Pride’s Fragility and Humble Confidence in Esther

Aug 16, 2026

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43s
#AcceptedInChrist
“``We too stood under the sentence of death. We needed someone who could enter the presence of the king on our behalf. Jesus did what Esther can ever fully do. He didn't merely risk his life for his people. He gave his life for his people. He bore our guilt. He suffered our judgment. He entered the grave and he rose again. His resurrection declared sufficiency for his finished work and it guarantees the acceptance of all who are united in him. So because our mediator, Jesus Christ, was raised and now stands before the father on our behalf, we are accepted in him.”
46s
#CommunionHumbleConfidence
“That's what the bread and cup they remind us of. They leave no room for Haman like pride. We contributed nothing to our salvation, our acceptance before God was secured by another. And so here's what the bread and the cup do. They they they also don't leave us room for fear. Christ died. He rose on the third day. He entered the heavenly sanctuary in our behalf. He intercedes for us. So when we eat and drink here, we do with humble confidence. Not confidence in our performance or our goodness or our ability to hold on to God, but confidence in the crucified, risen, and reigning mediator who has brought us into the presence of the king.”
61s
#RepentRunToJesus
“Haman is the example of someone who pride ruled his heart, refused to repent, and it destroyed him. But Jesus frees us from that. He gives us the way. Repent, turn away from sin, run towards him, find forgiveness, find complete 100% forgiveness and joy and restoration in Christ. That's what Christ gives us. Don't follow the destructive path of Haman today, of living in this destructive life here. So we think we're using sin to get us what we want sometimes. But here's what you need to know about sin. When we're using sinful decisions or sinful actions to get us what we want, here's what sin is actually doing. Is quietly building the thing that's gonna destroy us. That's what Haman experienced.”
49s
#ExitRampInChrist
“But notice this progression, what we've talked about. Just wanna point out the progression here before I move on to, Esther. As a progression here, pride makes everything about me, which then makes me easily offended, which makes satisfaction impossible, which eventually destroys me. Are you on this path? Can you find a place maybe you're at right here? you can, here's the good news. There's an exit ramp in every one of those. And it's in Jesus Christ. Through contenting of your sins, asking him to forgive you, and there's an exit ramp. But if you continue on the path, you see where it's going. You see where it's going.”
53s
#PridesMathZero
“And so this is what, you know, pride's math. If you're gonna think of how pride math works, it's this. 99 blessings plus one unmet desire equals zero. Okay? That's pride's math. So many great things plus one thing that you can't have that you want equals nothing. That's what pride does for us. It makes enough impossible in our lives. I love my house, but theirs are so much nicer. You know, I'm grateful for my job, but he got promoted. My children are doing wells, but are are doing well, but theirs received the scholarship. You know, I I I think I have a good marriage, but, man, my spouse just can't whatever.”
47s
#CourageousObedience
“So she goes before the king. She doesn't just think about it. She doesn't just pray about it. She actually does the action. We talked about this last week, how believing in God's sovereignty does not free us from the responsibilities that God's given to us. In fact, God gives us responsibilities to accomplish his sovereign purposes. They work hand in hand. Here, Esther is putting on the royal robes. She's going before the king. She's just said, if I perish, I perish. But now she actually walks into the courtyard. So here's the thing. Courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is not like I don't have any fear about anything. No, courage is obedience despite legitimate reasons to fear, of doing the right thing even though it is uncomfortable or it could be fearful.”
37s
#GodActiveInSilence
“In your mind, nothing's happening. But if you were to go behind that curtain, what would you see? You'd see people running around. You'd see props being moved. You'd see makeup being put on. You'd be seeing, you know, someone looking their lines over for the last time. There's a lot of activity that's happening behind that curtain. But from your perspective, sitting in the seats, nothing's happening. Just waiting. That's how life often is. From our perspective, it feels like not much is happening here. But here's the thing you need to know. God may be the most active when he appears to be most absent.”
53s
#VulnerableCourage
“On the other side, we have Esther. She has every reason to feel insecure. She is about to walk uninvited into the presence of a king. We're knowing that if he simply whimmed it, she could be killed for doing so. So she has every reason to feel insecure. Her people have been condemned to death. She doesn't know how the king is gonna respond, yet we see Esther walking into that room and standing outside the throne room waiting to be noticed. With remarkable courage she does this, and with patience, and with wisdom. So here's the irony of this, of Esther five here. Is that the man who appears to have everything is incredibly fragile, while the woman who could lose everything displays remarkable strength.”
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