Let's take our seats and let's take a look at what I'm going to read from Galatians 3 again. You can follow it in the Bible or you can hear it as well. And Galatians chapter 3, we heard last week in the evening service about the crown of thorns placed upon the Son of God, the symbol of the curse as a result of the fall. And as we read, again we're reading a chapter from each book in the New Testament. we learn about something about the curse that was laid upon Christ. But let's hear the Word of God. Galatians chapter 3. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it was in vain, does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by the works of the law or by the hearing with faith? Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham, and the scripture foreseen, that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. for it is written. Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and so do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith. Lost my place. I'll find it, don't worry. Well, I'll start from verse 10 again. For all who rely on works of the law and are accursed, for it is written, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law. The righteous shall live by faith. But the law is not of faith. Rather, the one who does them shall live by them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, curse it is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. To give a human example, brothers, even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring, it does not say, and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, and to your offspring, who is Christ. This is what I mean, the law which came 430 years afterward does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise, but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions. until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promise of God? Certainly not. For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come. We are no longer under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female. For you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, Then your Abraham's offspring heirs according to promise. Well, let's turn our Bibles to the book of Esther in the Old Testament. And the book of Esther, we're looking at the last two chapters, but the last chapter is one of the shortest chapters actually in the Bible. So we're going to read Esther chapter nine and then chapter 10. which is only, let me just see for a moment, it's just three verses. So it's really one chapter in effect. And the title of the sermon is really The Feast of Purim. And as you hear this, this edict comes from, not from the Lord directly, but from Mordecai, who's the next powerful man in the largest empire in human history up to that point. And he makes the declaration. And then ever since, the Jews then would celebrate Purim and remember this second exodus. So what we think about Christ, because at this feast, the Book of Esther was written on a scroll, And they would read the whole book in one sitting. And so families, mums, dads, boys, girls and everybody else would sit through the whole reading of the book of Esther. And then we think about Christ growing up. He, no doubt, would hear the whole reading in the synagogue. Let's hear the Word of God. I almost felt like I thought we were wrong, but I thought on some other occasion, wouldn't it be great to sit and listen to the whole book of Esther in one sitting? We've got chapter 9, let's hear the Word of God. Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirtieth day of the same, when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred. The Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces. For the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In Susa, the citadel itself, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, and also killed Pashandetha, and Dalphon, and Aspitha, and Paratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aradai and Vizatha, the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hamadathah, the enemy of the Jews, but they laid no hand on the plunder. That very day, the number of those killed in Susa, the citadel, was reported to the king, and the king said to Queen Esther, in Susa, the citadel, the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men, and also the ten sons of Haman, What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you, and what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled. And Esther said, if it pleased the king, let the Jews who were in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict, and let the 10 sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows. So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder. Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the 13th day of the month of Adar, and on the 14th day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the 13th day and on the 14th and rested on the 15th day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore, the Jews of the villages who live in the rural towns hold the 14th day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts and food to one another. And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the 14th day of the month Adar and also the 15th day of the same year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness, and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadathah, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is cast lots, to crush and to destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term pure, therefore because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days, according to what was written at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province and city, that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihael, and Mordecai, the Jew, gave full written authority confirming this second letter about Purim. Letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth. that these days of Purim should be observed that their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. The command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim and it was recorded in writing. King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea and all the acts of his power and might and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him. And are they not written the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people. Well, let us pray one more time for the Lord's help, not only for the preaching of the sermon, but our hearing of the Word of God as well. Our Father in heaven, we humble ourselves before you, acknowledging that our minds wander, our thoughts wander. Help us to gather up our thoughts now, that we will be riveted in our attention to the authority of the written Word of God and the doctrines thereof. Teach us by your Holy Spirit. Guide us into all truth. Help us to hear the scripture and see how we may put it into practice. And may Christ have the preeminence, we ask. For Christ's sake, we ask. Amen. Well, the Feast of Purim, this is the last sermon from the Book of Esther, for now anyway. For now anyway. And I'm going to take a second title, which I've borrowed from Charles Haddon Spurgeon and the sermon he preached in the Book of Esther. The Feast of Purim, the Feast of Providence. The Feast of Providence. And every year, the Jews would just celebrate this. This feast, which really is a feast of the providential, divine intervention of the living God. But it teaches us, in this book, the only book in the Bible that doesn't mention the name of God. Sometimes people say, well, you know, why is this book in the Bible? Because God has ordained it will be in the Word of God. And what it teaches us is this, is that just because God's name is not mentioned in every event that happens, Every event in human history is under the hand of the Almighty God. Do you believe that? Well, whether you do or not, it's true. And it may seem as we look at the world around us, well, is God in control? And the answer is, absolutely. He's in control of everything. So the Feast of Purim is a feast of providence. And what we learn is that nothing can hinder the plan of God for the coming of Christ, that wicked man Haman. We don't know all of his psychology. What we do know, he was a deeply flawed man who hated the Jews and hated God. And the Lord stopped him in his tracks. Because Christ had to be born, we sang it this morning, through the tribe of Judah. No Judah, no Christ. So what would you do if you're the devil? Don't you find that the devil always goes too far, even in your own life? He always oversteps his mark. And he's a wicked enemy of the Lord, but he never succeeds. And likewise, now, we're looking forward to the second coming of Jesus. And right now, you may look around with all kinds of laws passed and different things and think, what is happening? And scoffers may say, what's happened to the coming of Jesus? But not one promise of God will fall to the ground. And the day and the hour, no one knows when Christ comes. He could come right now, do you believe that? And if he came right now, are you ready to meet your maker? Are you ready to meet him? Are you preparing and getting your wedding dress, because we have to prepare our wedding dress as it were, keep it clean, spiritually that is, for the coming of Christ? Maybe some of you even tonight before you go to bed, You need to bow on your knees beside the bed and say, Lord, forgive me. I have sinned. Lord, forgive me. There's a secret sin I've been holding on to. But Lord, if you come tonight, I would be ashamed. Cleanse me with the blood of Jesus and strengthen me to put that sin to death. You know, some people falsely say, don't make too much of sin because the gospel's good news. And indeed the gospel is good news. The bad news is, is that sin is a pernicious evil. Nevermind Haman, sin itself is a pernicious evil. And the worst thing to die is to die in our sins. And the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, and who can know it? So never play light with sin. like playing with fire. So we've got really two headings for us tonight, just two headings. The first one is, what is this Feast of Purim? What is this Feast of Purim? And secondly, what spiritual lessons can we learn from it? What is this Feast and what spiritual lessons can we learn from it? Well, let's get straight to our first heading. What is this feast? I've got five headings for us, but if I direct us to the text of Scripture, I think the most important part for us to remember is Esther 9, verse 20, where after all the Jews are able to establish themselves against this edict that was originally sent out over 127 provinces, and they've defeated their enemies. Then Mordecai, remember this, Mordecai is second to the king of the most powerful empire in human history up to that point. It's not like the British Empire, which was fairly impressive. This empire, though, went from India all the way across down to Ethiopia. What an empire. And Mordecai, the godly man, the Jew, is now the number two to the king. I mean, that's remarkable, isn't it? It's remarkable for God to exalt someone like that, of such godliness. He's one of the greatest Examples of godliness, I think, in the Bible. An unsung hero. We don't hear much about him. Of course, he's a sinner. He's not like Christ. But what a godly man Mordecai was. And we often think about Joseph from the prison house to prime minister. People say, what about Mordecai? Well, it's not really about Mordecai. It's about the god of Mordecai. And we see here in verse 20, 920, Mordecai recorded these things. Just like in the New Testament, they wrote down the important things about Christ and other matters, wrote down things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the 14th day of the month of Adar and also the 15th day of the same year by year as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness. So here we see the last month of the calendar, the Jewish calendar, which is given here, the month of Adar, that's when they celebrate Purim. This year in 2018, if my memory serves me correct, this year it was in February. And the first month is the month when they celebrate the Passover. So this is in the last part of the Jewish calendar. And in verse 23, the Jews accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them. And then he says this, he reminds them of what Haman did. He says, for Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadathah, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and to cast Pur, that is cast lots. So the first thing about this feast of Purim, Pur is lots. Eid just means plural, pure Eid. The first thing is, it is a feast of remembrance that was established, a festival of remembrance. It is, if you will, like a second Exodus. And they remember the Passover, the beginning of the calendar year, the festival year, they remember the deliverance from slavery in Egypt. What is this feast? It's looking back and remembering this remarkable deliverance from the laws that were passed to intend to kill off all the Jews. And so every year they were to remember the providence of God intervening in their lives. And so the key text for us is it says in verse 28, it says here, and it's 28, it says, that these days should be remembered and kept through every generation. So those days were to be remembered every year. And how important it is at times for you and I to look back individually about our own lives and to remember the good hand of God upon our lives, like Ebenezer, thus far the Lord has led us. Do you look back? It strengthens your faith, you know. I have to do it regularly because I find I'm like the man in the Gospels. Do you? Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Do you find you're like that? Do you find that sometimes you're growing as a Christian, but you feel like sometimes you're going backwards? And you think, I should be further down the line than this. Well, we have to battle and believe all the days of our lives. Looking backwards strengthens us. And you think, hang on a minute, I've faced this kind of trial before. And you've got to be a Christian a little while to have that. But this feast of remembrance, we're to remember individually the providences of God and look back and think, hang on a minute, I've faced these tight spots before. I remember calling upon the name of the Lord and he brought me through. So a Feast of Remembrance, that's what it teaches us. We look back and remember the good hand of God. And we look back also, not in our own lives, but we look back at the great events in the Word of God. So even tonight, as we've remembered this Feast of Purim and what it represents, the destruction of Haman. We remember the preservation by God over his church. Our faith is strengthened. To be able to pray for our own government today and think, as you did then, please, oh Lord, do it again. So our faith is not based on a little narrow experience. I'm 53. 53 divided by 6,000 years is not a lot, is it? I've not really been cognizant of much of what's been happening in this world for most of my life. And so we don't want to base our faith just on our own limited experience. So this was established, we see, that God himself brought deliverance, and it was written down by Mordecai. So the first thing is, it's a feast of remembrance like a second Exodus. That's what this feast is about. What else is the feast about? Well, as I've already mentioned, I'm repeating myself, bit of an overlap, but it's a feast of providence. Feast for remembrance, feast for providence. What is providence? Well, let me read you a brief definition from the Westminster Confession. And it says this, God in his... No, sorry. It says, I was gonna go to the short, yes, here we go. Chapter five, verse one. God, the great creator of all things, does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest, from the greatest, King Hasuerus, to the least, the smallest ant on the ground. Every worm that's under the ground that you can't even see, God governs. Do you believe that? That's the confession of the Orthodox, and I'm talking about biblically, the Orthodox Christian Church. He governs from the greatest into the least by his most wise and holy providence according to his infallible foreknowledge. and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of his glory, of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy. That's a long definition, but the point is, God is in control over everything. Now the question is, there's pretty much two halves in the book of Esther. The first half is nothing but trials, it looks desperate. The second half seems nothing but wonderful deliverance. The question is, do we acknowledge God's providence in both seasons? When it's too difficult, and when it's very easy. And the tendency for us in our sinful nature is we often only really recognize God's providence when everything's going our own way. Oh Lord, I praise you for this. But that's not what this feast teaches us. It teaches us that no matter what is happening, God is in control. Now we don't submit to God's providence as it were totally passively. We're not Muslims, are we not? that you know you just say whatever happens we just say you know inshallah inshallah no we don't we don't just say we wouldn't say that phrase at all anyway but what i'm saying is we don't just say we'll submit no matter what there comes a time when we need to call upon the name of the lord for the lord to intervene but nonetheless it's a feast of providence the question is and is there anybody who won't be convicted when i say this do you grumble and grumble against god's provinces Do you complain? Do you say, well, the Lord knows, yes, we need to pour our heart out, but not in complaining that murmurs against the providence of God. So may the Lord help us as we think about the Feast of Purim, a feast of remembrance, a feast of providence. Thirdly, it's a feast of divine favor. I mean, God answers, so the king's heart is changed, that the laws of this huge province of 127 provinces are changed, so that Esther keeps on being asked, what do you wish, Esther? What do you wish, Esther? What do you wish, Esther? And we need in the church the recovery by God's grace of divine favor with God and with man, do we not? Let's not take it for granted. What about Christ in Luke 2, 52? And Jesus increased. And Jesus increased. Increased in what? In wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and men. And we need to pray and look expectantly to the Lord. Lord, would you give us favor with God and with men? Because we want open doors for the gospel, do we not? grant us that favor that we see. So it's a feast, as we've said, first of all, it's a feast of remembrance. Secondly, it's a feast of divine providence. It's a feast of looking at the divine favor of God. Of course, there are times in the book of Acts when certain kings rose up against them, but there were certain times when God then removed the enemies like Herod. And I remember hearing this in 1990. Herod was eaten with worms and died. And that got my attention, and I was converted a few weeks afterwards. I thought, what a God is this, that can strike down someone. Most people die, and then they're eaten with worms when they're buried. But the word of God says, he was eaten with worms and died. It's a fearful thing to come against the Lord. Would you agree? And so, it's a feast of divine favor. Fourthly, it's a feast of rejoicing, as we've already read in the word of God in chapter nine and verse 22. As the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that has been turned for them from sorrow into gladness, from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. This feast that they celebrate celebrated, and still celebrate today, it's a feast of rejoicing. There's a time to be sorrowful, and there's a time to rejoice. And this one, looking back, is a feast for rejoicing, gladness, looking at the past, the present, and the future. And lastly, fifthly, it's a feast pointing to Christ's coming. Why? As we've already mentioned, he has to come from the tribe of Judah. Judah is one of the 127 provinces. And we're reminded, as we think of the Feast of Purim from the Book of Esther, that nothing will hinder the purpose of the Lord in the coming of the Son of the Living God and the fullness of time. This looked as if it was going to succeed. But Jesus, when he did come, and when he was 30 plus, he taught his disciples. It's almost like a commentary of the book of Esther. Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And it looked as if they were gonna prevail, but they don't, and they never will. And the church stands at the grave, of every enemy of the gospel. And God keep building, and he'll keep building, until Christ one day comes in the clouds, and that's the end of human history. Someone said to me once, they said, well, you don't believe in the rapture, Kevin, do you? I said, well, I do believe in the rapture, but maybe not quite the way you do. We do believe that Jesus will come and he'll come with clouds of glory, but we believe he comes once and once only. And when he comes back, it's the end of human history. There's no repeats. There's no more further appeals of repentance. And so therefore the question is, have you turned from your sin as we think about this feast? Children as well, I'm talking to children. You know, I wish for some of you who are maybe two years old and three years old and four years old, you really are very happy children, you know that. You're like, well, I don't really feel that happy right now. Well, many of us who were converted a bit later, we wish we'd been where you were to hear preaching of the gospel. And so you don't need to think you need to whenever come like the preacher, then I'll call upon the name of the Lord. No, you can call upon the name of the Lord today. In fact, the preacher who's coming next week. He said to me recently, I've heard it before, he said, I've never known a time when I've not believed in the Lord. Isn't that precious? To be preserved from the terrible things that the world and the flesh and the devil will lead us to. And so I want to encourage you, put your simple trust in Jesus Christ. It's a feast pointing to Christ coming. Well, our second heading now are really concluding lessons for us as we close. Our second heading is this. We look firstly, what is this feast? And what are the spiritual lessons we can learn as we close? The first one is the authority of scripture. Now, it's not for you and I to question As some people do, into speculation, why is the Book of Esther in the Word of God? Well, it was established in the Old Testament canon at the coming of Christ. It's a fixed matter. The Church, we don't give our authority over what books God gives in the Word of God, but the Old Testament has three sections to it. It has the law, there's five books there. Genesis to Deuteronomy. There's the Prophets, which also includes books like Joshua. You say, Joshua? My English Bible doesn't have that. Well, your English Bible doesn't have the arrangements according to the Hebrew Bible. Why is Joshua in the Prophets? Because it was believed to be written by one of the prophets. And then the third book in the Old Testament are the Writings. They're all inspired by God. And Esther is in the Book of the Writings, and even part of a smaller collection of books called Megillah, which means scroll. And so here we see from the Book of Esther, the first lesson we learn is the importance of Scripture being read in church. Because at this feast, Megillah means scroll. In this feast, they were required, as Mordecai's edict from the word of God, to read the whole book in one sitting. How would you feel about that? I wonder how many Christians would say, if we read the whole of the book of Esther, well, that was a bit too heavy. Didn't like that. Well, scripture must be read. This is the voice of God speaking in the midst of the assembly. Many people want to seek the voice of God in all kinds of places. God has spoken here tonight through the reading of the word of God. Isn't that a wonderful thing? So this feast teaches the importance of the public reading of scripture. and as per Mordecai's instruction. And actually, Jews even today, with this, were to teach people that everybody was to be absolutely quiet during the reading, so everyone can hear the words clearly, because it's quite a lengthy section. And it leads to a climax of the people of God left with a sense of awe by the end of the book. So it teaches us this Feast of Purim, the importance of reading scripture in the word of God. 930, letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth. that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring with regard to their feasts and lamenting, the command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing." Are you thankful for the inspired writings of Holy Scripture? So the authoritative scripture. Secondly, Christ would have heard this reading probably around 33 times in his life. Isn't that wonderful? Growing up, and that's if the Jews in his area observed things properly. So when we read the book of Esther, we can think, I wonder what the ears of Christ thought as this is being read out. In what way did that speak of Christ and strengthen him for his purpose? Now, how about reading this book in family worship? You say, well, we're very busy now, family. Well, we're all busy. We all live with 24 hours in a day. The question is, how do we use the time to redeem? Redeem the time because the days are evil. How about as individuals? Maybe young men who will share a house together. You know, and say, well, we've got Monday night, we've not got a lot to do. We're going to sit down and read the whole book of Esther. So, well, that would give you an insight into the Feast of Purim or in family worship. How about saying we'll have a bit of an extended family worship tonight. We're going to just read the Book of Esther nonstop and we trust the Lord will bless that. Thirdly, as we've already mentioned, but this feast teaches us the certainty of providence. I won't say much because we've already spoken a lot about this. But I want to say pastorally, the doctrine of providence is one of the most successful, not successful, one of the most pastorally helpful, sorry. It's one of the most pastorally helpful. I remember a time came when we had a phone call a number of years ago, and one of our daughters was seriously ill. And I've been reading, and I'm going to write an essay on scripture. And I've been having to read about what different views are, reform views, but also liberal views. And during that day, as I was waiting for news, I thought, the liberal view of scripture is hopeless. They don't even believe that God is capable of writing a book without mistakes. What kind of a God is that? And the phone call came from my wife. You better come to the hospital. The doctors are not sure whether this little one will live or die. I don't know if you've ever had a phone call like that. You have no time to prepare yourself. And as I went toward the children's hospital in Sheffield, there's one thing I knew for sure, is that God never makes mistakes. The God who oversees the word of God without us is flawless. The original manuscripts, not in English or German and French, they're very good, the translations, but the original manuscripts are flawless as God himself is. And there's no providence of God in this world where God is not overseeing it. And if that little one had have died, God would not have made a mistake. And you and I need to prepare ourselves in advance that God's providence is perfect, all of his ways are just. He's a holy God, he's a perfect God. And our job is to say the Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. So the certainty of providence. Fourthly, should Christians observe purity, One stage of my pilgrimage, I was invited to a Christian messianic Purim celebration. And I went to it, and I thank God that I did go. But I came out and thought, this is not for the church today. Are we in the church today? Should we be having Passover reenactments and Purim? The truth is no. Why is that? Well, Colossians chapter 2 and verse 16, what does it say? Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. these feasts point to Christ until he comes. Father Trumpets, they're pointing to Christ, blasting away twice a day at the sacrifice until the sacrifice, the Lamb of God comes. And now there's greater simplicity in the New Testament. Just two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper. So it's good to learn about these feasts, but we are no longer called to celebrate them. We could have a Passover meal, but it's not blessed of God because God is no longer in the Passover, but he's told us to preach the Passover lamb. So that might help some of you pastorally in case you get drawn away into kind of doctrines that might seem exciting. But you know, I better close in there, but I can't stop preaching. I like preaching. You like hearing preaching. Well, I hope so. Amen's there. Paul Robertson used to say, out of the amen corner, say any amens from the amen corner. Well, because people can get drawn away. And it's good to know that the Old Testament is in shadow, but we're not preaching shadows anymore. We're preaching Christ, the substance. And you remember the life cycle of a butterfly. It starts off with an egg. and the egg becomes a larva, which is like a feeding tube, called a caterpillar. The caterpillar we saw a few months ago. And then the caterpillar, it finds somewhere in a bit of a leaf or a tree, and it stops there, sticks itself on, and it transforms with a chrysalis. on the outside. It's an amazing thing. It's almost like a picture in nature of the new birth. The day comes, there's movement now in this chrysalis, and little by little, there's a butterfly inside, and the butterfly has to break out of the chrysalis itself. And scientists say the last thing you should do is cut that chrysalis open, because if you do, it'll kill the butterfly. It is struggle. fluid begins to go through its wings and out comes this beautiful butterfly. And that's like these feasts. Christ is like the butterfly in all of his majesty and beauty. But if we go back to the chrysalis, there's nothing there. And Christ is not there in those feasts. Because he said three words on the cross, it is finished. And ours now in the New Testament is the it is finished feast. We don't go back. We look forwards to Christ. So should Christians observe Purim? In German, nein. In Dutch, nee. And in English, never, no. So there's the answer. Christ, another lesson that we see. This lesson is about Christ and him crucified, risen. And they said that I'm repeating myself now, but everything is moving forwards. from the Old Testament until the great day that the Son of God comes. Number six, Esther is the good news of victory. In 930, we're almost done, 930, letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth. What does this remind you and I of? That in the new covenant after the resurrection of Jesus, that Jesus says, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come. It's like a shadow of the day that the good news will be published in the whole world. We thank God for sermon audio and videos, but Jesus said, I'm going to send preachers. I'm going to send people to preach, men to preach. And so even now, 2,000 years later, far off from Jerusalem, the gospel's being preached. And this good news will be spread abroad until Christ comes back. And lastly, as we close tonight, we're encouraged to say, even so come, Lord Jesus. Esther teaches us that nothing will derail the Lord's plan to build His church, for the good news to be published around the world and for him to come back. Do you believe that? We don't believe that God's church is going to fizzle out. The parable of the mustard seed, for example, teaches that won't happen. The kingdom of God is going to grow and grow and grow. You say, well, you know, I live in Woodhouse in Sheffield. It's not grown where I am. Well, God's world is bigger than Woodhouse in Sheffield. You might go to China and see thousands of believers. The gospel is growing throughout the earth. And we don't know what seasons God has in different nations. But there's one thing for sure, since Jesus was risen from the dead, the church has not been getting smaller. It's growing. It's flourishing. And so it shall. And blessed be the name of the Lord. that Christ's name will be known through the earth. That's what this feast teaches us. May we love the book of Esther and we thank God for it. May we love all the books of the Bible. Amen. Well, let me close in prayer. We're going to begin a new series soon from the book of Psalms, but let me, let me pray for us. I'm going to sing a hymn when peace like a river father in heaven, we, Well, my family, for one Lord, we feel we've been so enriched from the book of Esther. We've really developed not only a fresh love for the book, but a fresh love for the God of Esther and for the God of Mordecai, the God of heaven and earth. Thank you for the lessons that we've learned tonight. Increase our faith, we pray. Teach us how to pray. give us a godly confidence that you're in control of all things. So we give you thanks for that truth.