Tuesday, June 10, 2008, Part 2
"The prophets through faith . . . out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" (Hebrews 11:34).
IDEA: People of faith are often far more aware of their fears than of their faith.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see that courage is not the absence of fear; it's the presence of trust.
Do you consider yourself a person of courage?
Do you think we often look at other people as courageous and assume that they are fearless because of their faith?
For those of us who feel like wimps, there's an encouraging word in Hebrews 11:34, "out of weakness they were made strong, and became valiant in battle."
I. Do you think that courage is the absence of fear?
Courage may be a sense of inadequacy infused with a commitment of faith.
Many stories in the Bible demonstrate that.
Gideon by his own account as the least in his father's house, and his family was the poorest in Manasseh. Yet by God's hand, he and 300 men accomplished a great deliverance.
When David volunteered to go up against Goliath, King Saul protested, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth" (1 Samuel 17:33). But by faith David killed the giant.
When Barak led his rag-tag band of soldiers down Mount Tabor's slopes into the teeth of battle, God sent a powerful storm that routed and destroyed the enemy (Judges 4-5).
II. As a case in point, look at Esther, a passive harem girl who had been chosen as queen, first in the harem.
Esther 4 narrated:
NARRATOR: When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king's gate because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Esther's eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and please with him for her people.
Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,
ESTHER: All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.
NARRATOR: When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer:
MORDECAI: Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?
NARRATOR: Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
ESTHER: Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
NARRATOR: So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.
Esther didn't conquer an army, but in her own way she conquered a king and saved her people.
Interview with Esther . . .
Courage is not the absence of fear; it is really a commitment of faith.