In this sermon titled "At the King's Gate," the speaker focuses on the story of Esther in the Bible. The sermon emphasizes the importance of having a heart for God and living for His glory. The speaker highlights the character of Mordecai, who stands firm at the king's gate despite facing opposition and persecution. Mordecai's unwavering faith and obedience to God's will ultimately lead to a revelation and a prophetic message for Esther. The sermon encourages listeners to stay faithful to God, even in the face of adversity, and to trust in His power and guidance.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. And I trust that this message today is going to give us some insight and answer some questions that we may have had in wanting to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And today's message is called At the King's Gate. At the King's Gate. And if you will turn with me to the book of Esther. Chapter 2. And that is, if you go to the book of Psalms and turn left two books. At the King's Gate. Father, I just lift up, oh God, this service to you and this living word. And I thank you, oh God, that you are an awesome God. Now I pray, oh God, that what you want to do in this service, what you want to speak, the work that you want to do, Lord, I pray you would have a free reign and a free course. I praise you, God, for what you're going to do in the lives of those that will hear it. I praise you, Lord, for the people that you, Lord, are going to set free. Lord, that you're going to lift the confusion. Lord, that you are going to speak so clearly to. I thank you, Lord, what you're going to do for your people, oh God. Because, Lord, we lift up a Savior, Jesus. It is him that we proclaim. It is his living word made alive and on fire by the Holy Ghost. That we are trusting in today. To do a work in us that we cannot do. And, Lord, you're going to teach us to give you all the glory and all the praise. That your work may go through us in an unhindered way. That this generation that we're called, Lord, to live in and to be a testimony unto. That, Lord, we may be all that you long us to be in Christ. And, Lord, we'll thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. You have opened to Esther chapter 2. But, to bring us up, that's where we're going to start from. But, to bring us up to speed of Esther chapter 2. In Esther chapter 1, the story is told about the king Ahasuerus. And, this is a king who ruled from Ethiopia to India. And, he ruled in his day almost the whole known civilized world. And, under his dominion was found almost every race, kindred and king. That he ruled with a cruel and a vicious hand for the most part. He was a king under which the jewelry of that day, God's chosen people, most of them lived under his control. And, the Bible tells us that he had a feast. And, if you read the commentaries, they will tell you that when this king had a feast. And, he called all the governors from all the provinces from all his vast lands. That they feasted for many days. And, when he was made merry with wine, he called forth his wife Vashti, whose name means beautiful. And, he wanted for her to be admired. But, the scripture tells us that she too was feasting in the house of women. And, I believe that the same amount of wine was flowing. And, when the decree came that she was to present herself, she said no. And, she shamed him. And, all the counselors of the king rose up. And, they said to him, you must get rid of her. For, her no will resound throughout all your kingdom. And, not just you will have problems, we'll all have problems. So, the king agreed to that. And, a search was made after a time for a replacement for the queen. And, that search for a replacement brings us to chapter 2. And, in starting in verse 6. We'll start at verse 5. It says, now in Shushan the palace, there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai. Now, in the palace in Shushan, that is where the king lived. And, there was a Jew who lived there. And, it says in verse 6 a little about this man who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity. Which, had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah. Who, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And, we have here a man, a Jew, who has been carried away captive. He's a displaced man. He's disadvantaged in his society. He does not belong to the privileged class of his day. He is a man who is a minority and he is living under a people and a dictatorship hostile to him. He's living among a time of great prejudice against him. He knows what it is to be hated, simply for what he stands for. And, here is a man who has been taken away from his roots. He has now been brought under a king. And, he's living in the palace. And, in verse 7 it tells us that he brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter. For, she had neither father nor mother. And, the maid was fair and beautiful. Who Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. Now, the Bible doesn't tell us how they died. They may have been victims of that captivity. They may have been victims when that displaced people was rooted up. And, the suffering and hardship that that means. Those few verses compressed down to a few words that can't tell the agony and the horror of what these people went through. She may have been orphaned then. But, the Bible does tell us that Mordecai became father to her. And, it tells us that when the decree went throughout all the land, that they needed to find a replacement for the queen. It said that their virgins should come, selected virgins, and come before the queen and the king. And, the Bible tells us that Mordecai chose that Esther be part of that group. And, so she was brought into the king's house. And, he told her in verse 10 that you're not to show your people. It says, Esther had not showed her people, nor her kindred. For, Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it. So, Esther lived with her secret, hidden behind her beauty. The Bible tells us that Esther was chosen and declared the next queen. And, in verse 19 of chapter 2, it says, And, when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate. Now, beloved, I want to paint a picture for you here. This man who worked in the palace. A man that had really no inheritance and no possession, no power in his day. He moved from a perceived place of power to a place of real power. In the king's gate. And, I want to tell you what the king's gate means. But, I want to tell you, I believe that's a type of salvation, what happened to this man. He is a type when we move into the king's gate. It's when all the virgins, all those who are espoused of Christ, move into one place. A place prepared for them because of their salvation. A place when we come to trust Jesus Christ. When we say, Lord, I recognize you as my God. I thank you, Lord, that I come to you as sinner. And, your Bible, your word tells me that when I trust what you've done in Calvary, that your blood cleanses me. And, because I'm cleansed, I now have a new life. I have a new place to dwell. I have a new thinking and new thoughts and a new spirit. Something so immense and so incredible has happened to the life of a believer when they trust Christ. And, the immensity of this change, sometimes it's immediately apparent. Sometimes it evolves over time. But, beloved, there becomes a witness. We are no longer part of the damned, but part of the chosen. And, we become inheritors of blessing. And, part of that blessing is we move out from under the curse of sin. And, that means that we become aware of sin and we can confess it. We can be cleansed and we are forgiven. We are no longer a condemned people. And, for the first time, those that have the Holy Ghost living in them because they've been cleansed, can lift up their head and know what it is to have the joy of being accepted and forgiven with God in their lives. We know what it is to live in a new beginning when we ask for it. We know what it is to step into the light and not live in darkness anymore, shamed by our past and shamed who we are. But, when we truly open our heart up to Christ, we open our life up to life and light. And, we know it. And, this man now is a representative of all those, a type of those that have trusted Christ. They have been invited to live in a new place. And, he went. And, he's living at the King's Gate. Now, the King's Gate is a picture and a symbol. And, the gate in ancient times is a place where you went to be seen. It was a place where you were seen. It was a place where public declarations, assemblies were held. But, it was a place where you attracted the attention of the sovereign. It was a place of great importance, not just because the business of the day went on there. In many cases, in cities, it did. But, the King's Gate was the symbol of strength. That's where the battles were fought over. That's where they were fought because the city was won or lost if the gate held or was lost. Many times, those gates were made of iron and they couldn't be burned. And, they were carefully guarded because of their significance. And, for the believer, we are now invited to the King's Gate to make a public declaration. That by the word of our testimony, we say, Lord, I am yours. And, because I'm yours, there has been a change. Because the reality is, there has been a change. And, those that have not fully trusted Christ, who are hanging back, that there is a reluctance. You're not going to go to that gate. You're not going to go to a place to be seen where you are known and make that declaration without the living Christ in you. The spirit of man will cower back from the spirit of man. The spirit of this age will try to shut you down. And, if you don't have it, you won't make it. You will not make that declaration. But, this man went to make a public declaration in the word of his testimony. And, as we heard so eloquently this morning, that when we trust Christ and we have the blood of Christ over us, it is like a safety net. And, that blood of Christ means that they're under our life or the everlasting arms. And, we know that we are loved and forgiven. And, that means that the cleansing of the blood means that in God's eyes, we are a forgiven people. It means that the devil, when he comes to condemn us, if we will remember the truth, he cannot make headway with us. But, it is our privilege as believers to call him a liar. To say that God sees no sin in me. That God declares me righteous because not I am righteous, but because I trust in Jesus Christ who is righteous. And, I put on that as a garment. And, every time the devil tries to condemn me, I point him to Jesus Christ, the sinless one. Say, your case is with him, not with me. He has declared me righteous. Safety net. Because, the next step is that the blood of Christ cleanses. And, that means that he is going to change us. He's not going to leave us as he finds us. That means that the blood of Christ is now going to come. And, we are going to be changed, beloved, from glory to glory. He's going to do a work in us. It's going to be an ever increasing work of change in us. That's another evidence of our salvation. But, as long as we remember that while this incredible work is going on in our heart, we have that safety net of the blood. In other words, that as a work deep in us is going on, we are never going to be allowed to crash to the ground, smash beyond repair. But, oh no. We have on one side the strong consolation that God says, I find you righteous before my eyes. That's why I can deal with you. I put a covering of holiness on you so that you can come into my presence that I may deal with you. Because, otherwise, if we had no covering, we could not come into his presence. He could not deal with us. He could not put holy hands on us. But, because the blood of Christ is a covering, and because it allows a Holy Spirit to live in, God can do as he longs to do in our lives. Because of our salvation. And so, here is a picture of this man coming to the gate, leaving his old ways, and living in the light. Now, when you live in the light, you see. And in verse 21 of chapter 2, this man comes to the gate and it says, While Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bignoth and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And it tells us in this scripture that these men were chamberlains. In verse 21. And that means, as chamberlains, that definition is people renowned for their faithfulness to their master. And they kept the door. That means a position of great trust. Much depended on them. These were people chosen and they were called to model faith. They were called to model that my sovereign, I am faithful to him. That my life is tied in with his. And that they were to have a testimony. And they were keepers of the door because they were counted at one point faithful men. But the Bible tells us that they were wroth with the king. And that word wroth means to fret and to provoke into anger. To break out into anger and to fly into a rage. Simply saying that these men, when they became oppressed themselves from defending the door, they fretted. And they began to provoke others. And they thought they were justified in how they felt and what they saw. And they talked and they agitated. But one day it ignited and broke out into anger. And the Bible says that these men, it became known, their anger. And their murderous hate. In verse 22. This thing was known. It was found out. Beloved, you cannot hide flesh. You cannot hide anger when you're dealing in the king's gate. The king is there. And these men had an unjust cause. And it says they broke out. And the scripture says in verse 23, when inquisition was made of the matter. When you look up those words, inquisition, it means to search out, especially by worship or prayer. When inquisition was made at the gate, there went out. That means they were found out in worship and in prayer. Beloved, when God sets in order His church. And He appoints and you have and I have godly leadership over us. The Holy Ghost speaks to them. And in worship and in prayer, many times, a word will be spoken for our benefit. The word will come to those in leadership. And they will have an insight into you and I. And what would happen in the case of these men is that they had a murderous hate in their heart. They thought they were justified. And it broke out. It ignited. And the scripture says in verse 23, they were hanged on a tree. Cursed. The Bible says cursed is anyone who hangs on the tree. When flesh, that's where flesh always ends up in God's kingdom. Cursed. And these men became a picture for Mordecai. These men became a lesson for him sitting at the gate. But there was another test at the gate. Everyone who declares himself will be tested. And in Esther chapter 3, verses 1 to 4, here is what happened. After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman, the son of Hamathetah the Agite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed and reverenced Haman. For the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants which were in the king's gate said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment? Now it came to pass when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto him, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand. For he had told them he was a Jew. Now this man is now declaring himself and fully who he is. And he is a type like you and I. That if Christ dwells in us, he is calling us to a full declaration. That I have a testimony that God has given me. This is what he has done in my life. And beloved, we shrink back from doing that because there is a Haman out there. But this man declared himself. And the Bible says that Mordecai alone stood in his resistance to Haman. Because you see, Mordecai was at the king's gate in light. And he saw what those who began to move in their own flesh, in an unrighteous anger in their own cause did. And now he began to see a righteous cause coming before his eyes. He could discern. This man knew evil from good. And now this man is at a gate and he sees something in this man, Haman. The incredible thing is that the other king's servants could not see. And Haman utterly wicked and the total enemy is like a picture, a type of Satan in our lives. And these other men are bowing down at the king's gate. And this bowing down means to sink, to cower, to writhe in pain, to afflict, to grieve. They may not like Haman. They may not have agreed with him. But there was something in this man that had that power over man. And they would bow down to it. And they may be in grief doing it. And their soul may have been writhing in pain while they did it, but bow they did. And it's such a picture of a compromised, chosen people. And the scripture also says that they did reverence to Haman. That he craved it. And when you look up that word reverence, it's a showing of submission. It means to wallow and descend. It means an act of respect before a superior being. Especially the worship of deity. And this man Haman and all he represented is craving from those who belong to God. He is craving your worship. And to get it he may come as an angel of light. He may come to intimidate you. Whatever he has to do, there is something that so satisfies him when the children of God bow down before him. When those who are called by his name begin in fear, in rebellion, in their anger, or whatever drives them and they realize at not half the time how low they bow. But the scripture says that this man Mordecai, in the gate, in the light, could see something and he refused to bow. Resisting the spirit of his age, he did not bow. Now Mordecai becomes surrounded by whisperers and jealous people and betrayers. And they told Haman. They told, the scripture tells us, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand. They told him he was a Jew. They told him he was a chosen one. They told all about this man. They wanted to see if what Mordecai stood for, if his matters would stand. They couldn't stand. Would his matters stand? Beloved, many times we don't realize how much we are watched. We have no idea when we have a Holy Ghost compulsion in our heart to stand for Jesus Christ. We are being watched in ways you would never understand some days. And I'll tell you something. Haman is now going to raise his head against Mordecai because he's the only one who defies him. And the scripture tells us in Psalm 11 too, that the wicked secretly shoot at the upright in heart. And all these friends and all these king's ministers that stand shoulder to shoulder with Mordecai saying, I am as you are. I'm just like you. I'm a believer like you. They are shooting secretly and they're going for his heart. Because when you read in Psalm 11, it says the next verse, If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do? It means that the foundation is our heart. And when our heart is fully given to Christ, we're invincible. But when that heart begins to accept lies and doubts and an unrighteous anger and rage can find a place. When sin of any kind, fornication can find a place. Then we will be oppressed in that place. And that foundation, if it falls, what can the righteous do? It's a picture you'll fall before your Haman, just like these other men did. Because he's going for the heart. Because your heart, if you're upright, that means you don't sin, but you have a heart for God. And all that's within you say, God lead on, I want to learn what it is to love you with all my heart. I want to live for you. I want to know what it is to live for your glory. You're being shot at, at the heart, continually and secretly. There are days you don't know why you're having the day you're having. I'll tell you something, it's because some of those days you're being shot at, at the heart, by your enemy. But in verse 5 it says, the Lord tries the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence, his soul hates. The Lord tries the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence. Did these friends not love violence? Did they not love to see a fight that was shaping up? They and their cowardly heart. They that they were never able to say no to, Haman. That man that they bowed to, they may hate it, but they bowed. They want to see, Mordecai, will his matter stand? And the scripture tells us that the Lord tries the righteous. Now I'll tell you something, God tries the righteous for two reasons. He tries them that they may learn to boldly resist the enemy. And that they may be purged from any place that the enemy can oppress them and have ground. Beloved, it's God's delight for when you and I are made free by truth. We're not set free, we're made free. When we believe the truth and we embrace it in our inner parts, we are made free. That's why we don't go back. If you've been made free, you're free. Because you didn't make yourself free, you didn't buy it, you didn't psychoanalyze yourself. You've been made free by the Son. And he who the Son sets free is free indeed. And if we have been made free by the blood of Christ, then we have that covering. We have this safety net. We have the assurance that God sees us as righteous. That God says, I'll never cast you out because I see you as holy because the Holy Christ lives in you. And I will not impute sin to you. So when that enemy comes, it is your privilege to run him through with truth. It is our privilege to withstand him. It is our privilege to declare him a liar. God loves it when the weakest of saints believe the truth and stand up. Not in their own strength. Beloved, I have a picture every time I sit over there before I'm to speak. And it's so clear. And I see an arena. And I see myself in this armor. And I'm covered from head to toe in armor. And I'm small in stature. And I've got this huge spear and I'm dragging it behind me. You know one of those medieval spears and it's a medieval suit. And I have no flexibility. And I'm little. And I come out. Clang. Clang. Into the middle of the arena dragging this huge spear that I can't even lift. And I hear the whole hush of the arena go. Because riding out against me is the biggest, the most powerful, the most incredible warrior with an undefeated reputation or so he thinks. Riding on this massive horse. And he comes galloping up to me and the dirt and the dust is flying everywhere in my face. And I'm so little and small and weak he's contemptuous. And beloved, we meet. But when I raise my head in prayer and I raise that visor, he doesn't look into my eyes. He looks in to an undefeated, risen, unconquered Lord. And he trembles. Do you feel it or not? It's not about how we feel. It's about the truth. It's about what God declares to be true in our lives if we've given our lives to Him. And God loves it when we take down a Haman by the word of our testimony. When we say, God give me the guts to stand up. Not in my strength, but in yours. And open our mouths. It is amazing what God will do. Mordecai bowed not and the full wrath of Haman fell. The Bible says in verse 5 that he was full of wrath in verse 3. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And that word wrath means heat and anger and rage and poison. Probably the poison that was flowing in the other two fallen men. And that poison in verse 6 is so vile, is so venomous, that it tells us now that Mordecai is not just after Mordecai, but he's after all the Mordecai-like people. The Bible says in verse 6, And he thought scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had showed him the people of Mordecai. Wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. Beloved, this Haman is now giving the most vilest of threats because he is opposed. That side of him rises up when he is opposed, that only those that oppose him know about. Others at the gate have fallen because they fought the wrong enemy. Haman goes to the king in verse 8 and he lies, and he says, there's a people and they're different from us. They're lawbreakers and they're not fit to live. And the king says, go ahead Haman. Do what's in your heart. Do what you want to do to these people. And the scripture tells us that when Mordecai defies Haman, when Mordecai says that I will not bow, and there's that kind of threat and that kind of panic in Haman, it leads me to say, what was it about that man Mordecai that he was such a threat? I could see Mordecai in his own flesh, hearing the threats of Naaman. What are you to withstand me? You are only one. To arms, defend yourself, get mad. Organize, strategize, do something. But I'll tell you what Haman's strategy was, to get him to do anything but stay at the gate. What he was trying to do was intimidate Mordecai. And when he couldn't intimidate him, a murderous, vile thought came, and him and everyone like him must go. But the scripture says that Mordecai stayed at the gate. He stayed at the gate. And in verse 15 of chapter 3, it says that the king's command prompted by Haman, that all the Jews were to be massacred, that command was published throughout the whole kingdom. And the Bible says in verse 15, the posts went out being hastened by the king's command, and a decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city Shushan was perplexed. Now we see that all of a sudden, a compromising people, a half-hearted people, are under the same threat as Mordecai. That there's no safety for them either. They thought by their alliance and their compromise that they would be saved. The wrath and the anger, the murderous anger of their enemy. And yet they find out the same decree is made for all. And the Bible tells us that the king and Haman sat down to drink. This is a light thing, their annihilation. But the Bible tells us that the Jews in Shushan were perplexed. Beloved, that word perplexed means entangled. They were entangled. They sat down now and they can't believe what they're hearing. But there's nothing in them to go to the gate. There's nothing in them to be where Mordecai is because they've been entangled. And now when the worst news of their life comes upon them and their families, they're entangled and they sit. But the scripture says that Mordecai knew what to do and he went to the gate. Verse 4, And when Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry. And came even before the king's gate, for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was a great mourning among the Jews, and fasting and weeping and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes. So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved and she sent Raymond to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sackcloth from him. But he received it not. Now beloved, we have seen where Mordecai, the type of a saved man that has given his heart fully to Christ and stands and declares his testimony, has come up against Haman. And by his very presence that he will not bow or he will not run is an incredible threat to him. But now we see something else going on. Because now Mordecai goes where he always was, at the king's gate. And all of a sudden he's a great offense. His presence is a great offense there. And the Scripture tells us that when he cried in verse 2, that word means to shriek from anguish. To shriek from a sense of danger. The bitter cry that went out of him means a fierce, violent, wild cry. Now hear me, beloved. If this man was about venting, he would have done it and gone home. But Mordecai went to the king's gate in sackcloth. And this sackcloth that he put on himself and went to the king's gate, that's an offense to go there. People don't understand why he's got sackcloth at the king's gate. But now this man's life is beginning to show us a dual thing that goes on in the life of the believer. For while it is our privilege to run through the enemy with his own lies and defeat him with truth, at the same time, Jesus Christ is committed to us by His presence of doing something deep and glorious that flesh can't do. To do something in the Spirit where we truly become what He has destined us to be. And we can't do that by our own hand. And it's typified now by the putting on of sackcloth. The sackcloth is a type of humility and repentance and mourning. In verse 4, Esther is grieved and sent clothes to take away his sackcloth. But Mordecai would not. She didn't realize it. But by her not understanding what God now is doing in this man's life, she's sent to turn him from the lessons that he must learn in this incredible time of his life and his nation's life. That lesson of humility and repentance and mourning. This is why this man was such an awesome threat. Beloved, he did not put off what God had put on him. And he turned his heart to what God was showing him. Beloved, I'm sure initially Mordecai went to the gate, no doubt riding high. Believing a life of influence and blessing awaited him. And so it did. He is right. But also on this path, which is the path to influence and blessing and power, we have to walk it God's way. And there is no escaping or learning the path of humility in the life of every true believer. Beloved, God is going to put us in a place where our utter dependence on Him and forsaking a trust in our flesh is the greatest strategy against fear and oppression. When we're to a place where we have to utterly depend on Him and there's no way flesh will get us out of this, that is the greatest strategy against fear and oppression of the enemy. By faith, we can say, God set me aside that you may be great in this situation. Mordecai was urged to cover himself. Cover yourself. Cover this cry, Mordecai. It's an embarrassing cry. It's a shriek. It's a wail. It shows... Mordecai, for heaven's sake, get some dignity about you. You made the queen. You have some influence in this place. You're a man to be respected. You sit at the gate. You've done much good. But cover yourself. Don't go through along this path of humility. You're embarrassing us. And we don't understand it. Cover yourself. That gut cry. I don't like it. It sounds to me like you're not in control, Mordecai. And the queen wants him to cover herself. But beloved, you start to cover what you know and you start to run. And you start to run before your enemies. And beloved, if you're standing at the gate and there's a great desire in you to run because Haman is real in your life and he's made good on the threats. Others that have opposed him, he has crushed. And you're standing there and it's the battle of your life and everything wants you to run from this place. To silence the cry. To cover yourself. But beloved, I want to say to you today, don't run, but remember. Don't run, but remember. Remember we stand by grace and we stand in Christ. The cry needs to be, give me the grace to obey you because where grace flows, humility will rise. Humility is an aptness for grace. Humility is where we can readily receive the grace of Christ. Humility is when we have a distrustful sense of our self-understanding and our self-passions. We're distrustful of that. And humility is a pure receptivity where we have an unassuming readiness to accept the favor of God. Where we say, I can't do this God, I'm undeserving. I can't receive this grace. Where we say, I have an injured pride God, I haven't done that much for you to merit all this that you need to do in my life. Beloved, we need a cry like Mordecai. We need an absolute clear thinking and right picture of who we are. And who we are when Christ found us. But there's a place in God He wants to take us. But I'll tell you it goes right through humility. It needs a clear self-picture. And if we think I've got to do something to earn or merit this incredible deliverance He's going to bring or wants to do in our life, that is pride. We need to be as little children. They just open up their arms and receive. And many times, that's what we need to do is humble ourselves like Mordecai. Let a shriek come out, I will not cover myself even though I have a reputation. Even though by many I'm counted a leader. Even though by many they would say, this is embarrassing. But Mordecai knew the times his eyes he could see. And Haman was real to him. His threat was real to him. And that man was going to be real before God. And so it went through a path of humility. And so will ours. Our humility exposes the enemy. A Christian, a true Christian knows he only possesses in the spirit life what he has received. All that you have and all that I have in terms of goodness, faith, peace, long suffering, any graces of the spirit, an understanding of Christ has been given to us. Our salvation has been given to us. A love has been given to us. Everything we have. We cannot shape a kingdom we can't see. We can't fight a foe that is far superior to us. Anything we have and anything we do has been given us. And when we begin to realize that, that's the basis of true humility. It starts when we seek the glory of God and not our own. Beloved, so many times, like Mordecai, we will ride high to the gate going to do something for God. But we will soon learn there is mixture in that declaration. There is often that motive. And in order for God to get the glory, to break the bondage, to smash the Haman's, hear me, what is of us and what of our idea of ministry and who we are and what we do have to be brought low. Beloved, this age is an age of a want where people want to say, God, teach me to live my life for the glory of God. And mean it? The Scripture tells us in John 7, 18, it says that, He that seeks the glory of Him who sent Him. It was referring to Jesus, but it refers to us today. He that seeks the glory of Him who sent Him. That same is true and no unrighteousness is in Him. There is the power of a life that seeks the glory of God. That there is no unrighteousness found in Him. There is no place where the devil can come and he has a freewheeling way in us. But our motives are constantly being purified because we are learning in humility, God, anything I have You gave and God, what You want to do through my life is all grace. Yet, God, I know that You want to run through Your enemies' haymen that oppress Your people and You have chosen to use people to do it. Beloved, God uses people. But where is He going to get a people that He can use greatly and they don't take the glory? Where is He going to find a people that He can move through a generation like He longs to do and they will never touch the glory? Humility is God 101. We will never be used by God and we will never touch our generation the way that He sees we can be till we go through that path of humility. And Mordecai did. The sackcloth is also a picture of repentance and he would not put it off. And when he began to see that pride was the motive in going to the gate, he was able to get a clear-eyed look at self. He could see that God cannot pour blessing out on proud flesh. Pride recoils at the undone cry of Mordecai. I'll handle it, God. But Mordecai didn't cry that. Mordecai found a cleansing fire in his heart at the gate. Mordecai knew what true repentance was because it brings a true clearing. When you truly repent before God about something, I'll tell you something, it tells us in the Word what zeal, what clearing. It begins to show us the steps, what true repentance brings. Not a worldly sorrow, which means you have to repent and repent and repent again. Why? Because you're not going to the heart of the matter. You're not really dealing with it. You're not getting somewhere in God. There's a truth God needs to speak. There's a work that needs to be done that is left undone with worldly sorrow. But the Bible tells us that a godly sorrow brings a clearing of the matter. That means for a time, He opens our eyes and we see who we are and it's painful. It's like standing in a fire and we'd rather not be there. It makes every second seem an hour. But I'll tell you, by the grace of God, if we'll let Him nail our foot to the floor till He has shown us something, till we can truly see who we are, and then we can repent, God says, enough. I've cleared it. I've forgiven you. I've cleansed you. And I don't even remember it. Beloved, Mordecai knew what it was to have a godly sorrow because there was a done deal. He was done with it. And beloved, we need to know that freedom. We need to let God lead us through into godly sorrow for things He's trying to get our attention about. Otherwise, we'll go round and around and around and around. And we'll end up saying, God, where are you? I want to repent, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. God says, I need your attention. Listen to me. You've known you've gone my way because there's a clearing. You've stood in the fire. You've seen. But you've been cleansed. And that's what Mordecai did. And finally, Mordecai refuses to put off mourning, which is also what sackcloth typifies. And Mordecai was granted to see a real enemy. And he will not be found fighting the wrong enemy. He's not going to get sidetracked. The threat is real. And a cry that cannot be covered, that pride cannot extinguish is coming from the heart of this man who sees. He does not shut up his soul from the destruction and the violence that is coming upon compromising people. He stands alone. They turned against him, but he reviled not. He stands alone. He is misunderstood, but he will not be moved from the gate. And he will not shut his eyes. He's not driven away there by his enemy. He's not driven away there because of his failings. He's not driven away because in him is the power of God and God is keeping him there. God has a work for him to do. He has bent his knee to the will of God in his life and God is keeping him there at the gate. And there's a power coming into this man. And because he stays, he sees. And beloved, because he stays and because he sees, he receives a revelation. He tells Esther, go speak to the king. And she replies, she cannot. But Mordecai's hope does not rest in Esther. And in his sackcloth, Mordecai speaks prophetically to her. Esther 4. Esther chapter 4, starting at verse 13. This man that can't be driven away from the gate. This man that stayed long enough to let God do his work in him. And then God gave him an incredible revelation. And then God began to bless him and pour a glory into him that no one in his generation has matched. Then Mordecai, verse 13, commanded to answer Esther, think not with thyself that thou shall escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. Beloved, who told him that not only would there be no destruction, not only would there be a stoppage of Haman, but the whole thing was going to be reversed, and that enlargement would come to them. Not just deliverance, enlargement. Who told Mordecai that? Where was that revealed to him? At the gate. Where a man would not be driven in his God ordained place to be. Beloved, some of us are called to be at the gate in our marriages. Not to emotionally withdraw. Some of us are called to be at the gate in our families. And that we are to stand there and to be who we're supposed to be for our children. Some of you are called to be at the gate at work. That you're called to have integrity. To have that testimony. It is not an easy thing we speak about here. But I'll tell you something. If you will not be driven from your place, you will be given a revelation and you will see a total rout of the enemy. That enemy that says, you are mine, you will bow to me, and if you won't, I'll destroy not you, but everybody you love in your generation. That man stayed at the gate and that man let God do what he wanted to do in his heart so finally he could turn around and he could say to Esther with full spiritual authority, I was not driven away, don't you be driven away. I stand here with spiritual authority because God gave me the grace to stay. You stay. God will give you the grace in your place at your gate, Esther. And beloved, he wasn't just a spiritual authority figure in her life, but he was also her kin and her flesh and blood. And he became a shining example to her that I've stayed in my place by the grace of God. That doesn't mean you never fail, that means you stay. And I've stayed in my place and God has given me a shining word and through me I tell you, not destruction but enlargement. Hallelujah. Beloved, you're called to be in your family and I tell you the word God has given you, household salvation. Household salvation. If you will stay in your place, not destruction, but a rout of the enemy and everything he longed to do in the lives of the compromising people and the steadfast people he was not allowed to do because there was a Mordecai in that generation. The end of the story is the gallows that were built for Mordecai by Haman, Haman hung on them. The end of the story was the law that was decreed for the Jews, destruction was changed. A despised people, a rejected people became a feared people and a joyous people and the scripture says many converted to Judaism because of the light and favor among them. And Mordecai attained to the highest rank in the land. Beloved, I want to close with this thought. Pride and faith cannot coexist. They repel each other. They are true enemies of each other surely as Mordecai and Haman were. And humility and trust form an inseparable bond, a strong draw. They are magnetized together. For a Christian, life is not unfair. Life is not unfair. When we have Christ, grace abounds in our situation. Beloved, there is a cry from the heart of God. There are Mordecais in this place. There are potential Mordecais in this place. There are compromisers that God is calling to be Mordecais. Would you stand with me? For the first time since I prepared a message, God gave me a word for those who come to the altar. That's not a bait. It's just the truth. My altar call is some of you need to go to the gate. You need to stand up. You need to declare yourself. And all that it means if Christ is saved. For some of you, you don't know Jesus as your Savior. And He wants to bring you into the light. He wants to forgive your sin. If that's you today, you can come down to the front as the musicians come and receive Christ. But for some of you, you've received Christ and you've never declared yourself. You have been cowering before a Haman. And you've been compromised and you've been justified. You have your reasons. Nobody knows your boss or your workplace like you do. Except the Holy Ghost. And God is calling for some of you to go to the gate. That you will not be ashamed. That your public testimony, you will make it. And that way you put yourself out on a limb and God will have to change you and be strong for you. And that's exactly what He wants to do. And for some of you, you want to go from the gate. You want to run. You're in a place where flesh has to die in order for you to stay. For those that the Holy Spirit is speaking to, He's going to be faithful. You know, you can come as I'm speaking. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 3, 5 and 6, that's the verse that He gave to those that are coming to the altar. And 2 Corinthians 3, 5 and 6 is going to be our verse. Alas, timid Mordecais. It says, Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves. But our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant. You know, that means that we don't for one minute think because we've been God taught that we are sufficient of ourselves. That means there's a work of humility begun in you. We don't think there's anything sufficient in ourselves. We don't even think that there could be anything from ourselves to do what we're being asked to do in this Mordecai walk. Haman will see to that. But beloved, He tells us our sufficiency is of God. And if you trust that, if you believe that by faith, He says He's already made us sufficient. He's already made us sufficient. If you come today in humility with a cry in your heart like Mordecai has, God is telling you, I've made you already sufficient for what I'm calling you to do. You access it by faith. You need wisdom? You've got it. You access it by faith. You need strength? You've got it. You want to come against the shame in your life and being ashamed of Him? You've got it. You access it by faith. He says, I have made you. I have made you ministers of the new covenant. I have made you because my blood is upon you. And on one hand, you're being counted righteous that the enemy cannot condemn you. That when you stand out into the arena, beloved, and you feel like you're standing all alone, you're not alone. Because God says, I've cleansed you. I don't see that sin. Go on. Go on. I've cleansed you. I see no sin. Go on. Go on. It is your privilege in His strength to pick up the spear you can't pick up and run Him through it in Jesus' name. Oh, what a delight to the heart of God that finally some Haman's are getting His own. Beloved, if you've come down here with a heart for Mordecai, you're going to be a Haman killer in Christ. He has made us. We've already been made ministers of the new covenant. That means you're going to have such a revelation of what the blood of Christ is in your life. You're going to be able to speak it simply. You're going to be able to speak it clearly because you've applied it. It's happened to you. We're just going to have a word of prayer. Those that want that Mordecai walk, would you just lift your hands. Father, you see, and I thank you Lord, that you are here. Lord, you make your ministers a flame of fire. Lord, you made us sufficient because Jesus came. Because Jesus, the sinless one, died. That was your will that He be died, that He died, that He be bruised, He be crushed for us. That God died for us. And Lord, today we raise our hands in gratitude. Saying Lord, we thank you from the depths of our being. We thank you there is a God that has saved us and cleansed us. And now Lord, we hear what you're asking us to do. And Lord, we confess to you today that it is not in our strength. But Lord, we ask you now to make these words so real that they find a lodging place in the depths of us. That Lord, when we're oppressed, when we try to move out in the flesh, when we are doing something, Lord, that will bring us to defeat, remind us, O God, of the walk of Mordecai. Strengthen us. Give us courage. Put in our heart, O God, the heart of the Lion of Judah. And then Lord, deal with us as you want to because we know that you are a safety net. Your love is a safety net. Do what you want to do, O God. Speak, lead where you have to. But Lord, we will come out triumphant in Christ. Lord, we believe it. And Lord, the word of our testimony says we believe you, we trust you, we obey you. And Lord, we'll give you all the praise and all the glory for this work that you're doing in our midst, this work you're doing in our home, this work you're doing in our generation. And Lord, you're going to teach us to give you all the glory because all the glory belongs to you alone. Amen and amen. This is the conclusion.