Please join with me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we do again just ask Your blessing upon this time as we open up now Your Word. We ask, Father, that You would speak to our hearts. I pray, Lord, that through this week messenger, that You would use, Lord, the Word that is proclaimed through the agency of Your Spirit to edify and to encourage hearts, to draw people unto Christ, and for those who are in Christ to have their eyes lifted up to Him, that You might receive the praise and the glory that's due Your name. Father, so bless this time we ask in His precious name. Let the pro show you how it's done. Those were some words that I got to eat one day when I was a young lad. My brother and I had been playing out in the backyard, and we had this rope swing. And we had contrived some sort of way to work it backwards from the platform that my dad had built by climbing up, I believe, on a fence or something. And we would jump off. And if you swung it just right and you had the right momentum, you could swing around and navigate back and land on the platform. It was just something we were doing. And it was kind of challenging to do. And my brother had been trying to do it and kept failing. So I stepped up to the rope. and was going to then display my wonderful skills and show him how it was to be done. And so with all the gusto of Tarzan, I left out with all sorts of vigor. And I happened to, as we swung around, you had to miss sort of this knot that protruded out from the tree with the rope. And if you didn't, it was disastrous because the rope would snag on that and then this long arc became a very sudden and upward thrust. And that was exactly what happened to me. And of course, as I was thrusted upward, I released my grip of the rope and came down hard right on my back. And it took a minute for me to sort of get my breath back and my brother was laughing and I laughed along with him just because of the irony of the situation. How confident I had asserted myself and showing him what I could do and then to end up flat on my back seemed very appropriate to the occasion. One of those sort of moments of life that stick with you and serve as an illustration in this regard of this certain principle that we're going to see come out here this morning. As it says in scripture, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So before we jump into the passage, let me just do some brief review. I know there's some with us here this morning that haven't been with us as we've been walking through the book of Esther. And the book of Esther is a story about the providential preservation of a chosen people by the hand of an unseen God. The word God is never found in the pages of this book and yet we see his hand at work all throughout the story of Esther. And I've divided Esther into four episodes. And each of these episodes, I feel like, gives us sort of another angle on what providential preservation looks like. as we go through this story. So the first episode we saw in chapters one and two, and that's the story where Queen Vashti, the queen at that time, was rejected by King Ahasuerus because she had upset him. And then he selected another queen for himself, which happened to be Queen Esther, who was a Jew. And we called that section, God's Providential Preservation is Accomplished Through Selected Representation. That's sort of the focus of providential preservation there, the selected representation. God's going to end up using Esther to deliver the people. The second episode, which was chapters... 3 through 4, we see this character named Haman enter into the story, who is called the enemy of the Jews. And there's a lot of history there, and I don't have time to go into all that this morning. If you understood sort of the history between the Jews and Haman, who was an Agagite, a descendant of King Agag. There's a lot of history there. But Mordecai wouldn't bow to him. This infuriated him. And so because Mordecai represented the Jews, he was able to procure a day and get the king to decree a day in which all of the Jews were going to be annihilated. And so there's this great proclamation of death that's hanging over all the Jews, not only there in the capital city of Susa, but throughout the whole Persian Empire, which would have included the Jews that were living at that time in Judea that had returned out of exile. So this was a bad situation, not only for the people there, but all of the Jews throughout the land. And then Mordecai comes to Esther and brings the situation and suggests that she would go before the king to entreat his favor, and she knew that to do so would be risky because if he didn't extend the scepter to her, then that would be death. Unless if you were called and summoned to come before the king, you didn't have the right just to walk up before him and to seek his face. And so Esther says the famous quote, if I perish, I perish. She calls for three day fast. among herself and the people, the Jews, and then proceeds, as we just saw this morning, she's going to then proceed into the presence of the king. But we called that section, we looked at that section and saw the perilous intervention was the theme of the providential preservation, that there's, when God delivers his people, it's going to be through some sort of perilous intervention. And all these things are pointing us, of course, at Christ. And so then last week, we started into the third episode, the third episode, which I've called Defeating the Enemy and Triumphant Salvation. And we looked at, and this encompasses basically chapters five through seven, though we're going to move into the first portion of chapter eight as well this morning. And What I've tried to pull out of this is that God's providential preservation is accomplished through triumphant salvation. And so last week we looked through the passage that Derek read for us this morning, and we see Esther approaching the king, and then she invites Haman to the banquet, and then a second invitation at that banquet to another banquet. We see Haman's anger, is burning against Mordecai, and at the suggestion of his wife and his friends he has this gallows built that's 50 feet high. And then the king, through some miraculous instances of God's providence, realizes, has a sleepless night and realizes that Mordecai had done this great thing years ago by revealing a plot to assassinate him. And he asked, was anything ever done? No. So we need to honor him. And it was about that time that Haman comes walking in. in order to ask the king about hanging Mordecai in the gallows at the very moment when the king is looking to honor Haman. And we have that whole exchange and we see Haman being very presumptuous in declaring what it is that he thinks the king ought to do, having no idea that it's Mordecai. And so then he gets assigned the duty of honoring him through his own presumptuous plan. Last week we said the providential preservation of God's people, which ends in the defeat of their enemy through triumphant salvation. And there were three points last week. We're going to continue along the same thought. But first of all, it entailed insignificant means. God's using all these small details that don't seem all that significant to work out his plan. and thinking about the way that God has done that, not only throughout the history of redemption, but even in your own situation, how God has used insignificant means to draw people to himself and to save them in Christ. We saw a golden scepter extended, and we see how that pointed us to Christ, and the mercy and the grace extended through Christ, who is our representative. And then godly patience, and that's going to be tied in actually somewhat today as well. The idea that Esther didn't just run into this, that it took time. It was something that was, the unfolding of this plan required patience to continue waiting and looking to God to save. So, this morning I'm going to jump in then where we left off last week, beginning in chapter 6 verse 12, and we're going to read through chapter 8 verse 2. And the three points that we want to continue this idea of what salvation looks like here, it entails humility and exaltation. It entails God's sovereign will. And finally, and most significantly, it entails our Lord Jesus, because He is our triumphant salvation. So let's go through the story here. If you're able to read along with me in your Bible, please do so. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gates. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. Haman recounted to Zeresh, his wife, and all of his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh, his wife, said to him, if Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him. While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Queen Esther had prepared. Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen, and the king said to Esther, on the second day also, as they drank their wine at the banquet, what is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be done. Then Queen Esther replied, if I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Now, if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king." Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, who is he and where is he who would presume to do thus? Esther said, a foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen. The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. Now, when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, will he even assault the queen with me in the house? As the word went out from the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbanah, one of the eunuchs, who were before the king, said, Behold, indeed, the gallows standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on behalf of the king. And the king said, Hang him on it. So they hanged Haman on the gallows, which he had prepared for Mordecai. And the king's anger subsided. On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther disclosed what he was to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman." So again, we want to sort of look at this story and see various things that are happening here in the story Along this line, the providential preservation of God's people, which ends in the defeat of their enemy through triumphant salvation, first of all, entails humility and exaltation. This is the first point if you're following along in your bulletins. It entails humility and exaltation. You know, this is a principle that Jesus Himself highlighted in a parable that He told. In Luke chapter 14 we read, And He began speaking in a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you He who invited you both will come and say to you, give your place to this man, and then in disgrace, you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, move up higher. Then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So there's two parts to this parable or this play here. You have the prideful and the lofty who are brought low. On the other hand, you have the humble and the lowly that are being exalted. And there's a way in which we see Haman and Mordecai as the poster children for this parable. We see in the story how the swelling pride of Mordecai causes him to presumptuously advance himself with full expectation of receiving the honor that he was just certain he had coming. Whereas Mordecai never sought out such honor and yet he is the one who ends up being exalted. Now, the significance of this principle, I believe, is demonstrated by the repetition that we see in Scripture. This is not a small thing in the eyes of God. This is a large thing. And we know because God has reinforced it in so many ways throughout Scripture. We see it in various stories written in the Old Testament, narratives. We see it in the Book of Proverbs. This principle is laid out over and over again. We get to the New Testament and we see not only in the teachings but also in the examples of Christ and his apostles. And so we know for certainty that this is something that God wants us to get. There's something very significant here in this principle. And I think we can also say this as well. It's a principle that's tethered to God's providence and to the preservation of his people. God's providence has a way of turning things upside down in due time. As Jesus said, but many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. So for example, consider what Jesus taught in the Beatitudes. It carries a very similar type of theme. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." So Jesus lays this idea of things in His Kingdom that are going to get shifted, they're going to get turned upside down, where the lowly will be exalted and those who are exalted will be made low. Again, we read in the book of James, and there's actually many parallel thoughts in the book of James, and Lord willing, that's a book that I hope to preach after we finish Esther. But James says this, listen my beloved brethren, did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? So clearly, this is a principle ordained by God that applies to us. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So, how do we apply that? How do we apply that? And there's many ways in which we could see this being applied, but I thought about it in terms of even our salvation. It really begins with when we first come to Christ. There must be an attitude of humility and repentance. And we see that illustrated in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It was the tax collector who understood what he was. who took a humble attitude, a contrite attitude before God, who couldn't even bear to lift his face up to heaven, but beat his breast. And it was this man, that Jesus said, went away justified. But it's also a principle that continues throughout our process of sanctification. There must be an attitude of humility, not only when we come to Christ, But as we live out our lives as Christians, we are to live out the pattern of Christ. It says in Philippians chapter two, do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. In other words, don't be arrogant and presumptuous, be humble. Don't strive to be the big shot, but be content with a lowly place. Don't seek out fame and fortune in this life, but be content if God should keep you in obscurity and poverty. The world runs after riches and power and fame, but we're called to seek first the kingdom of God. That's how our lives ought to look. We ought to be displaying that kind of humility throughout our lives here on this earth. But then finally, I wanna say that it's consummated in glorification. It's consummated in our glorification. Humility before exaltation, a cross before a crown. And here's the question that I wanna raise. If I live in humility, When can I expect exaltation? If I bear a cross, when comes the crown? You know, there are ways in which we can see humility followed by exaltation played out in perhaps small episodes of our life. we can see a way in which that principle gets generally applied. And we see that maybe even in your workplace, you've seen this among people, people that have been humble and in due time, because of their humility, they get exalted to a higher position. And so I don't want to say that there is no application or no way in which there is a humility and exaltation that can occur in life, but we need to be careful with our expectations in this regard. And we need to take the long view with an eternal perspective, lest we fall into bitter and unnecessary disappointment. In fact, David, in one of the Psalms, wrestles with this idea. How long will the proud and the lofty, those who come against God, how long will they stand in their exalted position? Whereas, you know, those who, it seems, fear God and follow Him and obey Him are getting beaten all day long. When will you make that right? And God says, and then when He comes into the temple, then He sees. He sees that there is an end. There is a time in which this is consummated. So I want you to consider this truth as we think about answering that question. The resurrection of Christ is what stood between His humility and His exaltation. And so it is with His followers. because our resurrection in Christ shall be the consummation. In other words, now is the time for humility and cross bearing this life on earth. On the day when Christ returns, when the dead are brought back to life, that is the day of glory and exaltation. When I was in high school, I participated my senior year in an essay contest. And I was not a particularly good writer, but God in his mercy allowed me to win that contest. And so I was awarded a treasury bond for $50. Now, as I entered into college, things got pretty tight financially. I remember times when I didn't have enough money to buy a new pair of socks, and I had to go with socks with holes in them. I was broke. And so somewhere in that period of time, I decided, oh, I've got this bond, this $50 bond. I'm going to go cash it in. And so I go to the bank, to the Riley State Bank, where it had been issued to me. And I talked to one of the gals. And my memory isn't so great. But as I recall, and I think she was the mother of one of my friends, and so somebody that could offer me some motherly advice as well, as she looked up this bond that I had presented, she said, And I don't remember what the value was at that point. But she said, this has, I don't remember what it was, like a 10-year maturation date. It's worth pocket change right now. You don't want to cash this in now. It's not reached its maturity. There was a point in time in which that bond became worth what it said. And I was trying to cash it in early. And almost parallel to the story of Esau trading in his birthright for a bowl of stew, that's what it would have been to cash this thing in. There was a day of maturation, and I needed to wait for that day. And I mentioned this Wednesday evening, and many of you were not here Wednesday evening, so I'll bring it up again. I do appreciate very much the ministry of the Kindrick Brothers and some of the very family-friendly movies that they've produced over the years. And I always come away from those movies both entertained and encouraged in some fashion spiritually. But I have to tell you, there is something that I am concerned about some of the underlying message that's a part of those movies. And that is this, that somehow if we are willing to walk in humility and turn and really look to God, then what he's gonna end up doing is allowing us to win state championships and opening the womb of our wife who couldn't formally have babies. And then everything's good. Now, I agree with the idea that we have to be humble, and we must call upon God. And I don't doubt that there are times when God in His mercy and grace intervenes in some of those situations. But I fear that if you're not careful in watching that, it's going to lead you to the wrong conclusion. It's going to lead you to think that somehow the promises that we have in God are something that we can cash in before the date of maturity. And it's just not the case. That's just not the case. That's not the way life works. That's not what God had in mind. Scripture is very clear about this. Our lives in this world are going to be marked by trials and difficulties. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being honest to Scripture. We don't need to walk with our heads down. But we do need to walk with our heads upwards and looking forward to the day of salvation, because it's nigh at hand. The Apostle Paul points this out. He says, "...the Spirit Himself testifies within our spirit that we are of the children of God. And if children, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, and that present time is our time on this earth, not this week, okay? I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. When? For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. You see, our humility is bound up with our identity in Christ and His suffering. And our exaltation is also bound up in our identity in Christ and His glory. And that humility spans our time on this earth. Our exaltation comes at the revealing of the sons of God, which is no doubt a reference to the return of Christ. We are children of God. We are heirs with Christ. And that's an amazing thing. But it's not yet evident, as he says, what we are. So we live in that now and not yet tension. Don't expect a bed of roses while you walk through a field of thistles. You need to carry His cross a little longer. You need to walk in the likeness of Christ's humility. As James says, therefore be patient Brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Next point we see here is that it's a salvation that entails God's sovereign will. And there's a couple of things that I want to draw out of that truth. First of all, it's all of God. And notice that while he uses Esther and Mordecai as instruments in this story, he is the one who affects the salvation of his chosen people. True, they are living out their faith, but He is the cause of that faith. He has done it from beginning to end, and He alone is worthy of glory. We need to view our salvation in that same light. From beginning to end, it's all of God. It's a working out of His sovereign will in our lives. The other implication is this, that God's providence has an end and an aim toward his own purpose, which cannot be thwarted. It cannot be thwarted. You know, even when it would seem as though the enemy here had the upper hand, and that destruction was unavoidable. I mean, things looked really bad. And then all of a sudden, God takes the story and he turns it upside down. all of the plans get shifted. And it's not mere fate or happen chance. It's clear from the way the story moves. As one commentator put it, fate is blind. Providence has eyes. Fatalism says whatever is must be. Providence says whatever God ordains must be. So who can stand in the way of God's will? Isn't it a comfort to know that there's nothing that can stop the salvation of God? There's nothing that can stop Him from saving His people. There's no power in this universe that will thwart His will. Not even our own failures or shortcomings. God has already declared victory over the enemies of His people, the world, the flesh, the devil, with a triumphant salvation. And so we read, what then can we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died, yes, rather who is raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, for your sake we are being put to death all day long. We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered, but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And this leads us to our final point. The providential preservation of God's people, which ends in the defeat of their enemy through triumphant salvation, entails the Lord Jesus. Because Christ is our triumphant salvation. We read this story, and we're delighted at the thrill of victory. how grand it would be to see God rescue His people from the destruction of their enemies, and more than this, to simultaneously bestow such great favor and honor upon them. And the truth of the matter is that while this truly is yet another episode in the grand story of redemption, whereby God has provided for His people salvation, in other words, it's an episode that God used to preserve His people and to preserve the coming Messiah, yet through types and shadows, it is a picture of the grand story itself. And therefore, it's our story in Christ. So I want to consider some of the images that we see here of Christ in these chapters. And there's others beyond these, but here's some that I at least want to bring to your attention this morning. First of all, His mediation. In chapter 6, verse 3, Queen Esther replies, If I have found favor in your sight, O King, and if it pleases the King, let my life be given me as my petition. and my people as my request." Here is a mediation of identification, and that is exactly what Christ's mediation is. It's a mediation of identification, a mediation based upon the status of favor that He holds before God. His status of favor before God becomes our status of favor before God, so that the renewal of His life becomes the renewal of our life. Next we see his propitiation. So we see in the story, it says, they hanged Haman on the gallows, which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's anger subsided. It's interesting, the gallows that were designed by the enemy became the very gallows of the enemy's defeat. whereby justice and mercy were simultaneously satisfied. While it was Christ himself that hung on the cross, he did so as the substitution for our sin, bearing upon himself all of its guilt and shame, whereby the just wrath of God for our sin was fully satisfied, that his people might gain victory over sin and death. The king's anger subsided. It's a picture of Christ's propitiation. Next we see a picture of Christ's humility and exaltation. We've already touched on this, but again continuing in Philippians chapter 2. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, that emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. so that the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." We see a picture of that here in the story. We also see his victory according to the sovereign will of God. So consider the response of Haman's wise men and the friends that seems almost prophetic. not only in regards to Mordecai, but in regards to the substance of the shadow. And this is what they say to him when they find out that he's going to have to parade Mordecai around on the king's donkey, or the king's horse. It says, if Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him. It's a very interesting statement. They see it coming. And what's even more interesting is the phrase that's in Hebrew here, when it talks about his Jewish origin. The Hebrew word there is zerah, literally seed, because he is of Jewish seed. You will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him. It's the very same word that we see in the following passages. Genesis chapter three, verse 15. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the heel, and you shall bruise him on the, I'm sorry. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. Genesis chapter two, verse 16 through 18. But by myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing, and if not withheld your son, your only son. So this is after Abraham had put Isaac on the altar. Indeed, I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand, which is of the seashore. And your seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. Psalm 89, verse three through four. I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn to David, my servant. I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations. I mean, Christ is that seed. And so what a prophetic statement they make here. Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, is of Jewish seed. You will not overcome him, but you will surely fall before him. So through Haman, the enemy of God's people, the decree of death and destruction is hanging over their heads, but that enemy then is defeated so that the people of God might be delivered according to the promise of God. And we can see this here in the passages recently covered by Matt in Colossians. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us. which was also hostile to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." And so the author of Hebrews says, that he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And I wanna just conclude then and sort of tie some of these things here together. I wanna make this observation. We gather here on Sunday mornings, the first day of the week, because it is the day of Christ's resurrection. It's the day of His resurrection, which we celebrate week by week. And the empty tomb stands as the quintessential proof that God's providence has an aim and an end according to His own purpose that cannot be thwarted, which is the preservation of His chosen people through a triumphant salvation to the praise of His glory. Let's close in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful of all of the promises that you have given to us, which in Christ are yes and amen. And Father, we recognize that we do live in a tension of this now and not yet, a time, Lord, when you've called us to live out our lives in this earth and to bear testimony of Christ and to see his kingdom further. And we wait patiently for the return of Christ, at which time, Lord, you will bring to consummation the exaltation that we have in Him. Lord, I do pray that you would help us to be a humble people, to truly live out the humility of Christ here in this life, and yet not a people without hope, but a people who can live in that humility because we see where it's taking us. God, work this into us. Forgive us for the ways in which we try to exalt ourselves or try to seek out the things of the world. We have these impulses to, as it were, cash in the bond before its date of maturity. Lord, let us be a patient people waiting, Lord, for the day of consummation that You have ordained. And to keep our eyes fixed upon You until then, our hope fixed upon Christ. And it's in His name that we pray. Amen. All right, so I want to open up a time now for any correction or addition or other words to edify in response to the message this morning. Yeah, right. Right. Sometimes this, yeah. The shadows sometimes can be difficult to read until you see the substance. But you can see that God knew what he was doing all along. He tells like that. But now we see in the mirror darkly. One day it will be made truly clear how much more we see now, but how much more there is of Christ we see. I think we can identify too with Mordecai and Esther, that waiting to see how God is going to work this out. And I think we have more to go on than they did. We have more life than they had. But still, we can't appreciate the full glory of the consummation of the return of Christ and everything, all of the inheritance and the riches that we have in Him. We see just dimly now. Yeah, but also, I'd say, too, when I'm looking at this, I'm looking at Mordecai and Esther. They were so humble, and God truly exalted them, and that did not affect their humility. Or we don't see that in the story anyways. Unfortunately, every time God exalts me in any way, shape, or form, I'm pretty sure it is part of my sanctification, because it takes away my humility. I'll hand it over to Matt.