Theme Text: 3:19 | 3 & 4

Intro: Good morning and welcome to restoration Life. Can we give at the count of 3…a Big Happy New Year? Here we go, 1, 2, 3… Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope and pray that you were able to bring in the New Year right. Surrounded by the people you love and love you.

I had the honor of preforming a surprise wedding in my living room with a couple from our church family. At 12:03 am… Patrick And Grace Philips started their year off right and said I do in Holy matrimony.

What a Brave Couple.

1. I’m so excited over everything God has done here at restoration life in 2014.

• So many new families restored into a New Life with Jesus Christ.

• We’ve had the privilege of seeing many souls saved, people baptized, married as well as set free from drugs and alcohol abuse.

• We’ve seen the lonely comforted and Goliaths fall.

• We’ve seen miracles, actual miracles that only God can get the glory for.

• But I need to say this… not as a Cliché, or a pump you up statement…

• I truly believe that we are positioned for our next new season of growth and purpose as a church.

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• The best that is yet to come is here NOW!

• I truly believe with everything that is within me that all of you who have made restoration life your home are a people that have been chosen for such a time as this.

2. What does that mean Pastor?

• This year…. God is going to challenge us a church to be BRAVE!

• We are going to do things that are going to take us as a church to be brave.

• We are going to Serve Bravely.

• We are going to Give Bravely.

• We are going to take missions trips that are going to require some of you to over come some serious fears.

• We are going to out-reach our community like we have not seen in the last 6 years.

• I believe that as we step out in acts of bravery, God will meet us there with His Power, Provision and Purpose. Because our….

3. R-PASSION IS...To see everyone far from God restored to LIFE in Christ.

• R-MISSION IS...To lead people in becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

• R -VISION IS...To REACH the lost with the Gospel and Love of Jesus Christ, To RESTORE a right Life with God and to RELEASE these new lives in Christ to fulfill purpose & destiny.

4. Our Lives have a divine PURPOSE in Christ...

• Wherever you are in life, you matter and YOU HAVE A PURPOSE.

• We want to help you fulfill that Purpose.

• That is going to take some pretty audacious faith. Your gonna have to be BRAVE to experience all of this.

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Our Anchor thought is… Our ability to push past our fear of failures, false identities & sin, will result in acts of Bravery that will magnify God and fulfill our true purpose in Life.

Text: Habakkuk 3:19 (AMP) 19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]

Mark Twain said. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

• If ever there was a woman in the OT who found out why she was born it was Ester.

• Turn with me in your bible app or papper scrolls to the Book of Ester.

I. Being brave doesn't mean we have no fear - it means we refuse to be overcome by it.

1. I want to give you a little background to the story we’ll be reading. a. Nearly 500 years before Christ, and about 50 years after had led the Jews back to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon (they’d been sent into captivity due their sinful and unrepentant hearts) many of the Jewish people still live the land of Persia under the reign of a King named Xerxes (NIV) or (KJV).

• Now, Xerxes was a pagan (HE WORSHIPED FALSE GODS) who was known to be a cruel and impulsive man, driven by sensual desires.

• We’re introduced to him at the beginning of the where he has staged a grand festival designed to exhibit the power and wealth of Kingdom that lasted for over 6 months.

• And at the end of that festival he held a 7 day feast filled with food and drink. Too much drink obviously, because on the 7th day of that feast the King and become quite drunk, and in his drunkenness he called for his beautiful queen, Queen , to come and parade before guests.

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• She is offended by his request and refuses. This in turn enrages the King… and at some point he is persuaded to remover as Queen and replace her with another.

• After he has had time to reconsider his anger he seeks to find a replacement for Vashti. His counselors advised him to hold a beauty contest and from amongst the most beautiful women of the land, to choose a new queen. And that’s how Esther became the Queen of Persia. b. Shortly thereafter, we’re introduced to the villain of the story.

• He’s an ambitious and arrogant noble by the name of .

• Haman was a favorite of the King and has apparently done something that has allowed him to be placed in a position of high honor.

• The King passes a decree that commands all his officials to bow down and honor Haman whenever he passed. c. But there was one man in the city who refused to do this. Esther’s uncle Mordecai.

• Mordecai was a righteous man, and he wasn’t going to bow to anyone other than God.

Esther 4:4-6 The officers questioned him daily about his disobedience to the king, but Mordecai refused to listen and bow down. The officers reported this to Haman to learn whether or not Mordecai’s excuse would be tolerated, for Mordecai had told them he was a . 5 Haman was furious when he saw that Mordecai refused to bow and pay him the respect he was due. 6 But Haman wasn’t to be satisfied with killing only Mordecai, so he began to think of ways to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus. d. Haman schemed about how to carry out this plan, and finally he spoke to the King and told him…

Esther 3:8-9 (VOICE) Haman (to the king): 8 All the provinces in your kingdom are overrun with one insignificant group of foreigners, people who haven’t adopted our customs. Their laws differ from all other peoples’, and they do not keep your laws. Therefore it’s not a

4 good idea for you to tolerate them or their actions any longer. 9 If it is your wish, sign an order that these people be destroyed, and I will bear all the costs. I’ll pay 375 tons of silver directly to those who carry out the king’s business in order to relieve the royal treasury of the expense. e. Because the King trusted Haman’s judgment, the King decreed that all the Jews should indeed be eliminated.

• With that much of the story now in our minds, now let’s turn to the Book of :1. As you turn there I want to read you another story.

Story of Abe Lincoln: During the height of the Civil War, Lincoln found refuge at the midweek meetings of a Presbyterian church there in Washington, D.C.. He would go with an aide, sit quietly with his stovepipe hat in his lap. He would listen intently as the minister would open the Scriptures and teach God’s Word and lead the congregation in worship.

The war was tearing the nation apart and it tore at his soul as well. He’d just lost his own son, and now Lincoln was on grieving, and needing solace and sustenance for his soul.

The preacher finished his message and the people began to leave. The president quietly stood up, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave.

His aide stopped him and said, "What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?"

Lincoln answered, "I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered." The aide said, "You thought it was a great sermon?"

Lincoln replied, "No I thought he failed… he did not ask of us something great."

Life Application: The preacher hadn’t asked his congregation to do something great.

• He hadn’t challenged the people, or the President of the United States, to do more with their lives. And that disturbed the President, because Lincoln saw his nation in turmoil and saw himself struggling with a deep pain and loss.

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My POINT: Abraham Lincoln understood one central truth out of the Bible… and that was this:

When life is difficult…and the world is filled with struggles, hurting people, hardship and pain…That’s when God calls upon His people… to DO something BRAVE!

2. It’s a repeated theme throughout Scripture that when God comes into contact with people they are MOVED to do BRAVE things.

a. Sometimes they’re moved to do great things.

• Like building an ark • leading the people out of the slavery of Egypt • taking down Jericho • Or taking out a giant

b. Other times, when people come in contact with God they do little things that make big differences because of God’s power.

• A little boy shares his meager lunch with Jesus, and as a result over 5000 people are fed.

• Then there’s the woman who met Jesus at the well and then went back to her village and told them who she’d met… and the whole community came out to see Him and their lives are changed.

c. Again and again, throughout Scripture, we see people rise up to do Brave things, great or small things.

• And they all make a difference… because God made a difference in all of their lives.

3. Knowing this, when the occasion arises - and we don’t – something is wrong. SOMETHING IS WRONG!

WHY?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

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ANCHOR THOUGHT: Being Brave doesn't mean we have no fear - it means we refuse to be overcome by it.

In fact we conquer our fears by doing what we are most afraid of!

4. That brings us to our story this morning

Esther 4 1-3 (MSG) When Mordecai learned what had been done, he ripped his clothes to shreds and put on sackcloth and ashes. Then he went out in the streets of the city crying out in loud and bitter cries. He came only as far as the King’s Gate, for no one dressed in sackcloth was allowed to enter the King’s Gate. As the king’s order was posted in every province, there was loud lament among the Jews—fasting, weeping, wailing. And most of them stretched out on sackcloth and ashes.

a. Mordecai is frantic.

• He has obeyed God. He has refused to bow in worship of another man.

• He has done the right thing. And his obedience has brought about the threat of annihilation to his people.

• Resonating in his head must have been the thought of His people will soon be destroyed… and it’s his fault.

• So, He tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, throws ashes on his head, and makes his way to the walls of the palace where he cries out in bitter tears.

• But he’s not allowed into the palace, because no-one in sackcloth is allowed inside. b. Now, Esther hasn’t heard about the announcement of the King yet and she has no idea what danger her people are in.

• But there’s no ignoring the loud cries of her uncle outside her home. So she sends one of her attendants out to find out what is wrong.

• Mordecai sends the attendant back - with the news of Haman’s plans along with a copy of the King’s proclamation.

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II. Mordecai’s is very clear on what he wants:

1. He expects Esther to DO something Brave, Something about this impending disaster. a. He expects her to go and talk to the King. Because he realizes that she’s the ONLY one who can do anything about the problem.

I need to say this right now. I believe that God allows things to happen so that we can be positioned to respond in faith with Acts of Bravery.

Check it out… Many of you are exactly where you need to be because you are being positioned for an opportunity to rise up and Be BRAVE!

But you have to decide what Acronym for Fear you want to apply live in that moment, either

Forget Everything And Run or…

Face Everything and Rise b.But Esther doesn’t want to face her fear. She wants to forget everything and run.

Vs. 9-11 Hathach came back and told Esther everything Mordecai had said. Esther talked it over with Hathach and then sent him back to Mordecai with this message: “Everyone who works for the king here, and even the people out in the provinces, knows that there is a single fate for every man or woman who approaches the king without being invited: death. The one exception is if the king extends his gold scepter; then he or she may live. And it’s been thirty days now since I’ve been invited to come to the king.”

• She doesn’t want to get involved.

(Let’s pause and ask…) c. Now, why doesn’t Esther want to intercede for her people?

• Why doesn’t she want to approach the King?

• What emotion is behind her refusal to help. (She’s afraid)

8 APPLY: Listen…One of the major reasons why YOU and I might not DO something BRAVE, is because we’re afraid.

D. Fear comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

• Fear of failure... • Fear of commitment... • Fear of trusting others... • Fear of being alone. • Fear of Believing again or loving again or trusting again.

E. Fear is a very real emotion in people’s lives.

• It controls us, it limits us, it enslaves us.

• And God doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want fear to rule our lives And so, repeatedly throughout Scripture, He tells us “Fear Not”

Illustration: Someone once noted that this command occurred repeatedly throughout Scripture, and so they did a search of all the places where “Do not be afraid”, “Fear Not” or a similar command appeared in the Bible. What they found surprised them. They found that the command is found 365 times in the Bible.

One for every day of the year.

A couple things to chew on this morning.

1. We cannot ignore our responsibilities. We must be BRAVE and do what is right.

Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive.

• The first lie of fear is the lie that if you ignore a problem it will go away.

• It won’t matter if you or I do anything or not.

• All we have to do is just stand back and wait till someone else does something about it. Your fooling yourself, That’s a lie

2. If God brings a problem to YOUR attention… It’s your Problem to attend too.

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Ester 4:14 “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?

• He’s telling Esther: It’s come to your attention… • You are in a position to help • Now get busy and do something about it.

Psalms 34:7 & 9 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them… Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.”

3. When you’re facing a problem you’re not sure how to handle you need to kick your life into spiritual high gear.

• Sometimes that means getting serious about your prayers. And you can’t get much more serious about your prayers than when you fast.

Vs. 15-16 Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: “Go and get all the Jews living in together. Fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I’ll go to the king, even though it’s forbidden. If I die, I die.”

A Call for a Fast.

Isaiah 58:6-10 (VOICE) 6 No, what I want in a fast is this: to liberate those tied down and held back by injustice, to lighten the load of those heavily burdened, to free the oppressed and shatter every type of oppression. 7 A fast for Me involves sharing your food with people who have none, giving those who are homeless a space in your home, Giving clothes to those who need them, and not neglecting your own family. 8 Then, oh then, your light will break out like the warm, golden rays of a rising sun; in an instant, you will be healed. Your rightness will precede and protect you; the glory of the Eternal will follow and defend you. 9 Then when you do call out, “My God, Where are You?” The Eternal One will answer, “I am here, I am here.” If you remove the yoke of oppression from the downtrodden among you, stop accusing others, and do away with mean and inflammatory speech, 10 If you make sure that the hungry and oppressed have all that they need, then your light will shine in the darkness, And even your bleakest moments will be bright as a clear day.

10 In other words, in your SERIOUS prayers we should use fasting to set aside food and other blessings for those in need… and then step back and see what God can do.

Esther faced a problem she didn’t know how to handle and so she decided to get serious about her prayers. She told Mordecai:

Let’s CLOSE:

1 John 4 17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. 19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

Story: A long, long time ago, in a war that took place in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army. The general, was an unusual man and he had adopted a strange and unusual custom in such cases.

He permitted the condemned person to make a choice. The prisoner could either face the firing squad or pass through… the Black Door.

As the moment of the execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him and was asked: "What shall it be - the firing squad or the Black Door?"

This was not an easy decision and the prisoner hesitated but ultimately chose the firing squad - preferring it to the unknown horrors that might wait for him behind the ominous and mysterious door.

Not much later, gunshots filled the air, and the spy lay dead on the ground.

The general, staring at his boots, turned to his aide and said "You see how it is with men; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet I gave him his choice."

The aide was curious and asked: "What lies beyond the Black Door?".

11 The general smiled grimly and replied, "Freedom… and I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."

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