15th February 2026 - When Coincidence becomes Providence | Pastor Ramesh Kumar

So um I want to start off my sermon with a story.

And uh a few years ago there was a uh flight delay from Kuala Lumpur to China due to a mechanical issue.

Now it was nothing serious, but it was just enough to make everybody who was seated at the gate wait for an extra hour.

Right?

So passengers they were they got irritated, right?

Uh meetings were being canceled, connecting flights were in danger, and then there was this businessman who was seated there at the gate, and he was a Christian, and he had a very important uh presentation to get to the next day.

He had a very important presentation, so he really had to get to where he was going in order to prep himself.

Now, this businessman at that time was the owner of a company, okay, and his company wasn't doing very well financially.

Winding up was inevitable.

So a breakthrough needed to happen in order for him to keep his company.

The flight delay really didn't help with that stress that he was going through.

So, anyway, because of the delay, what they did was they re-booked him onto another flight, you know, one that he would normally not have taken.

Okay, so um he went, he boarded the plane anyway, and he sat in his seat and he was seated to a man who was reviewing some company documents.

So he happened to just look over at the company documents at the letter head, and he realized that he he looked at the company name and he thought, oh, this is really familiar.

I know this company.

So he struck a conversation with the man sitting next to him, and after some time he found out that the man sitting next to him was a senior executive at a company that he'd been trying to connect with for months, but was unsuccessful.

So they spoke all the way during that flight, and when they landed, a meeting had been scheduled.

A meeting had been scheduled.

Six months later, that encounter turned into a partnership which transformed his company.

Amen.

It transformed his company.

It never happened to me.

So, anyway, that year when this businessman was talking to his stakeholders and telling them the story of what happened, you know, my flight was delayed, and uh you know I ended up on another flight, and I sat next to this guy, and because of that, you know, now the company is doing well.

One of them said, Wow, what are the chances of that?

What are the chances?

Now that's the phrase we like to use when timings come together precisely, or when things align perfectly.

What are the chances?

Or what what a coincidence?

Coincidence, or is God at work?

Because you see, in this case, there was no burning bush, there was no audible voice, there was no miracle in the sky, there was just a mechanical issue, or also there, there was a rebooking, there was a seat assignment, there was a conversation, and what seemed like inconvenience actually turned out to be positioning.

It turned out to be positioning, and just like that, a life was changed.

Just like that, a life was changed.

And then when we look at the book of Esther, which we're gonna look at this morning, you will say the same, you would see the same thing that there was no dramatic miracles either.

Okay, there was no fire falling down from heaven, there was no seas that parted.

You know what?

The name of God was not even mentioned once in that book.

All you have is a series of coincidences.

A queen who was removed, a young Jewish girl who took her place, a sleepless night, a perfectly timed entrance, a decision that was reversed, all that led to preserving God's people by delivering them from physical death.

What are the chances?

What are the chances?

Coincidence or God at work?

You know, the title of my message this morning is When Coincidence Becomes Providence, and I hope and I pray that by the end of this uh sermon we will all realize that everything that happens to us is not by accident, hallelujah.

God is in control of everything, even when you don't see it, He is working, hallelujah, and He is working for the glory of His name.

Are you ready for the Word, Church?

Turn to your neighbor and ask them, Are you ready for the Word?

Turn to your neighbor and ask them, Are you ready for the Word?

Ah, it's more like it.

That's the CNY spirit.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

All need to eat more Bakwala, I think, this season.

Okay, this morning we're gonna talk about Esther and what her plans are when she marries Eric and moves to Bangalore.

Shouldn't have spoken La Esther.

Sorry, I just had to la, we're talking about Esther, lah.

You know what I mean?

Just had to.

Okay, so our story begins with King Exercise, right?

And in the third year of his reign, he declares a national festival, right?

So Esther chapter 1, verse 4 says, For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.

Esther 1:4

So here, Exorcus, what he did was he brought together all these nobles, all these officials, all these military leaders, he invited them for this festival, and he only had one goal.

That goal was to impress them, and another thing was to garner their support in building a million-man army to defeat Greece.

Okay, so he had his sights set on Greece.

So this festival lasted for about six months, and right after that, he throws a royal banquet for seven days, and he invites everyone, from the least to the greatest, everyone who were in the citadel of Susa.

Susa Susa also invited them.

Can you imagine how many people would have flocked to that palace?

Can you imagine the kitchen during that time?

Oh my gosh, they must have been so busy.

But this is who King Exorcist was.

He wanted to make a point, he wanted to impress, and so he did that.

So Esther chapter 1, verses 78 says, Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other.

Man, this man was serious.

He was a serious guy.

Goblets are basically what they called wine cups or wine mugs.

It was a cross between a cup and a mug.

Okay, and not only was it made of gold, each one was different from the from the the next.

My gosh, you know how expensive that would have been when you buy in bulk.

I'm sure his procurement team had a problem, you know, negotiating the cost and all that.

Each one was different.

This guy was serious, this guy had class, he wanted to be unique.

This guy was loaded, right?

He was he was definitely trying to make a point here, okay?

Each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

That's a party I want to be at, man.

When the royal wine is abundant, hallelujah.

In keeping with the king's liberality, by the king's command, each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions.

Hallelujah.

That's like going to Peter's house.

Eat and drink with no restrictions.

FYI, everyone.

But when I say drink, I mean lemon juice.

Okay?

Sure, sure, very sure.

Okay, wow.

Can you imagine that?

Coming.

You're already getting a you know, uh, the king's throwing a free party.

You're coming there, no restrictions.

No restrictions.

I remember when uh I remember when I was in the UK, they used to have this event which happened uh every six months, and it was called Drink the Bar Dry.

How many of you know what I'm talking about?

Drink the bar.

No one's gonna put out their hands, of course.

Yeah, drink the bar dry, and it was only like what five P a pint.

Drink the bar dry, it was unlimited, you know, but it was all watered down.

Here, the wine was abundant, it was great.

People were really enjoying themselves, they were having a good time.

You know, King Exorcus was really throwing a party.

You see, his goal was to demonstrate the wealth of the kingdom and to make them aware of his greatness, but also to let his enemies fear him.

Because wealth was power, amen.

Wealth was power, wealth is power, actually.

Yeah, but okay, here's where things start to get a bit interesting, right?

Esther chapter 1, verses 10 to 11, and it says here what on the seventh day, has to be the seventh day.

Esther 1:10–11

Okay, on the seventh day when King Exercise was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs, has to be seven again.

The seven eunuchs who served him, bitsta, harbona, bikta, abakta, zeta, and cakas.

I don't know why until today.

I don't know why someone will call themselves Kakas.

It sounds like Kakasla, you know, it's very weird.

Okay, but so and he commands them to bring before him his queen, Queen Vashti.

All right, wearing her royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.

Sounds like Serene.

Amen.

She was she was lovely to look at.

I might get an Paula.

Okay, so so think about it, lah guys.

So, right?

King Exorcists, he was drunk.

Alright, he was drunk, and his motive was to impress.

You know, everything that he done was for show.

Okay?

From the glory of his palace to the uh we read about it in the Bible, to the silver and golden couches, to the beautiful garden and his tapestries, the golden goblets, the lavish food and drink.

Everything was for show.

Now he's not in the right state of mind, and what does he do?

He summons his queen to come out and parade herself in front of all these drunken people.

You know, when I read it, I thought to myself, what's the big deal?

Because obviously she said, No, I don't want to do it.

And I thought to myself, what's the big deal?

Shouldn't a woman be proud?

No, hey, uh, you know, your man wants you to dress up well, come out and you know, meet the guests and all that.

And so everybody would look at her and like, oh my gosh, what a beautiful woman.

So gorgeous.

I was thinking a lot of women would love that.

But the problem, I and I believe the problem here was, you know, Queen Vashti, she was not really happy, okay, with a hubby.

Because he probably was not seeing her a lot.

Right?

During that time, kings, you know, they they were not, you know, if he wanted to see them, including their wives, you need to get permission.

You needed to get permission from them.

So he probably had not been seeing her for a long time, you know.

He'd probably been with his concubines and all that, you know, probably been ignoring her, and she was mad.

And all of a sudden now he's she know he's drunk out of his face.

You know, and then now she's summoning her.

Oh, come out and wear, you know, your crown and parade yourself.

You know, you're a beautiful woman.

You know, I want my friends to see you, I want my friends to see a trophy.

She said, I'm having none of it.

You're drunk, and you're using me like a tool.

So she didn't want to.

So then what happens?

Okay, she turns him down, and King Exercise, he gets mad, gets really mad.

And if you read the Bible and you know something about King Exercise, he had a really bad temper.

And a lot of it always happened when he drank a lot.

You know, his temper flared up and he did some really foolish things.

So now he's mad at his queen, super mad.

And so, what does he do?

He turns to his advisors and he and he asks them, Man, my wife is not coming out, she's turned me down.

I think people know about it.

What should I do?

Okay, so he, I mean, he was he was mad because she made him look weak for crying out loud.

You know what I mean?

She's humiliating him in front of his guests because they are his guests are there.

He's throwing the biggest party the kingdom has ever seen.

And everyone's gonna be like, Wow, you command so much wealth, you command so much power in your kingdom, but you can't even control your wife.

Sounds familiar.

King exhaust.

Okay, you can't, you know, you can't control your wife.

So uh what does it say here?

Then it says here in verse 18 This very day, this is after he consults the uh you know his advisors, this very day, the Persian and Median woman of the nobility who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's nobles in the same way.

There will be no end of disrespect and disregard and discord.

Then they were right.

This guy's gonna be the laughing stock of the whole kingdom now.

So he's he gets even more mad, starts downing more wine.

So, what does he do after that?

Immediately he removes Vashti as queen.

He says, Beat it, take a hike, it's over.

Oh, I don't want you anymore.

And right after that, immediately, what does he do?

He goes to his lawyer and draws up the divorce papers and then sorts out the assets.

No, he doesn't.

He straightaway attends to the most important issue at hand the invasion of Greek, uh Greece with his million man army.

And when I read that, I'm like, dude, you just divorced your wife, and it's business as usual.

Come on, you know, no remorse, no regret.

It's almost like he was saying, I've got 99 problems, but Vajti ain't one.

You know what I mean?

I got 99 problems, but Vajti ain't one.

Some of some of you are like, What?

What is he talking about?

What is he talking about?

Might have to check your Spotify list Lacon.

Okay.

So he didn't care.

This guy had no, he you know, he's not interested.

This is the kind of man he was.

He was cold in nature, really cold.

So, okay, then he moves on and he goes, All right, let's start preparing for war.

I'm gonna invade Greece.

Guess his million-man army, he's got them, he's got them together, he's done his part, everything's ready, everything's in order.

So now the invasion begins.

The invasion of Greece begins.

He goes in, starts taking over some areas in Greece, everything is doing well, you know.

But halfway, halfway through the invasion, a unusually terrible storm with fierce winds comes and forces his navy uh fleet of sheep uh uh ships, his navy fleet to come together at a very narrow strait where they were sitting ducks to the Greek army who were around the area, and they and they attacked and they fired upon them.

And if it was not the fire that destroyed the ships, it was that unusual terrible storm that did.

Now, some of you must be thinking, Well, what are you talking about?

What unusual terrible storm are we talking about?

It's it's not recorded in the Bible, it's not, it's not recorded in the Bible, but you see, when we study the word of God, we are encouraged to read other material, credible material, recommended reading, they call it.

To why?

To get a better understanding, to get the full picture, to understand what God was doing in that place.

We are recommended to do that, okay?

And a lot of the times this recommended reading will come from articles, you know, or other books outside, you know, uh uh other books other than the Bible.

We should be telling we should be telling giving you recommended reading.

You know, uh Charlie Kirk, I watched a video on him once, and uh he was at one of his campus rallies and he had to defend the Christianity.

When someone was making accusations, someone came up to him and said, All religion in the world is fake.

The Bible is fake because it's made up, it's made up stories written by people.

And what his reply was was there's so many global records, so many archaeological findings that number one showed that Jesus was a real person.

Number two, there's so much global evidence that proves that the events that took place in the Bible actually happened where they were supposed to happen.

And so it is recommended, you know, that we go outside and we read.

But remember what I said, they must be credible, okay?

Please don't go to www.cakas.com la, okay?

You're not gonna get anything from there, lah, okay?

So recommended reading is very important.

So going back to our story here, okay.

Now, what happened here was the Greeks attacked them, they were pushed into a very narrow strait, they were you know cluttered together, so sitting ducks, and the and almost the entire navy fleet of this one million army had been lost.

There was a den put in it.

King Exorcus was in big trouble.

So, what does he do?

And not only that, he finds out that back home in Babylon and Egypt, rebel fightings have broken out.

So he says to himself and he says to his army, yo, it's time to retreat from Greece.

It's time to retreat, let's go back, let's go back and quash the rebels.

So then he leaves.

So when looking at this storm, especially as it's being described as an unusually terrible storm with extreme winds, how can we explain it from happening at the right time?

At the right time, which causes King Exercise to stop his invasion of Greece.

You see, the storm never came one week earlier, nor did it come one week later, it came at the exact right time, which put them in a vulnerable position where the Greek army was able to take advantage and put a dent in that million-man army.

How can we explain that?

Coincidence or God at work?

You know, from a theological perspective, it was God, because the Bible shows us that a lot of uh, you know, world events happen with God being in control and him working behind the scenes.

You know, if you look at the book of Esther, it's a prime example.

Because not only not only is he not even, he's not mentioned once, God is not even mentioned in that in the in throughout that book, you know, but his wisdom is evident throughout.

His wisdom is evident throughout.

So Exercise's choices, his delays, his timing all served for a greater redemptive purpose uh purpose.

It all served towards a greater redemptive purpose, and that was preserving God's people.

It was preserving his people.

You see, if King Exercise had conquered Greece, he had invaded Greece fully, history will be very different today.

It was the Greek language, it was their infrastructure, it was their culture, okay, that played such a major role in preparing the world for the spread of the gospel.

So if King Exorcus had taken over that place, it would be very different.

God didn't allow that because he was preserving his will.

Hallelujah.

He was preserving his will.

Are you with me, church?

You know, in Daniel chapter 2, verses 21, it says here, He changes times and seasons, He deposes uh kings and raises up others, He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Daniel 2:21

So, what was Daniel saying here?

Daniel was saying that you know what God is sovereign over the nations.

Hallelujah.

He's sovereign over the nations, and you know something, church, that should give us hope because he too is sovereign over our lives, amen.

He is sovereign over our lives, and I want to tell you something, and you know this God has a will and God has a purpose for your life.

And sometimes he's gonna open up doors in order for you to fulfill that purpose, and yes, those doors are gonna bring great benefit to your lives.

But perhaps this morning, those doors are being threatened of closing.

I want to tell you something.

If it's God's will, no man, no authority, no other power other than the power of God will be able to shut those doors.

Amen.

None can.

No weapon formed against the enemy, against you, will ever prosper.

Amen.

No plans of God for your life can ever be thwarted.

It can never be thwarted.

He is for you, amen.

He is for you, never against you.

He has divine sovereignty over your actions, over all earthly circumstances, and his divine purpose will prevail.

Hallelujah! It will prevail for your life.

Are you with me, church?

His divine purpose will prevail.

So, exercise is finally back home, he's finally squashed the rebels.

Now, what he was what now all he has to do is he needs to kick back and relax, needs to enjoy his life, and that includes finding a replacement for Queen Vashti.

So, what does he do?

Okay, after a year of searching for the most beautiful woman in the province, he makes his choice, and out of at least 126 other beautiful candidates, 126, okay, that's a lot.

Other beautiful candidates, okay, he chooses a young Jewish woman, Esther.

Okay, and he favors her very, very much over the other virgins.

So he made her the queen.

Okay.

Now, some of us already know this story.

Well, we'll already know that a crisis is coming.

So the truth about this is Esther didn't become queen when the crisis happened.

Esther was already put in the position before the crisis.

See, the solution to the crisis had already been placed in the palace.

Are you do you see where I'm going at church?

The solution to the crisis had already been placed in the palace, which means what?

Hallelujah.

He prepares a deliverance before the problem can fully surface.

First Peter chapter 1, verse 20 says, What?

1 Peter 1:20

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Hallelujah.

Let me say that again.

Now, I don't know, that better be a double-edged sword for you.

Knowing that Esther's positioning in the palace is a foreshadowing of the solution of God to a sinful humanity.

You see, Jesus was already there from the beginning, but He was all He was a solution to the problem and was revealed later for your sake.

So, what is it?

What that how does that speak to you with the problems that you're going through?

Some of us, the storm has just started, but we're already trembling, we're already crippled by fear and anxiety.

We're making wrong decisions, wrong decisions in our finances, wrong decisions in our relationships, wrong decisions in our uh you know, in our marriages.

When the word of God says that the problem has already been given, sorry, the solution has already been given to the problem.

The solution is there.

That's why we always like to say, God is never late, but he's always on time.

Amen.

God is never late, but he's always on time.

Because a lot of the time, and we say that because just when you think it's over, just when you think that your decision is final, he shows up with the solution, amen.

He shows he shows up with the solution, that you take the solution and you got to do something about it.

But it shows up, he shows up with that solution.

So that job that you're in, that place where you're staying, that country that you're living in, where you're watching online, those relationships that you've built, that new skill that you've learned, it is not there by accident, it is there for such a time as this.

Hallelujah! For such a time as this.

Are you with me, church?

Okay, a bit of a backstory by Esther.

You know, when Esther was very young, she became an orphan, and it was her older cousin, Mordecai, who raised her like his own daughter.

Okay, and as we continue the story, it tells us that Mordecai, her older cousin, had a job working near the king's gate.

Coincidence?

And one day he overheard two officials plotting to assassinate Exorcus.

And so Esther chapter 2, verses 22, 23 says, What?

Esther 2:22

But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.

Oh, something's brewing here, okay.

And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on polls.

All this was recorded in the book of okay, I gotta be careful when I pronounce this.

In the book of the Annals.

I always say it the wrong way.

In the book of the Annals, okay, and uh be laughing the loudest, lah.

In the book of the Annals, and what was the book of the Annals?

The Book of the Annals was basically uh uh recordings of achievements for kings when they when they reigned during that time.

Okay, it was a very important book, and now Mordecai is in it.

Coincidence and how he's linked to Esther?

Whoa, okay, something's really happening here.

Alright, now as the third chapter of Esther begins, we're introduced to a villain, okay, and his name is Haman, right?

And he was he was a very ambitious guy, okay?

He was very arrogant, and he was a very cruel person, right?

So Haman was a favorite of the king, unfortunately.

You know, and he had been given a seat of honor higher than any other noble.

Esther chapter 3, verse 2 says what it says here, all the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him.

Esther 3:2

But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, because Mordecai was a righteous Jew.

Hallelujah.

He would not bow down to anybody other than God.

And so when Haman found out about this, he was mad.

He was mad, he started feeling insecure, and so what he did was he devised a plan not only to get rid of Mordecai, but to get rid of all the Jews there.

Because if he says if Mordecai believes in this, if that's if these are his principles, then so will the other Jews.

And that is a problem for me because I want everybody to bow down towards me.

I want to be treated like God.

People need to bow down and respect me and worship me like God.

But Mordecai doesn't want to do it because he's a Jew, and so will the rest.

So that's what he does.

He comes up with a plan, not only to kill Mordecai, but to kill the rest of the Jews.

So then what happens?

Okay?

So uh he that he goes to King Exorcus and he tells them, Hey, there's a group of people in your kingdom, and they've got very, very, very, very different customs.

They don't agree with yours.

And that could be a problem for us.

They may be a threat, okay?

So he says that it's you know, it's it's not in the best interest of the king to tolerate them.

So he suggests if it pleases the king, let a decree be issued today to destroy them.

Let an issue be decreed today to destroy them.

So, of course, him being the blue-eyed boy of the king, the king agrees, and the king says, Okay, come on, I'll give you your royal seal.

All right, authorizing the order, and a decree is sent throughout the empire.

All the Jews, young and old, women and children, are to be destroyed on a single day.

My goodness.

That's it for them.

Okay, so now Mordecai learns of it, he gets a copy of this decree.

Oh god, he's terrified.

Okay, so what does he do?

He tears his clothes, he puts on sackcloth and ashes and mourns openly.

And that was the symbol of public mourning at that time.

That's what people would do.

They want people to know that they're mourning, so they will do that, they put on sackcloth and ashes, okay?

But he was not alone across the kingdom.

The Jewish people wept, okay, and they fought, and you know, and they were fasting in grief and fear.

Okay, so meanwhile, Esther's in the palace, unaware of what's going on.

Then she gets word, someone comes up to her and says, Hey Mordecai, he's mourning.

So she says, Why?

Go find out why.

So that man goes to see Mordecai, then he comes back with a you know, Mordecai gives her a copy of the decree.

So she has the decree, and he has a message for her, okay?

And that message is he urges her to go to the king and beg for mercy.

So Esther now, she knows what's going on, but she hesitates.

She says, No, I can't, I can't see the king because you can't see the king anytime you like.

You've got to be invited to see the king.

You want an audience with the king?

You gotta be invited.

Okay, a golden scepter has to be extended in order for you to see the king, right?

And plus, the king hasn't seen her for 30 days, he's not been seeing her.

Like, how am I gonna go and look after the king now?

The guy's just like not interested in me, doesn't want to see my face.

How am I gonna see him?

So she says, That's impossible.

And what does Mordecai say?

Right, in verse 12 to 16, when Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer Do not think that because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place.

But you and your father's family will perish.

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.

So he's telling her, you know, you you you better do it, even though it it means death on your part, because it's a big risk to go and see the king, just out of the blue.

So Esther sent this reply to Mordecai and is and she said, Okay, right, go gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.

Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.

I and my attendants will fast as you do, and when this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.

Well, one of the strongest sentences in the book of Esther is that if I perish, I perish.

So it was time for her to act, okay, and she decided to put her life in God's hands.

So, what she did was during the three days of fasting, okay, and prayer, Esther devised the plan.

And she told herself that if the king will see me, if the king will see me, I will host two private dinners, and I will invite Haman to those dinners.

At the first dinner, it will just be a normal dinner, we will have fun, we will talk, we will laugh, we will have good food, we will have good wine, and everything should be good.

Then I will I will hold another dinner where then I will expose Haman for who he is and the evil that he is trying to accomplish.

And she wanted to do that in the hopes that the king will retract the decree.

So her plan works out beautifully.

She approaches the king, thinking that, oh, that's it, my life is over.

But he invites her in, and not only does he do that, he asks her, What do you desire, my queen?

Ask, and I shall give it to you.

And so she says, I would like to hold two dinners, and I would like to invite Haman, your you know, your blue-white boy, to attend those dinners.

And the king says, Yes, what an excellent idea.

Let's do that.

Okay, so everything starts going according to plan.

All right, and so what happens at the first dinner?

Haman leaves feeling proud.

Okay, he's like, Wow, he's so honored to dine with just the king and the queen.

He says, Nobody else in the kingdom has ever done this except me.

So he's proud, he's happy, he's feeling really confident.

And on his way back home from the palace, he's with his wife, okay?

He sees Mordecai on the street morning, and then he starts to get angry again because he really hates Mordecai.

Because Mordecai won't bow down to him, hates his sight.

He gets mad, and his wife is like, Oh god, here we go again.

He's getting mad, you know.

Thought we were gonna have a nice night.

And so what he is what she does is she she suggests she suggests okay.

I tell you what you do.

She said, Why don't you build a 75-foot gallo and you where you can hang Mordecai in the morning?

And Haman says, That's an excellent idea, babe.

Let's do that, and so he he does it immediately.

He sends word to get that 75-foot gallow built, and he says, Okay, and tomorrow morning I will approach the king and I will tell him that this is my plan to execute Mordecai, and he will agree because I am in such high favor towards the king.

But funny thing is, that night the king is unable to sleep, he's tossing and turning.

He's like, Oh god, what's happening?

And so he's like, I can't sleep, and he calls for the book of the annals to be read to him.

Okay, he calls for the book of the annals to be read to him, and when the book is open, it so happens there's a story about Mordecai who helped him with that 2-B assassination, and so after that he's like, Oh, yeah, I remember this.

Oh, it's been done for Mordecai, he thinks to himself, nothing.

I need to reward Mordecai, man.

If you ask me, there's so many coincidences happening here.

Okay, the night before, Mordecai is planned to be hung and executed.

The king can't sleep, he just happens not to sleep.

The book of the announcements just happens to be there.

The page that he opened just happens to be the Mordecai story.

Too many coincidences happening.

Okay, so what happens then?

The next morning, Haman comes to see the king, and he says to the king, uh king, I've got this idea.

Oh, shut up, he says, Don't speak, don't speak.

I need to tell you something, I need to ask you a question.

He says, What can I do to honor someone that I have such high favor for?

And Haman was like, Oh my gosh, he's talking about me, man.

He's talking about me.

Brassan, the fella, you know, he's talking about me.

Oh my gosh.

Uh well, king, if you must ask, he said, you know, I would organize a royal parade and parade him around the kingdom.

And the king says, That's an excellent idea, Haman.

And then through his shock and humiliation, he's asked to parade Mordecai around the kingdom in honor of what he did.

And Haman can't say no, he has to do it, he's got no choice.

He runs back home and cries to his wife, you know what I'm saying?

You know, like we all do.

We run back home and cry to our wives.

Okay, we all think we're tough.

Then we go out, we run back home, and uh, you know, and the wife is like, Oh God, can things get any worse with you, man?

You need some on in your life, brother.

You know, need some luck, some Chinese New Year luck.

Okay, so he does that, he's got no choice, he's gotta do it, okay?

He doesn't want to do it, he hates Mordecai, but he does it anyway.

He does it.

All right, and then evening, Esther calls for the second banquet, the second dinner.

And there, the king suddenly says to Esther, hey Esther, ask for anything you desire, and I shall grant it.

Whoa! King's being very generous all of a sudden, and so Esther says, Okay, and so she you know, she courageously tells him about Haman and what kind of person he is and what kind of wicked plans he has for her people, and he she tells, and then he's listening and he's drinking wine, the king.

Remember what I said when he drinks wine, he gets mad.

FYI to those people who have a bad temper when they drink.

He drinks, he gets totally mad, he slams the drink down, and he and he immediately orders for Haman to be executed, not even asking him anything, not even giving him a chance to justify himself.

See what I mean about him doing foolish things, lah?

Okay, he does that, and he and he orders him to be executed at the very same gallows that he built for Mordecai.

Wow, how ironic! How ironic.

Okay, and so what happens after that?

A new decree is then issued protecting the Jews and allowing them to defend themselves.

Mordecai is elevated to Haman's former position, and the Jewish people rejoice throughout the kingdom.

Amen.

What an amazing story that is, the book of Esther.

Okay, now what can we learn from this?

Is that God specializes in reversals.

Hallelujah.

God specializes in reversals.

In this case, mourning turned into celebration.

Okay, gallows turned into justice, sackcloth turned into royal robe because the Bible says that Mordecai was now the king's right-hand man, he had taken over Haman's place.

Sackcloth turned into royal robes, a threat turned into triumph.

Hallelujah.

God specializes in reversals.

You know what?

That diagnosis uh diagnosis that you've been given by the doctor, that financial crisis that you are undergoing right now, that family problem that you think to yourself that is impossible to repair, that final decision that someone has spoken over your life.

I want to tell you something God can reverse all of that.

Hallelujah! And He can issue a new decree for your life, amen.

Come on, let's all stand up on our feet in this place.