Pride or Humility: Which One Are You Feeding? - Patrosky Anderson

Join us for week 5 of our series "Queen's Gambit," where we take a look at the book of Esther. In today's sermon, Patrosky focuses on Haman and his prideful attitude. We see how pride robs Haman of joy, contentment, and humility.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Here's what I want you to realize. I don't want you to look at Haman and not see yourself. That goes for me too. Because he's doing some diabolical things, but can I just tell you it started from a little seed? And so we can't assume that if we we plant those seeds and we don't nurture those seeds and we don't water those seeds, that they too won't grow into diabolical things. You cannot see Haman and not see yourself. He's just feeding the fire, feeding the fire of pride.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hey everyone, welcome to the Brick by Brick Podcast from Renovation Church, where faith gets built one truth at a time. In this sermon episode, you'll listen to our most recent Sunday morning message. So whether you're new to faith or have been walking with Jesus for years, there's something here for you. So kick back, hit play, and let's build this thing together.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Well, today is our next to last um week where we're gonna be looking at the book of Esther. If you're an Esther fan, we're rounding third this week, and then next week, we're gonna close out kind of the conclusion of uh Haman, who's become kind of the villain in the story. Uh today we're gonna take a really good look at Heyman. Um, but I really do hope that this series, this book, uh Esther, I hope that you have really, you know, looked into the book beyond kind of what we're talking about here, because there's so much more. And even where we stop, we'll we'll kind of stop today kind of on a cliff, and then we'll pick up next week and then we'll be done. But there's so much more even after where we're going to stop. Like the book of Esther, um, at the at the end of the book, it doesn't even have the type of ending that you think it would have, right? In most, in most stories, it's like, you know, God comes through and and you know, he does what he does, or they march around the walls and then they blow a trumpet and they they kill themselves. Like all of these miraculous things that happen, Esther is not like that. It's not like that at all. And so, and we won't get to dive into that, but I hope that you will, and I hope that it does lead you into wrestling with God about scripture and about your place in the kingdom of God and the way in which you view God. How many of you know that we are, I think, encouraged to engage with God like that? Like it is um too far too often we we paint this picture in church that like when you read scripture, it's just yes and amen. And you should be like, that's what the word of God says, and I don't take issue with that. Doesn't make sense. Can your pastor just tell you that? Like that doesn't make sense. There are some scriptures that you should read and you should be like, God, I don't understand this. This doesn't make sense, this almost feels unfair, Lord, and I need you to join me in my prayer closet and and speak to me. I think God desires to engage with us like this. The book of Esther is one of those books where the ending and how he saves his people ought to make you scratch your head and be like, God, what? Really? Huh? Who? And I think God loves that. He loves that. He's not asking us to be robots, he's asking us to be in a relationship with him. Amen. Almost said something, but I won't. Because it's gonna be that's the problem. It's me, it's always me. We know that, right? So, um at this point in Esther's story, she has come to realize that this is her moment, right? We talked about that last week, but but like this is her moment, and for this reason, um this it this this moment that she's in could possibly be the very reason why all of the events have led her to this time, right? All of the bad things that's happened in her life, all of the negative things, and I'm not trying to say that bad things are somehow good, church bad things are bad, but God can use even the bad things in our life and he can redeem those things for his glory. Amen. If we don't believe that, then what are we doing? But I'm not trying to say that the bad things are good, but I'm saying all of the bad things that have happened in Esther's life, I think she's kind of realizing that at this moment, maybe this is it, maybe this is my time that I'm meant to kind of stand in, not kind of, but I'm meant to stand in the gap for God's people and be the one, the only one who could um plead with her husband, capture the mind and the heart of her husband, and implore him to show grace for God's people, the Jews. And like we looked at last week, and and and I put this on us as a body, but yet us as individuals, that if you are someone who you believe that God has actually put you on this earth, for such a time as this, for this moment in history, you realize that there are people who have long came before us that we have forgotten. And if God doesn't come back in our lifetime and and and he tarries, as my mother used to say, for hundreds and hundreds of years, you will be forgotten. And so, for such a time as this, this is the moment that God has put us all on this earth, whether you believe it's round or flat, we know who you are. You're walking amongst us, you flat earthers. Well, but we're all here together for this moment. Have you ever stopped to think, man, am I here for a purpose? Yes, yes, you are. And as and as a Christian, what if your purpose is that you are here to continue to advance the kingdom of God? And so if you choose to take on that mantle, then I think your first three, your first next steps, three next steps should actually be the first three steps that we see in the Word of God that Esther took, right? Uh open your Bibles to Esther chapter four, and Esther chapter four, starting in verse 16 here. We see like the first things that Esther does when she comes to this realization that, man, maybe I am here for a purpose. Maybe God is going to redeem all of these things that have happened in my life. And she says to Mordecai through um through a messenger in verse 16, she says, Go and gather together all of the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. She says, Don't don't drink, uh, don't eat for three days, don't eat or drink for three days, night or day. She says, and and my attendants will also fast. Okay, so so all around me. We're all gonna engage in this, we're all gonna fast. And she says, When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I will perish. She said, even though this is against the law, I'm gonna go and I'm gonna do this for my people, and if I perish, I will perish. And so the first thing that she did, quick recap here for those of you who might have missed it or you need to hear it again. Uh, I just want to say that if you believe that God has put you on this earth for such a time as this to help move the kingdom of God along, then one of the first things you have to conclude is the first thing that Esther concluded, that if I perish, I perish. You have to make a switch in your life that says, look, I will lay down my life. And I'm thankful that we live in a culture here in the West that where to be a Christian doesn't mean that we have to lay down our physical lives, but I do believe, and if you haven't realized this, then it's high time you do. I do believe that as Christians, to be a Christian in the West here, you have to get to this point where you lay down your own desires. You have to get to a point where you lay down your own desires, the things that we've attached our lives to. And so to be a believer as a parent, trust me, as a parent, you have to say things like you have to say to your kids, look, I know that you, I know that you love this sport. I know that I'm happy that you're engaging in this sport, but we are not the people who miss church for sport. Let's just let's just dig in it, let's just get right to it. We have to be the type of Christians that lays down our own desires for the kingdom of God. We we you have to. As hard as it may feel, and we can try to justify our way around it. Oh man, God said that, oh man, look, we don't have to look, you can do that if you want to. Do that if you want to. But at the end of the day, I'm telling you, to be a Christian today, we have to get in the habit of laying down our own desires for the kingdom of God. Why? I don't think it's that bad of a message to teach our kids that in this life there are certain things that are temporary, and in this life there are certain things that are eternal. And I will not just assume that you will figure this out on your own. God has asked me to steward you, He's asked me to raise you in the ways. And so it's my job to tell you that these things are temporary and these things are eternal, and we would be fools for us to engage with the temporary and neglect the eternal. And I hope you remember this for the rest of your life. And I hope that you pass it on to your kids and to their kids and to their kids that it is okay for us to sacrifice. Why? Because not all sacrifice is us losing. Number two, realize Esther asked the people outside of the walls to fast for her, knowing that she was the safest Jew in the city. And so the people hearing this also had to conclude. As a culture, they had to conclude that look, this is not about us. This is not about us. She's gonna do what she feels is right, and she's asking us to set aside our own desires to fast and pray. I don't know about you, but if I know there's a date out there that calamity's gonna hit, three days matters, does it not? Does it not? That's three days of gathering supplies, three days of sharpening swords, three days of maybe getting out of Dodge, three days of doing things to help save my own life. And you want me to stop doing that, and you want me to fast and pray for you? Right? Let's be honest. But that's what they had to do. Why? Because it wasn't about them, it wasn't about me, it was about we. And then last but not least, the third thing that she does, and that's the third thing that we have to do, is she just got moving. She just got moving, right? She concluded, hey, it's not about me. She's got everybody fasting, she's got everybody trusting in the Lord, and then she said, and now I'm just gonna go. I'm just gonna start moving. Church. That's our call. Our call is to care more about the kingdom than we care about ourselves. Our call is to understand that it's not about me, it's about we. And so we engage with this and we lift up the Lord together, even when I could be doing certain things to lift up my family. I say, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to lift up God's family, and then at the end of the day, I gotta do something. Doesn't matter what it is, I'm not here to make this a weird spin on like and do VBS. No, no, no. Do something, do something. Call your neighbor, serve at your church, engage with the homeless. I don't know, I don't know. That's between you and God, but you gotta do something, right? And that's where Esther is. Esther finds herself where we left off on step three. Now turn your Bibles to chapter five. Chapter five, verse one, it says, On the third day, Esther put on her royal robe. She stood in the inner courts of the palace in front of the king's hall. It said the king was sitting there on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. And when he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her, and he held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. And I know it's very anticlimactic, but just like that, her life was spared. If you blinked, you would have missed it. Because you, because the the culture is lost on us. But if the king didn't lift up the golden scepter, right, for her to come forward, she would have been put to death. And so, like I said, if you blinked it, you would have missed it, right? Because to come in the king's presence without being invited, they didn't play those games. Remember, there was there's two people that that just tried to take his life, and he and and he he forded that. And so you couldn't just be walking up on the king, right? Wife or not, because quite honestly, I think if anybody wanted to kill the king, I mean, I would think. No, I'm just saying. Anyway, you know what I'm saying? Like if you're a king, you gotta keep a close eye on those. That's all I'm saying. And then verse 3 says, and the king asked, uh, what is it? Right? Queen Esther. The king recognizes her as queen. What is your request? Something lost in translation there, right? Like she is like she is there with an intent, and he realizes that, even up to half the kingdom, and it will be given to you. He says, If it pleases the king, replied Esther, let the king gather with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him. Bring Haman at once, the king said, right? So that we may do what Esther asked, right? So the king and Amon, they went to the banquet that Esther prepared. And as they were drinking wine, the king asked again, right? He can tell, I think there's something in the air that she's there with a purpose. Now, what is your petition, right? He says, I'll give it to you. What is your request? Even up to half of the kingdom, and it will be granted to you. And then in verse 7, Esther replies, this She says, My petition and my request is this if the king regards me in favor, and if it pleases the king to grant me my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come back tomorrow to a banquet that I will prepare for them, and then I will give the king his answer. So instead of coming right out with it, uh Esther asked that she would go to that the king and Haman would go to another banquet. We don't know why Esther does this, right? We don't know why she just doesn't come out and be like, he tried to like we we don't know why. Um I don't know if she's nervous, we don't know if she was scared or she was trying to kind of lift Haman up so that when she drops the hammer on him, like the boom feels more boom, right? We don't we don't really know, but I suspect she's wise. And I suspect she's cooking up something, and I suspect, above all else, she's giving God the space and the room to meet her in this plan. Remember, she's she's been fasting, she's got people fasting, and so though though I'm telling you, move, don't move outside of God, right? Don't move outside of God. Thank God we have the word of God that tells us those things. Christ commands that tells us what to do. So get busy on those things, get moving, don't move outside of God. And so I think she's moving at the speed of which she feels like she is remaining in the will of God. And that to me is very important. And so what I want to do is I now want us to point the picture at Haman, and I feel like what we're about to see as we look at these remaining verses is we're gonna see what I believe God wants to teach us through the Word of God today. And it's this. If you're taking notes, it's this, right? That pride, pride will blind you to the good things that you have, and it will also blind you to the good things you can have. Very specific. Pride, pride will blind you to the good things that you have, and pride will blind you to the good things that you can have. How? Because pride robs you of being humble. Church, humility is not the opposite of pride. Pride is not the opposite of humility, it's not the way it works. Pride robs you of humility. Humility robs you of pride. Because how many of you know you have the ability to do both? You are not one or the other, you just cannot engage in both. And so to be prideful, right? Think of it like a fire. To keep the fire of pride going, you have to continue feed it the logs of humility. And to keep the fire of humility going, you have to continue feed it the logs of pride that you have in your life. You can do both, you can be both, you can respond in both ways, but you cannot do them both at the same time. And so pride will rob you of your humility. And I think this is true. And we're about to see this in the life of Haman, right? We're about to see um what we get when we look at the word of God. Are you with me? So, starting in verse 9 here, it says that Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. Of course he did, right? He had just had a private dinner with the king and and the queen. He's like, I'm the I'm it. If you were wondering, now you know. Like it's just it's just the three of us. Can you imagine? Whoever the coolest person is in your life, apart from me. Don't think of me. And they they invite you over to their house. Like, it's just come on. And imagine if this person was like fate, like the most powerful person. Like, and you got invited over to their house just to, and him and his wife, they're cooking you dinner, or her and her husband are cooking you dinner. Like he left in high spirits, of course. And then it says, but when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with anger against Mordecai. So, right there we see this is his first opportunity. This is his first opportunity to feed, to decide which fire he's gonna feed. It's like you just had dinner with the king and the queen. Mordecai, is that recognition not enough? Apparently not. Apparently not. His pride wanted more. It's like, is it really that big of a deal? You just had dinner with the king and the queen privately, right? Throughout this whole book thus far, they've painted Mordecai as like this homeless man hanging out in front of the queen, in front of the gates. Is it really that important that as you leave dinner with the king and the queen, that this homeless guy over here, this guy who's just like, why is he even here? Right? Because he doesn't know that queen, that the queen is his, he doesn't know those things. So really, like, why is he here? Is it really that important? It is to his pride, isn't it? And it says that when when he gets enraged when he realizes that this person who's like, I don't even know why he's here, why he's hanging out every day, like that he won't, he won't show me the honor that the king and the queen just had. Yeah, and so boom, he feeds the fire of pride with humility. And it says, nevertheless, verse 10, that Haman restrains himself, and he goes home and he calls together his friends and his wife uh Zaresh. And it says in verse 11 that Haman boasts about his vast wealth. He invites his friends over and his wife, and he begins to boast about his vast wealth. Who does he sound like? Does he not sound like the king in chapter 1? Church, the company you keep. The company you keep will dictate your life. He sounds just like the king, invites all his friends over. He's like, Oh, I'm so rich, and look how many sons that I have, and and you know, look at the ways in which the king has honored me and he's elevated me above all of the other nobles and the officials. And then in verse 12 he says, and that's not all. That's not all. I'm the only one that Queen Esther invited to the accompany the king to the banquet that she gave, and she's invited me along to do it again tomorrow. Just me. Just me. And we look at that because we know the story and we think that's kind of foolish, but you gotta look at it from his perspective. And then he says, But look, verse 13, but all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew, Mordecai, sitting at the king's gate. Church, how do we know that Haman is being led by pride? Because he's struggling with tunnel vision, he's struggling with tunnel vision, and it's robbed. His joy. You got to look at this from his perspective. He doesn't know that the hammer's about to drop. All he knows is that man, I've been given the king's signet ring. I've been allowed to make major decisions in the kingdom. I'm private drinking buddies with the king. And now the king's wife has chosen to also honor me by cooking meals. How is he not on cloud nine? Because he's got tunnel vision, doesn't he? And all he can see, and all his pride wants to be fed, is the fact that this one person has disrespected him, who's hanging outside the king's gates. It hardly makes sense, doesn't it? When we look at it from this perspective. But pride has a has a funny way of causing us to uh fixate on things like this. And what it does is it causes us to neglect or not see the good things that we have in our lives. Think about it from his perspective. He's doing good, and yet he can't even see it. That's a sad place to be in in life. In verse 14, it says, His wife Zares and all of the friends said to him, You have a pole, have a pole set up, reaching high as 50 cubics, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. What kind of friends do you have? That's wild. Then go to the king, to the banquet, and enjoy yourself. This suggestion delighted Haman. That's the kind of friends he had. And so he had a poll set up. Opportunity number two. Let's be honest, church. We're almost done. We have all been in Haman's shoes. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand so you can just be honest with yourself. We've all been in Haman's shoes. We've all been fixated on something, complaining about something. And what we do is we've gathered people to ourselves who we feel like are going to be like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And usually, you know what they do? They go, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know why? Because I invited you in. I don't want to. I didn't invite no sensible person in here. I want to, I want to hear, yes, your wife was wrong. That's what I want to hear. No, I'm joking. So I'm going to handpick the people who I know are going to tell me what I want to hear. So of course they're going to say those things. And they're like, oh man, yeah, you have been done wrong. Oh my gosh, all of these other things. Yeah, that's nothing. This one guy sitting outside the gate, yes, he's the one. Make a poll. Go to your buddy the king, who you're good with, ask him to impel him. And when we do that, we create this fork in the road that only we can decide. We either have to listen to our pride and continue to feed that, or we can choose to humble ourselves and seek the Lord's wisdom. Trust not in our own understanding and seek the Lord, because maybe things are happening in the background that you have no idea what's happening. I'll tell you what, that was true for Haman, was it not? There was something that was cooking in the background and he had no idea. But again, this is what it looks like when pride is in charge. Haman takes their advice and he sets up the poll. But little does he know God's on the move. If you turn to chapter 6, it says, that night the king couldn't sleep. So he ordered the book of the chronicles, uh, the records of his reign to be brought in and read to him. And in verse 2, it says that they got to this place where they found where Mordecai had exposed uh Big Thana and Teresha, um, the two kings' officers who stood at the doorway who conspired to kill him. Remember that way back when? The king made sure that they wrote that in. One night, here we are, days later, he can't sleep. He has them come in, and it just so happens they go to this part right here and they read this. And the king says in verse 3, What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this? Right? And the king asked, Nothing has been done for him. His attendants answered, The king said, Who's at the court? It says, Now Haman had just entered uh the outer courts of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole that he had set up. And it says, His attendants answered, Haman standing in the court. Bring him in, the king ordered. And we're gonna stop right there. Matt, that would have been great. Here's the thing. Here's what I want you to realize. I don't want you to look at Haman and not see yourself. That goes for me too. Because he's doing some diabolical things, but can I just tell you it started from a little seed? And so we can't assume that if we we plant those seeds and we don't nurture those seeds and we don't water those seeds, that they too won't grow into diabolical things. You cannot see Haman and not see yourself. Along he's just feeding the fire, feeding the fire of pride. What fire do you feed? Really, what fire do you feed? Is that not why God is showing us the story of Esther? Think about it. The book doesn't even say his name. Why is this in the Bible? If not to look at it and say, Is that me? Is that us? Do I do that? Will you do this to me, God? Can I escape that, Lord? Does my humanity have the same leanings, God? And when you begin to pray mature prayers like that, your faith begins to grow. Your relationship with God gets stronger. We can be the kind of Christians who read the Bible and we choose not to wrestle with God. Or we can be the type of Christians who read the Bible and we go to God in our humility and say, God, is that me? Or do we always put ourselves in the place of David? When I know there's times in my life where I look more like Goliath. I thought I was too big, untouchable, and I was an affront to God. But when we read that story, do we ever ask ourselves, God, where in my life have I looked more like David? God, am I a season in my life where I am more like Haman than I am like Esther? These are the prayers that we have to pray. And these are the questions that we have to ask when we read books like Esther. So I want to end like this. I want to just take some time. The altar is open, but you can stay in your seat, doesn't really matter. And I want you to not waste the time that we have here in this room this morning amongst God's people to ask that very simple question. What fire are we feeding in our lives? Am I feeding the fire of pride? Because to do so, I have to sacrifice humility. That's just the way it works. You can't do both at the same time. You just can't. I don't know your life. And I'm not asking you to admit to anything. I'm just asking you to take the next few minutes. I'm going to close us in prayer. The band's going to come up. And normally we sing, we sing several songs, but I just want to offer you some time with intentionality in these next two songs to search your heart and ask the Lord, God, are there any fires of pride that are ablaze in my own life? And Lord, just between you and I, would you help me put those things out? Would you help me put those fires out? And live a life that's humble and that's after you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Let's pray. Thanks for tuning in to the Brick by Brick Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us on our journey to build faith one truth at a time. Be sure to follow us so you never miss another episode. We've got plenty more coming your way.