People of Valor, Part 5 - Hadassah

People of Valor Month review

This is part 5 of our series, People of Valor. Today we will take a look at a very courageous person, named Hadassah

we will see a lot of what we talked about this month wrapped up in their story

some of you have probably heard of this person, but just not by this name.

on the birth certificate would have been Hadassah, on the block it would have been Hadassah (Myrtle Tree), but her hero name is Esther (Star)

in this word, I will use both names, but we are talking about one person, Hadassah better known as queen Esther

Reasonable Reasons

Before we get to our scripture verse, let me give a synopsis of the story.

I am really simplifying, but Esther is the story of an orphan girl, who becomes queen of an empire, and then by faith risks her life to save her people from being destroyed

Her story happens during the reign of a powerful king of Persia, Xerxes (Ahasuerus). Part of his invasion of Greece is retold in the movie 300.

Well. he held a giant banquet, got to drinking, decided to parade his queen in front of the men, she refused, he was embarrassed, and decided to depose her.

So, later he sought a new queen, and beautiful women from across the empire were brought to him to choose from. Hadassah or Esther, became on of the many women in that group. It so happened that her older cousin, Mordecai, who adopted Hadassah after her mother and father died, also worked in the court of the king. Mordecai kept an eye out for her, and also told her not to let on that she was a Jew. Probably when the name change came.

God gave Esther favor with people at court, and with the king, and after a long process, she was chosen as the new queen.

We will jump to the part of the story where a high court official, named Haman, convinced the king to write a law that called for the annihilation of all the Jewish people. Esther’s older cousin, Mordecai, naturally asks her to go to the king to try to intercede.

Esther replies that she can’t do it, won’t do it. And Esther has a reasonable reason, the law is that you only go to the king when summoned. If you decided to go to the king uninvited, you are putting your life in danger. If the king extends his scepter to you, you can then speak to him, if he doesn’t, then you are killed . . . and then Esther also informed Mordecai, that she had not been invited to see him in over a month. So there are not exactly on speaking terms.

and my two cents, which was probably in Esther’s mind . . . the last queen that tried to be bold, and buck the king, got dissed and dismissed

that’s a reasonable excuse, what I have started calling reasonable reasons

Reasonable Reasons

we all have reasonable reasons to not have faith

reasonable reasons to ignore the call of God, not follow the word of God

solid excuses to refuse God’s purpose for us

lack of resources - I can’t give what God wants

lack of ability - I am unable to accomplish what God desires

lack of man power - I would do it, if there were more of us

talent - others would be much more qualified

experience - I’m not ready yet

too young - people will laugh at me

too old - people will shake their heads in amusement

this thing is too different/unusual - no one will understand

and then you add on that often, the cost of failure is high - if I step out on this water, I might sink like Peter, and not have anyone to pull me back up

I said we all have reasonable reason/excuses to not do what God has called us to do, to not follow what we read in His word . . . so let’s look at Mordecai’s response to her reasonable reasons

If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die - Esther 4:14a

Esther wanted to stay quiet and remain neutral

We like to remain neutral. We like to remove ourselves from hostile situations. We don’t want to be in the middle of a problem.

This is between you all . . . this has nothing to do with me, we used to say, “my name is Bennet, and I am not in it”

but with God, there is no neutrality

you are with him or against him

when you try to stay in the middle, Revelation calls it lukewarm - (I wish you were hot or cold),

Ex. if you asked my wife if I was her husband and she said . . . u h . . . . I guess, kind of

I want: baby, boo, bae, man, husband, ride or die

the oft quoted scripture, “if God be for us, who can be against us”

not only is an encouragement, but it is also a warning

because of the “if” . . . which means that God is not for everyone

let me say it this way, if you want God to be for you, then you must be for God

neutrality is not an option with God

maybe this will help you to understand: if you refuse to be a person of valor, if you refuse to walk by faith, you are in the way of God’s program

you’re not simply out of the way, you are actually in the way

Abraham and Sarah got in the way, and tried to have a baby through Hagar - ended up with baby mama drama, and races against each other to this very day

Moses got in the way and hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock - and God prevented him from entering the promise land

you can be saved and in the way, an suffer consequences

Mordecai is reminding Hadassah , God is sovereign and will accomplish his program/plans with or without you. I suggests that you get with the program

but if you refuse to be valiant, get on board, God will find someone else, work it out another way . . .but you will also put yourself in jeopardy because now you are a hindrance to God’s program . .

so I say to you, if you are not into all of this, “people of valor” thing

stepping out on faith thing

trusting God’s Word thing

attempting whatever God calls me to do thing

. . . you’re playing on the highway

if you want to be a Christian who just lays low, easy going, looking for convenience, just want a sermon and a smile . . . please be careful

then also stop saying, “if God be for us, who can be against us?”

stop quoting, “and we know that all things work together

those are not meant for you

those scriptures are for those who have put themselves out there for God

they are the people who actually need that encouragement

you should quote the verse, “Lord, increase my faith”

Be careful of trying to remain neutral, even if you have reasonable reasons

Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this? - Esther 4:14b NLT

we have been talking about positioning, God will position you in a tough spot

like he purposely positioned Moses and the children of Israel between the Red Sea and the army of Pharoah

But positioning is more than you happen to be in a tough situation that requires faith

it’s more than you are positioned for opportunity if you step out on faith

positioning includes that God purposed for you to be right where you are: time, place, conditions

in order words, it may not look like it, but what looks scary is actually a setup to succeed

in other words, it may seem like chaos, but you are simply living in the next step of God’s master plan

and though you didn’t know it, you have been prepared and prepped for this very moment, under these very circumstances, facing these very obstacles

for my football people, you are Aaron Rogers with less than a minute on the clock

for my entertainment people, you are Bruno Mars, and someone wants you to dance and sing

you were made for this precise moment

look at Moses

adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, had access to the kings’s household for 40 years - learned leadership, government, organization . . . then he . . . .

had to run away and lived 40 years in the wilderness - learned the life of a nomad

what was he called to do - run a government for a nomadic people in the wilderness for 40 years, and he was still like us . . . who me?

and this is what Mordecai is telling Esther, “God has positioned, prepared you for this time”

let’s look at Esther, and see how God positioned her

let’s start simple, gender: created her to be a female so that she could be a queen

historic events: prior queen was deposed, and that left and opening for a new queen

marital status at the time: single, being a orphan probably contributed to that because parents arranged marriages for their children with other families that could help their family come up in the world.

her upbringing: also being an orphan probably made her humble. Bible gives examples of how she was humble and teachable

her looks: God gave her great beauty, so that she could be noticed and have a chance to become a queen

her background: Jewish, same race of people who would need help

her relatives: She had a cousin already in the government that could advise her - she listened to his advice

her connections: God gave her favor with the person in charge of the harem, and other important people in court that she could trust

her circle: she was blessed to have a circle of praying women around her

the society she lived in and her secret identity: women did not have much authority, no one knew that she was Jew, so her enemy never saw her coming

turns out that she was the perfect person for this God ordained mission

everything from her life: good, bad, happy, sad, events, environment, connections . . . . God used to put her in position to overcome

God has put you into position too, and you are the perfect person for whatever God has put before you

your own origin story, the ups, downs, challenges, lessons learned, triumphs and tragedies

God has perfectly put you into position

on a personal level, professional level, church level

with this church, it is not a coincidence that you are with this band valiant believers . . . God has put you into position

and God has put me in the position of Mordecai to awaken you to that fact! You were put here for such a time as this!

at a time, when we need members to be extra dedicated, and fight through reasonable excuses

at a time, when we need members to be generous toward the church with tithes, offerings, and the building fund

at a time, when we need members to care for one another like never before

The only question is, how will Esther respond . . . and how will your respond?

Esther 4:15–16 NASB95

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

you know what? God has positioned me, I am here for such a time . . . I will be a person of valor, I’ll make that transition from “why me?” to “why not me?” . . .

I will not just sit back and be Hadassah (Myrtle tree) from the block, but I will be the valiant Esther (star) . . . so cousin get everyone to fast and pray with me for three days, and If I perish, I perish

the rapper 50 cent said, get rich or die trying

buy way before 50 cent talked about going all out, Esther did . . . but for the Lord, for her people

and after Esther, many of our forbearers understood being fully committed and sold out

I’m a soldier . . in the army of the Lord . . . I’m a soldier . . . in the army

and one of the verses says . . . “if I die, let me die in the army”

this church started no parachute . . . no supporting church, no connections, no bank account, no building, no musicians, no members but the immediate family, just a name and a prayer (World Missions for Christ)

I try to remember our church history from his perspective

putting in hours of sermon preparation, dressing in a full 3 piece suit, driving to a YMCA, and preaching to 3 people every Sunday for weeks on end

I believe the mentality of our founding pastor, if we don’t make it, we just don’t make it

if we fail, we just fail

if we look like fools, we just look like fools

but I will go because I believe God has called me for such a time as this!

and that’s the encouragement for this month

go all out for God

do what God has called you to do

do what you see in His word

take that step of faith

apply that to every part of your life . . . I have some areas in my personal life, where my wife and I are jumping without a parachute

and after you make that decision to be valiant . . . what do you do?

Do what you can, and watch God work

Esther did what she could

pray and and ask others to pray

walk in to see the king uninvited

and Gold worked

gave her favor, God made the King delighted to see her

what could have been disastrous turned out into a warm meeting

Then that night God wouldn’t let the king sleep

God caused the king to want to review the royal history

God caused them to read the part about how Mordecai, the Jew saved his life years earlier

God is setting up an easy path for Esther to ask for a favor for her, Mordecai, and the Jews

Then God gave Esther a brilliant plan, wine and dine the king and Haman (the king loved banquets)

Then Esther did what she could do

Esther wined and dined him twice before revealing how Haman was trying to kill her people

when the king heard, he was furious and stomped off into the garden

and God worked

Haman, fearing for his life, ran to Esther, begging for help

but God made it appear that Haman was trying to to make moves on the queen . . . and if there was any doubt of Haman’s, that sealed the deal

long story short, Esther continued to do what she could, and God worked

Haman was killed, Esther got all his possessions

King gave Esther and Mordecai the authority to do whatever needed to be done to overcome the law calling for their people to be destroyed . . . so her people people saved

some others even converted to Judasim

Esther was given great authority - though the story started with a queen being stripped of authority, it ended with a queen with great influence and authority (she succeeded though society was against her)

in the end, Esther was not asking the king to do this, the king was like, “what else can I do for you”

Esther had so much authority that she instituted a new holiday that Jewish people celebrated to this day, called Purim (March 16, 2022)

her cousin was promoted to 2nd in charge of the empire - Esther got to bless the cousin who took her in when she had no one

Valiant people of God do what they can, and watch God work

For those of us who are Christians, that’s how we started our walk with God

we did our part, and God did the rest

we believed, God saved

we repented, God forgave

we opened up our hearts, and God sent his Holy Spirit

and daily we trust in Him, and daily He comes through

just like Hadassah is remembered as Esther, because she stepped out on faith . . .

because we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior

we were sinners but will be remembered as saints

we were wretched but will be remembered as redeemed

we were doomed but will be remembered as people of destiny

from spiritual orphans, to children of God

so for us Christians, just let the faith walk continue!

be brave, and watch God work!

have faith, and watch God work

put your trust in Him, and watch God work

step out and watch God work

be valiant, and watch God work

and you will be able to say once again, “won’t he do it!!!??

Be valiant my brother, sister, church