, that throughout the week, not just in this place, but in our homes, in our jobs, in our daily activities, whatever we might have to do, may others see Christ in us, that we might be that shining light that others would glorify God and not us. Father, thank you for your mercies and the grace that you show us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.