(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, we are here in Esther chapter 3. We're continuing our series on the alphabet of characteristics, and you know, of course as you know, we're looking at different characteristics from A to Z in the Bible, and looking at specific characters where that characteristic is very manifest. So we're looking at 26 different characteristics and 26 different characters. And you know, the first sermon was on anger in this series. I think all of us can benefit from a sermon like that. Then we talked about bitterness. All of us can benefit. Today we're going to be talking about childishness, you know, being a childish person. And I also believe all of us can benefit from that because you looked at the characters we looked at. Samson acts like a little kid at times, and so does Ahithophel, right? And I think if we're honest with ourselves, all of us as grown adults, sometimes we act like little kids, okay? And so being childish is certainly not a compliment. We expect kids to be childish because they're children. So when you're an adult and somebody calls you childish, it's not a compliment. Now being childish means basically silly and immature, acting like a little kid. And when I think of Bible characters that fit that, the first name that came to my mind was Haman. Haman acts like a little kid throughout the book of Esther, and he's a powerful man. He's famous. He's rich. But it does not change the fact that he has the maturity of a little kid. And we're going to see four points here today. Now a famous verse that we think of is where the Bible says, when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. You expect children to speak as a child, to understand as a child, to think as a child, but you expect those children to grow up and start acting like a man or a woman, act like an adult. And unfortunately in today's world, this is being very delayed, wherein in centuries past, when people are teens, they're already acting like mature adults because they have responsibility. Yet in today's world, you see people that are like Haman that act like a five-year-old. So point number one, when it comes to Haman and it comes to acting like a child, we see he is a very envious person. He is envious in Esther chapter 3. Notice what it says in verse 1. So Haman is the second most powerful man 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. So everywhere Haman is going, people are just bowing down and just reverencing this man Haman. Then it says this, Now look, if you walk into a room and 99 people just bow down before you and one person doesn't, if you're a mature person, you know what you're going to do? Nothing. It's not going to bother you. It's not a big deal. I mean, 99 people are bowing down and this one person doesn't and he's so mad, he's envious that Mordecai refuses to bow down to him and only wants to worship and bow down to God. It says in verse 3, I mean, if you're not going to obey the king, we don't want to either, right, is what they're basically upset about. Verse 4, Mordecai bowed not nor did in reverence. Then was Haman full of wrath. He's really angry because one person is not bowing down before him. He's envious that Mordecai refuses to bow down to him. Now look, this is the way kids act. Kids are very envious at a young age. You say, what are you talking about, Brother Stuckey? I'm saying you give toys to kids and one kid gets a blue toy and one kid gets a green toy. I didn't want the green toy. I wanted the blue toy. Or they get the blue toy. I didn't want the blue toy. I wanted the green toy. Their piece of candy was bigger than mine, right? It's like that's the way the kids act. Kids act very envious. If somebody gets something they don't, they're upset about it. It's like, well, I didn't get a gift. It's not your birthday. It's their birthday. But they're upset because somebody else gets something that they want. They don't get the credit. They don't get the reward. And it makes them so mad they're so upset. It's like, well, you fed them first instead of me. And it's like, that really bothers you? Now look, when we see kids doing this, we expect it. This is the way kids are. They don't get the toy they wanted. They're upset. But when you see grown adults act like this, you're like, what's wrong with you? You're acting childish. You're acting like a little kid. The implication is we expect kids to struggle with envy. We expect kids to struggle with these things. But as a grown adult, does it really make a difference to you? Turn in your Bible to Genesis 21. Genesis 21. Or some of the examples you see as a parent or you see with young kids, which are really funny, is if two kids get the same toy. I wanted that one instead of this one. It's the same toy. What are you talking about? Or let's say, for example, going to the example, they get the blue toy instead of the green. I wanted the green one. And so then you switch. Well, I don't want it now. It's like, what? I mean, acting like a little kid. And this is the way that Haman is. When you see Haman in the Bible, it's like when you stop and think about it, it's like he's acting like my little kid did. This is how my kid acted at the age of two. That's Haman. Right? I'm sure if Haman's parents were here, they're still probably spoon feeding him and giving him the bottle. Here you go, little Haman. As a grown adult, he's acting like a little kid. Another example is in Genesis 21, verse 8. And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which he had borne on to Abraham, mocking. Ishmael mocks Isaac. Why? Because I didn't get a feast when I was weaned. I didn't get a feast from my dad. Now here's the thing. With Ishmael, it's kind of understandable because, yeah, it's a little bit of a rough childhood he had. And number two, because he's not a full grown adult. He's a teenager at this time. He is not fully mature at this point. But it's the same sort of thing where you got a feast and I didn't. It's not fair. It's not right. Let me help you out with something to those that are young. Life is not fair. It's not. You're not going to be born in the same situation as everybody else. Yeah, some people get a better life than you. Some people are raised into a good situation. And some people aren't. It is what it is. Life is not fair. It never will be fair. That's just the way it is. You're never going to be able to equalize it out so it's fair and equal to everyone. It's just not the way it works. You accept the situation you have in life and you go with it. But Haman is very envious. Why? Because Mordecai won't bow down before me. Everybody else is bowing down. He's so filled of wrath because of this one little thing. Turn your Bible to Esther chapter 3. Esther 3. Now I think we would agree this is how kids act, right? They get upset because they didn't get the candy, they didn't get the toy, these small little things. Well, they got water before me. I asked for water first and yet they got the water first. Things that are not that big of a deal. That's the way kids act. But you see, grown adults also act like this. And when they're acting like this, they're not acting like adults. They're acting like little kids. Let me just give you some examples. And this is not just something for unbelievers. Safe people can struggle with this stuff. There are pastors that they preach sermons, they have ministries, but they're not as popular as other pastors and it fills them full of envy. They're upset. They're upset. Why are they listening to that pastor instead of me? It's like you're a grown person with five kids, you're 40 years old, and yet it bothers you so much, filled full of envy. And it's a fact. You see this all the time, especially in a social media generation. And they wouldn't say they're envious, but it's obvious they are. Why? Because they're not getting the popularity that somebody else is. It's like didn't your parents teach you at a young age not to be envious? I mean, get over it. It's not that big of a deal. This is the way that kids would be. Let's say they go to class and all the kids say, man, you're the smartest kid in our class. And then one kid says, well, I think that I'm smarter than you. Then they go home. Mommy, he said that he thinks he's smarter than me. That's the way the kids act. But when grown adults act that way, it's like what is wrong with you? You're acting like a little kid. Who cares what people think about you? Who cares? Look, I don't really care what people think about me in this room. I'm sure there's some people that have a problem with me in various different ways. It is what it is. I'm not living my life to try to please everybody. Some people are going to like you. Some are going to dislike you. People are going to get mad at you. It just is what it is. Deal with it. But Haman can't deal with it. He gets so upset that Mordecai will not bow down and reverence and worship him. He gets so filled full of rage. It's like, look, you're the second most powerful man in the world. It's like, I want everybody to worship me. It's like, what is wrong with you? And when you stop and think about this story, is this not somebody who's a grown adult acting like a little kid? It's like, get over it, Haman. Go back to Esther 3. Number one, we see that Haman is filled full of envy. Number two, we see that Haman, he acts like a child because he's egotistic. He's self-centered. He thinks the world revolves around him. That's what egotism is, where you think everything is about you. It's me, me, me, I, I, I. Esther 3, verse 6, and he thought, Scorn delay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had showed him the people of Mordecai. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. I mean, look at what Haman wants to do. One person is not bowing down before him. I just want to kill a multitude of people because they're not bowing down and worshiping me. Because one man isn't worshiping him, and he wants to kill all this group of people because of one man. It's like, does the world revolve around you, Haman? Is it all about you? Only what you do matters in life? I mean, it's ridiculous. I mean, he's willing to murder just a multitude of people. Why? Because one person isn't bowing down and reverencing him. Verse number seven, in the first month that is in the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur. That is the lot before Haman from day to day, and from month to month to the twelfth month that is the month Adar. And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, there's a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people and all the provinces of thy kingdom. Now let me say this about Haman, because I don't have a whole lot nice to say about Haman. He's a reprobate. He's a wicked person. He acts like a little kid. I'll give him one compliment. He's a smart person. He's smart. When you read Esther chapter three, you can tell he's an intelligent person, and all that proves is smart people can act like little kids. Because notice what he says in Esther chapter three. He is very deceptive with what he tells Ahasuerus. He says, and their laws are diverse from all people. Is this a true statement? Yes. The laws of the Jews who had the Old Testament law, it was different than other people. Did you know the laws for us are different than the unsaved world? You say, why? Because we have the Bible. We have the Word of God. You say, Brother Sukkie, what determines what you do? This. This is my law book. Look, the Philippine Constitution, it's not my law book. Here's the thing. Inside of this book, it tells me to obey the laws of the land, unless they're asking me to sin. And as a result of obeying this book, I'm going to obey the laws of the land as well, to the best of my ability. But realistically speaking, what's your law book, Brother Sukkie? Right here. The King James Bible. And so it's not that Haman is lying, but he's being deceptive. Because what he wants Ahasuerus to think is, well, since they have a different law that they follow, they're very distant to you. But that would not have been true. They would have actually been very obedient to Ahasuerus because they believe in this book. Isn't it true that Bible believing Christians are less likely to drive drunk and murder and steal, you know, rob a liquor store or whatever? We are less likely to break the laws of the land, but the Philippine Constitution is not our law book. Our law book is this book right here. Then he says, Neither keep they the king's laws. And that's not really technically lying because they don't keep the king's laws, they keep God's laws. But once again, within God's laws, keep the law of the land. Right? So the thing is, it's a true statement, but he's trying to get Ahasuerus to think this, so he's being misleading. Then he says, Therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. Basically what he's saying is, it doesn't benefit the king to allow them to keep this law. That's what he's literally saying. What is he trying to get Ahasuerus to think? It does not benefit the king to allow them to live. That is what he wants Ahasuerus to think. When in reality what he's directly saying is, it doesn't benefit the king that they obey this law. Then it says this in verse 9, If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed. Now, what Haman literally says is, hey, if it's your wish, king, you can have them killed. That's what he's literally saying. And he's led Ahasuerus into thinking that they should get killed. But here's the thing, Haman could easily say, I didn't tell the king to destroy these people. I said, it's up to you, king, what you want to do with them. He's a smart guy. When you read what he's saying, he is very deceptive. He's a very smart guy. I've done a little bit of light study on statement analysis. It can be a helpful thing where basically you take someone's direct words and you find out what they're actually meaning. They use it in criminology for cases, to solve murder cases and things like that. A famous example of the US is this woman that killed her baby. She said she had no evidence. She didn't know where the baby was. They brought her in for questioning because there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that made them question her. She made the statement, she's like, well, I don't know where he is, but I'm sure the truth is floating around there somewhere. And then as a result of that, they said, check the water. Because when she said floating around, what she realized is people's words don't really lie. Because the truth's in there and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And sure enough, the baby was in the lake right nearby. They found the body. Haman, when you pay attention to what he's saying, he's trying to get Ahazuwers to think this. But in reality, he's like, well, I said this. I didn't tell him to kill them. I just said it's up to you, king, if it pleased the king. He's a smart guy. And I will pay 10,000 talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business to bring into the king's treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand and gave it unto Haman the son of Hamadath of the Agagite, the Jew's enemy. And the king said unto Haman, the silver is given to thee, the people also to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. And of course, Haman has them planned to put to death. When in reality, he could say, well, wait a minute. I said it's up to the king. Do what you seem is best. What pleases you? Go to Esther 5. Esther 5. Now what Haman is saying Ahazuwers is, it doesn't benefit you. But what's the reality? It doesn't benefit Haman. Haman is egotistical. He thinks the world revolves around you. Imagine you have an enemy at work, someone you don't like. And let's say they're from a foreign country. Let's say they're from, you know, I don't know. Let's say they're from China. And you say, well, you know what, this person, I don't like them, so I want every Chinese person killed. It's like, what's wrong with you? Isn't that ridiculous? That's what Haman is doing. And if that's what you thought, you know what that shows? You think the world revolves around you. Because one person doesn't like you, you're going to have everybody killed? Get over it. But Haman thinks the world revolves around him. It's what I want. And isn't this the way that kids act sometimes? I mean, for kids, a mom and dad can be having an important conversation about something, and they have a very small need that is not important. But to them, it's the most important thing in the world. They expect mom and dad to drop everything. And I'm not folding kids. This is, kids are childish, because they're children. But when adults act like that, it's like, what's wrong with you? You're acting like a little kid, Esther 5, verse 11. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. So Haman goes home, and what does he tell his wife and his friends? I am above everybody else. What's he doing? He's bragging, right? Isn't that what kids do? He thinks the world revolves around him. He goes home, all these people, he doesn't care. It wasn't like, honey, how was your day? Hey, how was your day? He just goes home. Hey, just listen to me, because it's all about me. I am better than everybody, but one person won't worship me. That's what Haman's doing. He's acting like a kid. Verse 12, Haman said, Moreover, yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king, on to the banquet that she had prepared but myself, and tomorrow am I invited on to her also with the king. It's like, hey, that's great Haman. I don't care. But he's just bragging about himself, because he thinks the world revolves around him. And make no mistake about it, if all you ever do is talk about yourself, you're Mayavim, and you're acting like a little kid. It's like, you know what, there's other people in this world, the world doesn't revolve around you. It's not about you having the happiest life. That's what the whole world is about, to benefit you. No, actually, it's the opposite. Your life is about benefiting other people rather than yourself. But Haman thinks the world revolves around him. It's just me, me, me, I, I, I, what I want. Go to Proverbs 22. God set up this system, and as parents, it's good for us, because honestly, it teaches you patience as you deal with your kids, and you help them mature. And we need to as parents. You don't want your child to grow up at the age of 20 years old, and they act like Haman. That's not a good thing. You want them to grow up and not be childish anymore. You expect it when they're young. Just basic things. You fix dinner, the food's at the table, say, I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry. Then they don't want to eat. And then you go to bed at night, you turn the lights out, your head hits the pillow, I'm hungry. And you're like, and look, every parent can relate to what I'm saying, because everybody deals with it. It's just like we're already in bed now. It's like you could have eaten hours ago. This is the way kids act. But you don't expect grown adults to act like this, but this is how Haman acts. What's really the problem with Haman? The problem is Proverbs 22 verse 15. This is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Look, Haman grew up foolish and acted like a child when he was young. You know what the problem is? His parents never spanked him. Say, wow, that's your opinion. Look at the evidence. It's obvious, because he's still acting foolish. The rod drives away the foolishness. He's still acting like a little kid, meaning he didn't get spankings when he was young. He didn't get disciplined when he was young. He always acted like a little child. And the Bible's saying you expect that from kids. Kids are foolish. Kids are makulit. Kids are childish. But there is an answer. The rod of correction shall drive it far from him. It doesn't say in Proverbs 22 verse 15, foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but automatically that goes away as they get older. Is that what your Bible says? That's not what my Bible says. Why would you think that it's automatically going to go away as they get older? Let me give you an example. And turn to Titus chapter 2, Titus 2. Every single parent, when they teach their kids for the first time, hey, you need to clean this. Right? You made a mess. You need to clean it up. Clean up your room. Right? Every single parent deals with this. The first time your kids are told to clean the room, what do they do? They clean up a few things from the room, and it's still extremely marumi. Is that not true? They do a very half-hearted effort cleaning the room. I did clean the room, Mom. I mean, what about all this mess that's on the floor? They do a very half-hearted job. And here's the thing. If you say, good job, you cleaned it up, guess what they're going to do the next time? The same thing. Right? Because you're reinforcing the behavior. And they keep doing a bad job. They're going to keep doing it over and over again because you keep saying it's okay. But if you tell your parents, or if you tell your kids, no, no, no. When I said clean the room, I meant clean up every single, because you've got to be very specific with kids. I meant clean up every single piece of Play-Doh, okay? Every piece of Play-Doh you throw in the trash. You have to be very specific. And kids learn because their parents are teaching them. But here's the thing. If you never correct your kids, why would it change? It doesn't. And here's the thing. I believe kids growing up 100 years ago, when they did wrong, their parents corrected them. It's like, no, no, no. When somebody gives you something, you say, thank you, Paul. Now kids don't say thank you at all. You don't say anything about it. And they're never going to learn to say that. You accidentally hurt someone, well, it was an accident. But you still say, sorry, Paul, right? But if you don't tell your kids that, why would you expect that they're going to change? They're not. It's just common sense, right? They need to learn how to say please. And look, all kids struggle with this. And you know, sometimes my kids, they do a good job. Sometimes they do a bad job. Sometimes my kids ask for something, and I just stare at them. And they're wondering, please, all right, I'll get it for you. You have to say the word please. You say, brother, sucky, that's very old fashioned. Okay, well, raise your kids however you want. If you want your kids to grow up and be like Haman, go for it. That's not what I want for my kids. I'm sorry, but basic words like thank you, sorry, please, I mean, those are basic things that will help save people's lives from destroying it, just basic things. It's just a nice, common, courtesy thing to do, right? But that's not really the way people are being raised in 2023, and it's never going to go away unless you instruct your kids. You have to teach your kids. Your kids were given a mom and a dad to teach you these things. And if you don't teach your kids, who's going to teach them? You say, well, it's automatically going to go away when they get older. Really? Haman's the proof. That's not necessarily the case. Titus 2, verse 6, Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded, in all things showing thyself a pattern of good works, in doctrines showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. The Bible says when you're a young man, you need to learn to have sound speech that can't be condemned. You say, why? If you're a Bible-believing Christian, people are going to already dislike you oftentimes. You need to learn to live your life in a way that you are blameless. Turn your Bible to 1 Timothy 4, 1 Timothy chapter 4, 1 Timothy chapter 4. And look, it's really not the fault of the kids. It's the fault of mom and dad why kids act like this. I mean, I'll be honest with you. If I disrespected my parents in public when I was a kid, I would have been afraid what would take place to me. I know that I would have gotten the worst spanking ever when I got home. You say, Brother Stuckey, I mean, your parents taught you to obey out of fear. Yes! Fear God and keep his commandments. Fear is a good motivator. Yeah, you know, there's fear because if I disobey mom and dad, I'm going to get punished. And then as they mature, you know what, they learn to obey out of love and out of respect for mom and dad. But yeah, it starts with I'm afraid to get a spanking. And yeah, you know, my kids, they do wrong, then yeah, they're going to be afraid. Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 4, and look, like always, take the advice of the world if you want. I mean, right now, Brother Stuckey, you're preaching child abuse. Okay, do what the world is doing. Go for it. And your kids are going to be childish when they're grown adults. First Timothy chapter 4 verse 11, these things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example to believers in word and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and purity, till they come give attendance to reading to exhortation and doctrine. Now verse 12 is a very common verse. It's often quoted, the phrase, let no man despise thy youth. But to be completely honest, it's usually quoted out of context. Because the context is not really, well, if you're a young person, don't let anybody look down on you for being young. It's not really what the Bible's saying in 1 Timothy chapter 4. And yeah, you know what, that's true that characters like David or Job's friends said, hey, people that are older than you are on our side. It's like, well, what's your point? What difference does it make? But what's really the context of 1 Timothy chapter 4? When it says, let no man despise thy youth, it then says, but be thou an example. What it's saying is, live your life in a way that's blameless so people cannot look down on you for being young. It's not saying a carte de blanche, well, you know what, let no man despise thy youth. No, it's saying live your life in a way, Timothy, where they cannot look down on you. They cannot criticize you. They don't have anything to attack you for. Live your life like Daniel where there's nothing except the law of his God that we can criticize. So what the Bible's saying is, if you are a young person, take life seriously so people can't look down on you. They can't criticize you. They have nothing to say. I mean, if your co-workers say, well, you know, so-and-so from that Verity Baptist Church, he's always late to work. He's always taking long smoke breaks. He's clocking out early. He's always gossiping about the boss. He tells us how much he hates him. He's always lazy at work. And then you say, well, you know what, let no man despise thy youth just because I'm young. No, actually, you're allowing people to despise thy youth by the way you're living your life. Do you understand the context of this verse? It's saying live your life in a way with maturity. Don't act like a little kid. Don't act like a child. Now, of course, children act like children. They think as a child. They understand as a child. They speak as a child. But don't act like a child forever. You want to grow up and act mature. And honestly, the earlier the better. Now, look, don't misunderstand me. I believe kids ought to have the opportunity to be kids and run around and play and have fun, absolutely. But this is the way the world reacts to this. They say, well, you know what, we're going to let kids be kids. And then when they reach the magic age of 18, all of a sudden, they're a grown adult fully functioning on their own. Does that make any logical sense to you? Why would you think that if you treat somebody like a little kid until they're 18 and just turn them loose that they're immediately going to be an adult? Maybe as a parent, you ought to prepare them for that time when they are an adult. Turn your Bible to Esther 5, Esther 5. This is probably as much of a sermon for the parents as it is for the kids, right? This is an early Father's Day or Mother's Day sermon, okay? But you need to realize maturity is not automatic just because someone gets older. That's what people think. It's not automatic. It doesn't make any logical sense. There's an article I'm going to read to you from a guy by the name of Cain Ramsey. And he wrote a famous book that was an Amazon bestseller, Responsibility Rebellion, an unconventional approach to personal empowerment. And I have not read the book. I'm not saying I would agree with all of it 100%. Maybe you know more about the book than me. But I'm going to just quote you from his website, okay? And here's what he says. Your maturity isn't decided by your age. It's determined by how responsible you are for your attitude, actions, and outcomes as a result of your decision making. In the same way, wisdom is not a product of age but of effort, mistakes, and life experience. Maturity is a level of mental development that impacts all areas of a person's life, from their general conduct to how they interact with others. While older people might be perceived as having greater maturity, psychological maturity isn't determined by age. Now look, I do believe, and we're going to see this later on from another article, that as a person gets older, they develop the capacity to be more mature. The Bible says when you're a child, you speak and understand and think as a child. Because children, their cognitive developing is not fully developed. And as you get older, you have the capacity to be more mature. But it's not automatic, though. It doesn't just automatically happen because, well, they're getting older. And as parents, you can make this mistake of making excuses, well, I mean, yeah, they're just little kids. It's just the way kids are. Well, I mean, you can do that if you want, but your kids are never going to develop that maturity if you don't actually teach that to your kids. Point number one, we see that Haman is envious. Point two, we see that he's egotistic. He thinks the world revolves around him. Point number three, he has an erratic temperament, meaning he's very moody. Well, basically, he's in a good mood, he's in a bad mood. Good mood and a bad mood. And this is a common thing that you see with children. They're in a very good mood, something small happens, they're in a bad mood. Esther 5, verse 9, then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart. So Haman's in a good mood. The day's going well. I mean, he's very happy, it's a great day, I mean, the sun is shining, everything's nice in life. He doesn't even make it through the end of the verse. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate that he stood not up nor move for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. I mean, he's in a great mood, everybody's bowing down, Mordecai didn't bow down. And he's mad. He's really angry, he has an erratic temperament, right? Isn't this often what you see with kids? They're in a good mood, something small happens, then they're in a really bad mood. This is the way it is when you have multiple kids that are growing up. It's like they're best friends, five minutes later they're enemies, five minutes later they're best friends, five minutes later they're enemies, then they're best friends. I mean, this is the way the kids are, and it's fine, this is the way the kids are. But you're a grown adult, Haman, and you're really upset because one person didn't bow down. I mean, joyful with a glad heart, he didn't worship me. And then he's really angry, it's like, get over it. And then right after that's when he's complaining to his wife, like, honey, this guy didn't worship me. Right? Why did she marry him? Well, obviously because he had money. That's obviously the only reason why she married him, right? Verse 10, nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and when he came home he sinned and called for his friends and Zaresh his wife. Go to Proverbs 16, Proverbs 16, Proverbs 16. Look, this is the way you expect your kids to be. Kids act childish, and they've got to learn. You've got to teach them as parents. But let me say this. If you're at McDonald's and you're in a great mood, you just got a promotion, everything is great in life, and you're so happy you order your Happy Meal, right? You order your Happy Meal because you're still the adult that wants the little toy inside. Everything's going great. You're in a great mood. And then all of a sudden you get your food, the fries aren't warm. And then you're in a bad mood. There's something wrong with you. That's the way that kids act. It's like, oh, the fries, you know, they're not warm. It's like, but as an adult, it's like, get over it. That's something very minor. It's good. It will give you better health not eating those fries anyway, okay? Something small makes you in a bad mood. I wanted Coke. They gave me Pepsi. It's like, who cares? They're both forms of poison, just drink it, right? It's not that big of a deal. But this is the way Haman is. He's in a great mood. And then all of a sudden he's in a bad mood because of something very minor. Look, I understand major things happen. If you're in a great mood and you get fired from your job, of course you're not going to be in a good mood. If you're in a great mood and something major happens, of course you're going to be in a bad mood. We get that. If one person doesn't worship you, it's like, get over it. Why are you acting like a little kid, Haman? Proverbs 16 verse 31. The hoary head is a crown of glory, which means the gray or whitish hair. If it be found in the way of righteousness, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that rules his spirit than he that taketh the city. The Bible's saying the person that gets older that is elderly, if they love God, then you know what? It's a glory. It's something to be respected and honored. Look, if there's people that love God that are at our church, we ought to have the proper respect for them. We ought to look at them and look at them as an example and respect them. And part of it's just because, hey, they've been serving God for a long time. There's someone that loves God. But here's the thing. If Joe Biden showed up here today, I'm not shaking his hand. He's a devil. Well, but he's an elder. He's a wicked human being. There's nothing, well, but he's older. No, I'm not going to automatically respect him when he hates God. Now, look, you ought to respect your boss and respect people that are elders in general. But if there's like a wicked person, why would you respect that? The Bible's saying you deserve respect and honor if you're a godly person. But if someone's a wicked person, I mean, I'm not shaking Bill Clinton's hand or Hillary Clinton or whatever the famous politicians are here that are wicked. I'm not going to shake their hand. I'm not going to respect them just because they're older if they hate God. Why would I? But here's the thing. The idea is this, that you know what? As someone gets older, you expect them to be mature. You expect them to be an example. But that's not an automatic thing. It doesn't always happen. It should happen. You ought to grow up and be mature. I mean, I like to think I'm a lot more mature than when I was a little kid. You know, when I was a little kid, you get in fights in the playground over something small. But it's like when you get older, it's like, come on and grow up. Turn to Colossians 3. And look, let's just be honest. If this offends you because it hits close to home, then quit acting like a little kid. It's like, wow, you know, I'm in a bad mood. I'm justified. Yeah, you're acting like a little kid, right? It's childish. You expect children to have envy. That's normal for kids. As a grown adult, quit being envious. And I'm giving examples that should be foolish, but these are the sorts of examples that happen at churches. You know, when I'm gone, a lot of people are going to preach. And then I'm sure others are going to come to you and say, hey, great sermon. I was edified. Well, he told him that was a great sermon. He didn't say that to me. I mean, if that's your reaction, just let me know now. I'll just take you off the list of preaching. Because, you know what, we don't allow three-year-olds to preach behind the pulpit. It's like, quit acting like a little kid. It is what it is, right? You're not always going to get your way in life. Not everything is going to go your way, right? Kids are filled full of envy. As grown adults, we have to get over it, right? Egotism. I mean, thinking the world revolves around you. This is the way that kids act. This is the way that Haman acts. Look, it's not what you want is not always the most important thing in the world. In erratic temperament, being very moody, this is what you see. This is what you see with kids. It's what you see with Haman. Look, if you're the sort of person where one week you're at church with a big smile on your face, and then at the end of the church service, you're in a really bad mood, and then you're in a good mood, and then bad mood, it's like, what's wrong with you, right? You're acting like a little kid. In erratic temperament, going back and forth, like those charts on medical things or whatever goes up and down, up and down, whatever that's called, right? And it's just like, that shouldn't be your emotions. It's like, you're up, you're down, you're up, you're down, you're up, you're down. That's not the way that you should be. You should have control over your emotions. The Bible says in Colossians 3, verse 1, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Get your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. See, here's what we need to understand. If we're saved, nothing about heaven is going to change. Do you understand this? If you're saved, no matter what happens, you're still going to heaven. No matter what happens, those in heaven are still in heaven. No matter what happens, the Bible says, I am the Lord, I change not. God doesn't change. And if you're setting your affection on things above, you're not going to be bothered with small things down here that don't matter much, that don't matter much. But this is the sorts of things that people are bothered by, and they let it consume their life and it destroys their life. As a Bible-believing Christian, your heart shouldn't be on the things on this earth. It ought to be on the things that are above, the heavenly things. Turn in your Bible to Esther 5, Esther 5, Esther chapter 5. Let me read you an article on children's immaturity from this website. And look, I understand when I read articles like this, this is secular wisdom, and you have to look at it through the lens of the Bible to make sure that it matches. I do believe it does match, though, because the Bible speaks about a child thinks as a child. They understand as a child. They speak as a child. You wouldn't expect a five-year-old to be studying calculus or to speak in an extremely in-depth and articulate way. They're a child, right? You expect them to act like a child. Bible says, a second factor that complicates adolescent moodiness is that their brains are still physically maturing. Children's brains are not fully developed until they are in their early 20s. This incomplete brain development is responsible for much of the cognitive and emotional immaturity that can so easily frustrate parents. So what it's saying from this article is kids are naturally childish, foolish, immature. They haven't fully developed their brains as a young child, and oftentimes it can make the parents mad. I can say as a father of three that, yes, that is true. Sometimes you get frustrated with your kids, and really we should be the ones learning patience as we raise our kids. It says, cognitive immaturity refers to youth still developing thinking skills, which are not yet as sophisticated and reliable as those characteristics of adults. Cognitively, immature people lack good judgment. Immature thinking results in a youth having difficulty thinking things through so as to anticipate the consequences of their actions and make informed decisions or choices based upon those anticipated consequences. As a result, youth easily appear and can indeed be impulsive, hasty, and even selfish. So here's the thing. Let's say that you're growing up in school, and somebody calls you a bad name, and it makes you so mad that you challenge them to a fight. Now, is that a mature thing to do? No, because let's say that same thing happens on the street when you're 20 years old, and somebody insults you, and you say, okay, well, let's just fight right now. That's a very stupid thing to do. You never know. It doesn't matter if you're bigger and stronger. You never know when somebody might pull out a knife or a gun. Very foolish thing to do. Not only that, you can get arrested. You can go to jail. You can get hurt. You also never know if somebody studied like Muay Thai or Brazilian jiu-jitsu or whatever. It's like, what's the mature thing to do? Turn the other cheek? Ignore it. Let them make fun of you. Don't let it bother you. Now, here's the thing. As adults, we kind of get this. If somebody makes you really mad, you realize, I can't just stop and beat this person up because I'm mad at them. But kids don't necessarily fully get that because they don't fully understand the consequences of their actions at a young age. We get that with kids. As an adult, though, look, your brain is fully mature. You have no excuse for acting like a little child. You expect that from children. You don't expect that from adults. Right? I mean, children, maybe they're at a store and they want candy, so they just take candy from the store. Well, here's the thing. As an adult, you're not just going to get away with it. You're going to go to jail. You're going to get in big trouble. There's real consequences for your actions. You can't just act like a little child forever. And the world will be forgiving to you when you're young. They won't be so forgiving to you when you get older. It says from this article, the brain's incomplete physical development is also in large part responsible for youthful emotional immaturity. Youth have more difficulty than mature adults in regulating their emotions and putting events in proper perspective. Emotion regulation is an important ability because it enables people to consciously control, within limits, how strongly they will feel emotions like anger, joy, or fear. Such control helps people limit the emotional highs and lows that are commonly called mood swings. To make things worse, during periods of high emotional arousal, the brain's thinking capacity is temporarily further diminished. In soccer, when you get a red card, that's when you get kicked out of the game. And that usually happens when you lose your temper and you attack someone or try to injure someone. If somebody gets really mad at two players and they start fighting on the soccer pitch, and the ref kicks them both out of the game. Now here's the thing. I don't fully get that because I never got kicked out of a soccer game. It's like, just control yourself. But I had plenty of teammates that did. They get mad at someone and then they would just start fighting another player and then they get kicked out of the game. Now here's the thing. You see that with kids sometimes and it's like, okay, whatever, they're just an immature child. But you know, there's cases of parents fighting at a soccer game or parents fighting at a hockey game. Literally in the US, there have been cases where two parents got in a fight because their kids were fighting and literally one of the fathers beat the other one to death at a soccer game because their kids are fighting. And when you look at that, it's like, that's what little kids do, right? Little kids fight with each other when they get mad. It's like, why'd you kick that kid? He kicked me, right? That's what kids do. It's called being childish. But when you're a grown adult and you fight back like that, it's like, what are you doing? Why'd you bite that kid? He bit me. Look, if somebody bites me, it's like, I'm getting away from that person. I'll be afraid what they're going to do to me. But when grown adults do that, what are they doing? They're acting like little kids. They're showing that they're immature. Now Haman's a very powerful person. He's got a lot of money. Doesn't change the fact that he's acting like a little kid. He has no maturity whatsoever. Number one, we saw envy. Number two, we see egotism, being self-centered, thinking the world revolves around yourself. Number three, we see an erratic temperament. And lastly, we see with Haman, which we also see with kids, is Haman, like kids, they have an eye for an eye sort of mentality. Like he hurt me, I'm going to hurt them. Esther 5 verse 13, yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. Then said Zaresh his wife and all his friends on to him, let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanging thereon. Then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet, and the thing please Haman, and he cause the gallows to be made. So Haman's like, well, he didn't worship me. I'm going to kill him. This is beyond an eye for an eye. I mean, this is something small, and you're turning it into like a World War Three situation. Get to 1 Corinthians chapter three, we'll close up. First Corinthians chapter three. Look, let me give practical examples of how this could play out in the life of Bible-believing Christians. You come back from soul-winning, and your soul-winning partner got somebody saved, and you didn't, and you're upset about it. I wanted to get him saved. You're acting like a little kid. Or somebody else got more salvation than you. You're acting like a little kid. Or you find out somebody reads the Bible more than you, and you're upset about it. It's like, what's wrong with you? You're acting like a little kid. Somebody else gets more praise than you, and you're upset about it. You're envious. Yeah, that's a sin. It's like, get over it. Right? Or somebody sits in your chair at church. Right? I mean, obviously, if you're a regular member here, you have your general seat that you sit in, and we got a first-time guest that sits in your seat. Can you believe she sat in my seat? Can you believe he sat in my seat? That's my seat. I mean, look, these are nice chairs. They're comfortable. Just sit somewhere else. And I've heard of churches that don't have chairs. They sit on the floor. I mean, what's the big deal? Literally, these are the sorts of things that make people mad and cause divisions in church and friction, being very moody about something very small. Look, you've got to learn in life to control your emotions, because if you let your life be run by emotions, you're going to destroy your life. You know why a lot of people don't like a church like this? Because they can't control their own emotions. They get so mad at something Brother Stuckey says. It's like, look, when the Word of God is preached, like, yeah, all of us are guilty of things at times, and you're like, yeah, I'm going to say something that offends you. And if you're not going to come to church because it bothers you so much, it's because you're a little kid. You're so upset because Brother Stuckey said this. You know, he was preaching against me. Look, I have no idea if you smoke in this room. I preached against smoking earlier. If you smoke, I wasn't preaching against you, but, well, I guess I kind of was, because quit smoking, right? It's like, look, just get over it. Or an eye for an eye mentality. You get so mad at others, and you have 1 Corinthians 3, it mentions a few of these things, including the eye for an eye mentality. Notice what it says in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. And Paul says, you're acting like little babies. You're a church, and you've been saved for a long time, but you're not acting like it. You're acting like little kids. Why does he say that they're acting like babies? I have fed you with milk, and not with meat. For hitherto you are not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. And he says, I didn't give you the meat of the word, because you can't handle it. I'm giving you the basics. I'm giving you the milk. I'm giving you the things that you should have learned a long time ago, because obviously the example with kids, kids can't eat meat. I mean, a young child, a young baby, they can't eat meat. I remember during the first Red Hot Preaching Conference, there's Baskin-Robbins ice cream that's provided at the event. And I remember we were going down to reserve it, me and my wife and our son Zeph, and Zeph was very, very young at the time. He had never eaten any solid foods. We start our kids very young. By the age of six months, our kids are on solid foods. People have different opinions. You can agree or disagree, doesn't matter, OK? But our son was very young, like, I don't know, like a month and a half old or something like that. And then the person that was there, he was trying to give our son ice cream to eat. He's like, here, lecture. He's like, no, wait a minute, no, no, no, no, no. Now we start our kids early on solid foods, not at the age of one month. It's like, nope, you're too young for ice cream, right? Now our strategy, since I'm talking about you can agree or disagree, it's perfectly fine. Our strategy, what we were told and what seems to work, once your kids start to try to steal your food, that's when you let them start eating solids. And you can agree or disagree, that's the pattern that we've done with our kids. Once you're trying to eat and then Ezra's stealing your hamburger, it's like, OK, we're going to start giving you some mushed bananas or something like that. But the thing is, very young kids that are babies, a month old, two months old, well, I mean, here you go. Here's a steak. Here's a fork and knife. Just go to town. It doesn't make any sense. And spiritually, it's the same way. It's like, if you've got a church like the Church of Corinth, it's like, we can't preach anything in depth. Let's just stick to the milk of the word. Verse number three. Why does he say this? For a year yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men? Didn't I say envy? Isn't the Bible saying that's an attribute of babies? They get very envious. Kids always want the attention of mom and dad, right? When a baby's born, if they're not getting attention from mom and dad, it's like, ah! Look, it's fine. That's the way kids are. They're completely dependent on mom and dad. But I mean, if you're a grown adult, and it's like, I'm not getting enough attention, ah! There's something wrong with you. It's like, you know, Brother Stuckey, he talked to somebody else today. He didn't say hi to me, ah! I'm gonna go home and cry about it. You're acting like a little kid. And look, adults act this way sometimes, full of envy and strife. That's the eye for an eye sort of thing that, I mean, all these things, the erratic temperament, the egotism, it's like, get over it. But you know what, here's the truth. If our kids are immature, if they grow up, and look, obviously kids are different ages, and not all kids are the same. We understand that. Nor do I think that we should compare kids to one another. I mean, they're kids, let them be kids. But if your kid is growing up, and they're immature, as a parent, you've gotta be honest with yourself. Because you don't expect your kids to continue to act the same way forever. And if they turn three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and they're still acting like when they were two years old, they're childish. And the sad thing is, it's not really their fault. You say, whose fault is it? It's the fault of mom and dad. You gotta give them experiences. Let me give you an example. This is not an in-depth thing, but just basic responsibilities. And you gotta prepare them for life. If we get a ride on a tricycle, or grab, or whatever, I will give the money to either my son or my daughter. It's like, here's the 120 pesos. It's like, you pay the driver and say, buy at pole. You say, why do you do that, Brother Stuckey? Well, here's the thing. You're not gonna just walk out of a bank and say, hey, Zef, here's 10,000 pesos. Make sure you keep it. You say, why? It's too much money. He's too young for the responsibility of 10,000 pesos. But you give them a small responsibility to prepare them for bigger responsibilities as they get older. And you make sure they say things like, buy at pole, thank you pole. Very simple things to prepare them, to help them mature. Because as I said earlier, your kids are not automatically gonna mature simply because they get older. Haman in the Bible, I don't see how anyone could read the story of Esther and walk away and say Haman is a mature person. He's not. He acts like a little kid. And I'll tell you what, in the world we live in in 2023, we have a Peter Pan generation coming. It's like, I wanna just stay in Never Never Land forever and never grow up. Right? I wanna be a Toys R Us kid and just play with games my whole life. It's like, when you become a man, you put away childish things. And as parents, we need to train our kids to act mature. Give them responsibilities. On the wall, put, these are your chores you must do during the week. You must do this. You must do this. You must do this. Because here's the problem. If you always treat your kids like kids, they're gonna grow up and act like kids. But here's the thing. We give a pass to kids acting like kids because we understand they're kids. But the world, when you're 20 years old, if you act like a little kid, they're not gonna be so forgiving anymore. They're gonna look at you and say, what's wrong with you? It's like, get over it. And look, it's not a compliment. I mean, of course we expect a child to be childish because they're acting like a child. That's the way children are. They think as a child. They understand as a child. They speak as a child. But as you become older, it's time to quit acting like a kid. And as a parent, don't treat your little kids like little kids forever. Because you want your kids to grow up and be mature, become a man, become a woman at a younger age where they can deal with responsibility and they're mature and ready. You say, why? Because life is difficult. Life is hard. Life is difficult. And if you don't train your kids, they are not gonna be prepared for the world that is coming when they reach adulthood. Let's go to the Word of Prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see the example of Haman in the Bible. And help us as parents to put in effort and time to train and teach our kids and correct our kids when necessary. And teach them to become mature. And of course, we understand that they will act like kids and play and have fun and things such as that, God. But help us not to give a free pass to our kids if they're growing up and being immature, God. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.