It Takes Courage

Pastor Jose Gonzalez hit a grand slam, home run out of the park, shout him down, Fairview Park. He taught us about King David. He taught us that it's an important thing to have an ear to hear because the king is calling. If you missed that message, go online, do yourself a favor, listen to that message. If you already heard it, listen to it again. It's that good and I know that you're going to get something out of it. Well as you could probably tell, we are going to be looking at the story of Esther today. It's a small little book in the Old Testament that quite frankly is easy to miss when you're flipping through the pages. So why don't you go ahead and take a couple of moments and try to find the book of Esther right around page 714 in my Bible if that helps, helps you to find it. We're going to be in chapter four. But as you're turning there, let me give you a little bit of context. Esther is a Jewish girl, okay? She's a Jewish woman living in the Persian Empire and her parents die. So she's raised by her uncle Mordecai. There's a crazy series of unexpected events that you need to read your Bible to find out the backstory on. But long story short, spoiler alert, through an unexpected turn of events, Esther is taken into the king's palace and she's chosen to become the queen. But she keeps her identity hidden. She doesn't want anybody to know who she really is, that she's Jewish because well, suffice to say, that would not go over very well if they found out that she was Jewish. Now every good story has a bad guy, right? An antagonist and our bad guy is a guy named Haman and Haman is full of pride and greed and he's a high ranking official in the king's court and he basically convinces the king to pass a decree, a law that is sealed by the king that anyone that does not follow this law would immediately suffer the consequences.

In fact, in Esther chapter three, if you just want to peek at it, it says that all the king's provinces will be destroyed, right? They send this message to all of the king's provinces. They're going to destroy, they're going to kill and annihilate all the Jews. So this is the decree. So Haman is upset because well, he thinks he's a big deal and Mordecai will not bow down to him and Haman finds out that Mordecai is Jewish and so Haman wants to not just punish and get even with Mordecai. He wants all of the Jews to be eradicated. So he convinces the king that on a certain day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar that we're going to, the king and his military, they're going to kill all of the Jewish people and take the plunder for themselves. And well, that's right where we pick up our story, great and great introduction, right? I mean, Esther is now the queen. She's Jewish. Her people are going to be eradicated. Mordecai is mourning and grieving, but he's like, no way that all of us Jews are going to be killed. So in chapter four, Mordecai learns about all that was done. It says he tore his clothes. He put on sackcloth and ashes and he went out into the city wailing loudly and bitterly. Let's look at verse nine, hey, Thatch went back and reported to Esther, remember, she's the queen, what Mordecai had said. And she, Esther instructed him to say to Mordecai, all the king's officials in the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned by the king has but one law, that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life, but 30 days have passed since I was called to go to the king. So Mordecai is like, Esther, you got to do something about this. You got to speak up.

You got to step out. You got to save your people. She's like, listen, if I do it, I could die. Let's continue reading Esther's words were reported to Mordecai verse 13. He sent back this answer. 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, maybe you know this verse, and who knows, but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this. So then Esther sends this reply to Mordecai verse 16, "Go gather together all the Jews who are in sousa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do, and when this is done, when this time of fasting is done, I will go to the king. Even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions. Lord, put your anointing on this word that you have given to me. It's your word, my mouth, their ears and heart. Father, would you speak through me, give me clean hands and a pure heart to teach and preach your word today, show us Lord how you want us to apply the story of Esther to our lives today in 2026. In Jesus' name we pray, and everyone said, amen. I want you to find a neighbor or someone sitting around you, maybe somebody that could use a little bit of encouragement, and I want you to tell them the title of my message. The title of my message is, it takes courage, come on, say that to somebody, it takes courage. Write that down in your notes, it takes courage. See Esther, as we just read, she's the queen, but she's not just in a position. Esther has an assignment, and this is my first thing I want to show you, there's three things I want to show you, here's the first one, you have an assignment, you have an assignment. Look at that person that you told the sermon title to and tell him, you have an assignment.

Now put your hand on your chest and say, I have an assignment, I have an assignment. I have an assignment. Listen, Esther, she didn't chase her assignment, she didn't plan for her assignment. Quite frankly, she didn't even expect her assignment. Read the word of God, she just ends up being queen, but Mordecai sees that she's not just in a position or a place, come on somebody, but she has an assignment. And the same is true for you and I. You didn't just randomly land at your job, you have an assignment. You don't just happen to live in your neighborhood. You have an assignment. You're not just married to that good looking wife of yours. You have an assignment, maybe you're thinking, what about me as a wife? Do I have an assignment? Yeah, as a wife, you have an assignment. If you're a parent in the room, you have, give it to me, you have an assignment. If you are a married man in this church, I want you to know your assignment is to help your wife look more like Jesus, that's your assignment. To honor and serve and love and all the things, to look more like Jesus. And if you're a wife in this house, you have an assignment. It's to help your husband look more like Jesus. If you're a parent, you have an assignment. It's to help your children become more, look more like Jesus. You have, I have an assignment. Right where you are is right where God wants you to be. Maybe we'll be talking about what's my purpose in life. I'll tell you what your purpose in life is, to live on mission in your assignment, right where you are with faith and obedience, that's your mission, that's your purpose. You have influence, not just an assignment, you have influence in your home, in your neighborhood, in your workplace, wherever you go because you carry the name of Jesus. We just sang about it.

I know a name. I don't know about you, but I have decided to live my life on assignment. [BLANK_AUDIO] willing to live on assignment. You're willing to live on a, you're like, what do you mean by that? Listen, be careful. Be careful. A lot of you raised your hands real quick. It's like saying, my word of the year is patience. How's that going for you? Be careful what you sign up for, or you're like, hey, my word this year, Pastor Philip, my word is joy. Yeah, I wonder what you've had to endure to fight for that word. Be careful if you say, I want to live on assignment because you might just have to face some attacks against your assignment. See, the devil has an assignment to take you out, to steal, to kill, and destroy. But the Lord has an assignment for you as well. I believe that you are positioned in a place where your presence matters. You're positioned in a place where your presence matters. Let me make this real for you. Some of you, maybe you're the only person at your workplace. That's a believer. That is not random. That's an assignment. Some of us, some of us, we're raising kids in a culture that is pulling them in every direction, and that's not an accident that you're their parent. That's your assignment. See, if we as Christ followers would stop just going through life and instead start living on assignment, oh, come on, I think we got to be people that live on assignment, that live on mission.

See Esther lived on mission. She lived on assignment. We saw so many of us were so busy, we just go through the rat race of life and we miss the opportunities that God has for us. Let me say it this way, you are not where you are by accident. You were placed there on purpose. You should take a picture of that. You should write that in your notebook. You should put that on your car dashboard. You should put that on the mirror in your bathroom. I am not where I am by accident. Right where I am. I was placed there by God on purpose. I'm living on assignment. See, but there's, as always, there's attention, right? Because I think for me, maybe you can relate. A lot of the times I want my assignment to be obvious, right? Like I want, I want clarity. Lord, would you give me certainty? Just spell it out for me in the clouds, God. Tell me what my assignment is and my answer is yes. We want the burning bush Moses moment. We want the audible voice from God. We want this like perfectly laid out plan. This kind of step one, two, three, four, five, ha ha, we arrived. But most of the time I have learned and seen and lived, most of the time our assignment shows up disguised. It's disguised, your assignment's disguised, your assignment is disguised as an opportunity that you didn't expect. Your assignment is disguised as a responsibility that you didn't ask for.

I wonder if, I wonder if your assignment is a burden that you can't shake. I wonder if there's any type A's at Journey Church that could recognize that the inconvenience is not an interruption, it's an invitation. Oh, that's better than you think it is type A's from one to one. What if the detours were not meant to be a distraction, but what if the detours were actually the direction? What if the inconvenience was actually an invitation? What if you going out of your way, me going out of my way, what if that is what God intended all along? We miss our assignment and we dismiss those assignment moments because we think and we even say things like, oh, you know, somebody else will do it. That's not really that big of a deal. I need to finish up so I can get to the next thing. When we're in such a hurry that we miss the divine moments that God has ordained and established for us, see Esther, she didn't get a moment where God spoke audibly. She got a problem. Esther got a situation, a moment where someone needed to step in and Mordecai basically says, What if this Esther, what if this Esther? What did Gwen say in her, in her video? I don't know if this techno's Jesus, but he's going to now. She's living on assignment, even in the midst of a horrific set of circumstances, a terrible setback in their faith journey could have taken them out. But Gwen and Jeff, they made a decision to lean in to their faith, not to miss a Sunday. Journey Church, can you help me to honor Pastor Jeff? Jeff and Gwen for their story of faith. I think the question that I want us to wrestle through for the rest of the time in this message is real simple. Write this down and then you can or type it in your phone. Here's the question. What if where you are is exactly where God wants to use you?

I mean, I got like a little bit of frustration about this, I just didn't get off my chest. Like, we're so many of us, maybe not all of us, so many of us, we're just, we're so quick to go to the next, the next appointment, the next meeting, the next house, the next piece of furniture, the next gadget, the next relationship. Like, we just want to move on to the next. I teach my children, be present in the now, don't worry about the next. God will take care of the next. We miss the now moments of God because we're too concerned about the last or the next. What about the now? Like, right now, in this moment, some of you have already checked your watch three times I've seen you. What'd you come for? We're so worried about what we got to go to next. What if God wants to speak to you right now, even through me, through the foolishness of preaching? People get saved. Why not lean in? Come on, fair view. Come on, Twinsburg. Why not lean in and say, "God, what are you saying to me through this message? What is my assignment?" Let me just ask you, where has God placed you right now? And what assignment might you be overlooking? Come on, engage, get in your notebook, write it in your Bible. Don't just be hearers of the word, bedoers of the word. Lord God, what are you saying to me? What's my ester moment? What's my for such a time as this moment? What medical tech that Gwen ran into needed her on assignment? I feel like we need to make a t-shirt that says Journey Church.

We live on assignment. People on assignment, see, your assignment isn't always obvious, but it's always intentional. It's the conversation you're avoiding, uh-huh. And you have till the end of the week, you have till the end of the week to have that conversation. Like, I'm not joking. If we want to be the men and women of God that He's called us to be, we have to do the hard thing. It's a leadership decision that you've been putting off at work. You know what to do, but you're unwilling to make the decision you have until the end of the week. Tell me next Sunday, how it went. I feel like for some of us, there's a step that we need to take, but we haven't yet and sometimes we miss it because we're like God, if it's really you, surely it would be bigger. It would be better. If this was really your assignment for my life, it would be more comfortable than this. But Pastor Jose showed us last week that sometimes taking a lunch to the battlefield is actually the little thing that opens and unlocks the door to the big thing. See, I feel like your assignment is closer than you think. It's right in front of you. What do you do when you don't have a title or a position of influence? Well, the truth is you don't need a position. You don't need a platform and you don't need permission. You just need to be available and willing. Amen? You just need to understand, God, I'm available. I'm willing and I'm ready to live on assignment. Now, living on assignment is one thing, like knowing that you should live on assignment, but actually doing it's a whole nother thing and that's point number two. Look back at that friend or that neighbor that you've told them point number one, you

You have an assignment. Tell them point number two. second I mean Mordecai tells Esther go to the king to save our people Esther knows what's at stake she understands the moment that's in front of her she knows what needs to happen like some of us we know what we should do but we don't do it by the way we just took communion and maybe you repented of some some bad things you said or did grace and peace the Lord will forgive you but there's also those are sins of co-mission there's also some good things that you didn't do that you need to repent of those are sins of omission the the assignment that God put on my life that I've been disobedient to you can repent I have you can repent of those things God will will forgive you and he will redeem those things in your life but it takes courage see for Esther for you and me there's a gap between knowing our assignment and doing our assignment and that gap is called fear fear now let me level set with you just to make sure we all understand this is not for Esther like hey can you send a text message to the king kind of moment this is not like hey would you be willing to post your position on this issue on Facebook with such boldness and courage no no no this is like life on the line it takes courage so when we read this we have to understand what is required of Esther is not a small step of obedience it is a big deal and you know how Esther felt she felt like how I felt before I walked out here she felt fear yeah just about every time before I walk out on backstage I'm like Lord could you just pick someone else anyone and some of us we don't step out into our assignment because we feel fear but I love that the Bible gives us permission to feel fear can I tell you something feel fear but choose faith anyway that's what I did that's why I'm standing here right now Lord you gave me this word I'm gonna do my best to release it I feel afraid I feel like I don't have what it takes I feel come on I feel fear but I'm gonna choose faith anyways I'm gonna trust you anyways I'm gonna step out in faith anyways where are the people of God that feel afraid but they choose faith anyway that's me I feel afraid but I'm not gonna let fear control me see Esther

says in verse 16 she says I will go to the king even though it is against the law and if I perish I perish it's one of the boldest statements in all of scripture in my opinion I will go even though it's against the law and if I perish I perish now I know some of you are thinking about some things that are against the law that you would love to do and you're gonna blame it on me say well I'm a speed anyways and if I get arrested I get arrested Pastor Phil told me it takes courage I'm not talking about that kind of courage I'm talking about a courage to step into your assignment I'm talking about a humility see Esther doesn't say I'll go when I feel ready she doesn't say I'll go when God gives me a sign Esther doesn't say I'll go when I have peace about it I'll do the hard thing when God triple confirms it no she says I'm gonna go even if it costs me my life now I want you to lean in for a moment because I want you to understand most of us we aren't struggling with what God is asking us to do I believe we're struggling with what it might cost us it might what God's asking us to do might cost us our comfort our convenience our time maybe some of our energy. Maybe we have to make some plans different than we I don't think many of us are struggling with what the assignment is. We're struggling with what it would cost us. And it doesn't cost us our lives, like it could have ester. See, safe is often the enemy of obedience. And I feel like there are too many of us Christians who play it too safe. Where are the men and women of God who have courage to stand on the truth of His Word? Why do we just become so well adjusted to our culture that we don't even stand out? We just blend in without even thinking about it. The only thing that separates some of us is the cross necklace or the Sunday two hours

on our calendar. I feel like Journey Church, listen to me really clearly. I feel like this is a ester moment for our church where God is saying I need some men and women in Northeast Ohio to stand up with courage and to step out in faith. I feel it in my bones, prophetically, and maybe for years like I have, you're like, Lord, would you step in? And God's like, I want to, but Phil, would you step out? Can I tell you something when you step out? That's when God steps in. You got to step out so that God can step in in power. We got to step out in courage so that God can step in in power. See, I want to ask you and you need to ask yourself for real, engage with this message. What am I avoiding because I'm afraid? Who am I avoiding? Because I'm afraid. Maybe it's forgiveness you're withholding. Maybe it's being generous because it feels uncomfortable. Maybe it's just surrendering control to God and saying, I give you my life. On the other side, on the other side of your courage might just be someone else's breakthrough. Maybe your Gwen and your co-worker need you to show them that breakthrough is coming for them.

What if the breakthrough's not about something you get, but it's about something God releases through you for someone else? Journey Church, we are people who live on assignment. See, courage, what I'm trying to say is courage is bigger than you. Esther's courage saved all of her people. What could your courage do? What could your courageous act of obedience do? Maybe it could impact your workplace. Maybe it could change your family. Maybe it could break a cycle. Maybe just maybe your act of courage could change someone's eternity. Your small, seemingly insignificant step of faith could be the breakthrough that someone else has been praying for and believing for. See, years ago I had the opportunity to attend our journey, courage, women's conference. Now you might be thinking, why was I at a women's conference? I was happily married, still am. 17 years and one day at the anniversary yesterday, baby. (audience applauds) See me all cheered louder for that than most of the things I've been saying to you. I'm just saying, appreciate it, thanks. But I was at the Courage Women's Conference back in 2014, about 12, almost 13 years ago.

And Pastor Jennifer, she said something that redefined my life and I wanna share it with you. It's my favorite, best, should be the only definition of courage. I'll put it on the screen for you. It says courage is not the absence of fear. It's the ability to move forward in faith, even when you're still very much afraid. I feel like my whole life has been the head. Lord, I don't even know. I'm just, I'm gonna try to keep taking the next step God will work it out. That relationship that feels like it's hopeless, God will work it out. If you step out of, out in faith and you let him step in in power, God will work it out. It's crazy. This story is crazy. Esther steps out in faith. The king extends the gold scepter. She steps forward. The king grants her request, but it took courage from Esther to take a step. Now what's so wild about this story is that in the book of Esther, God never appears. There's no evidence. The name of God does not even appear in the book, but it's just like how God works in our lives. It's not always loud and it's not always obvious, but God is always faithful. He's working in the details and in the distractions and in the interruptions and one night, the king, he has insomnia. He can't sleep. So he calls in one of his attendants and he says, "Hey, can you read me a bedtime story?" Actually he doesn't say that. He says, "Can you read to me from the records of the king's books?"

And it just so happened to be that they read to him about a guy named Mordecai who saved the king's life. Of all the things they could have read and all the nights that the king could have had trouble sleeping, it was not a coincidence, it was a God incidence. And showed up at just the right time, just the right time. And so everything starts to shift. The bad guy, Haman, there had been some pole that was erected and the intent was to hang Mordecai on that pole, but the king heard on a night that he couldn't sleep, that Mordecai actually saved his life. And so the king turned the tables on Haman and Haman gets hanged on the very pole that he erected for Mordecai. Crazy stuff happening. The very thing that was meant for destruction God used for deliverance. And I believe the very thing that the devil is trying to take you out with, God can redeem it and he can use it for your deliverance. And when said, I think God allowed me to go through this so that I could help somebody else. What could have taken her out? God's going to redeem it for the benefit of somebody else that she may not even know yet. See, breakthrough is coming. It's coming. I'm prophesying. If I ask you, I'd say, "Amen, yes, I'm taking that prophecy. I'm taking that declaration, Pastor Phil." If that's what the Lord's saying, I want that. Breakthrough is coming. What I'm trying to say is God is always working even when you can't see it. My family and I, we were at a hotel recently and we went up to the hotel room and I took the little key card out of my pocket and I put it against the little door, the little

black thing on the door. It's supposed to like turd green somehow magically and like open and it didn't work. So I tried it again and it didn't work. I told my son, Caleb, I was like, "Hey, try this. It didn't work." So I had to walk down to the front desk, I went up to the front desk, I said, "Hey, my key card doesn't work at work last night or where it, but it doesn't work this morning." She said, "Oh, we are having a problem with our system. We need to recalibrate your key." Some of us, you're having a problem with your key. You need to recalibrate some things. You're standing at the same door trying to get through it, but you're doing things the world's way instead of the world's way. You need to recalibrate your key. This is the key. The word of God is the way that leads to life. It's the way and the truth and the life. That's what Jesus said. The word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We need to recalibrate our lives to understand that we're living on assignment. We're living on assignment. See, it feels at times that when you're in the middle of a struggle, it feels like God Isn't working you ever been there? I feel confused. I'm praying, but nothing's changing. I'm obeying, but nothing's getting easier. You ever been there? God, I'm trusting you, but it still feels hard. Anybody? Am I the only one? I'm trusting, I'm obeying, I'm praying, I'm reading, I'm fasting. Are you going to work it out or not?

How much more do you want me to take, God? Sometimes God does His best work behind the scenes when you can't see it. Because the truth is, if He explained every detail to you, you wouldn't need to trust. If He showed you everything at once, you wouldn't need faith. What's Romans 8.28 tell us? We know that in all things, say all things. All things, God works for the good, for your good. God is working. He works for the good of those who love Him, and they live according to His purpose. You should memorize that one. That's your memory verse. All things, and all things, not some things, not most things, not every once in a while, and all things. God works for good. Here's what I've learned. When you step out in courage, God will step in in power. I got to tell you this last story as I close. I was probably five or six years ago, I was at the pool with my son Caleb. And we were having so much fun in the neighborhood pool. And I said to Caleb, I said, "Buddy, you know what you should do? You should go jump off the diving board." And he said, "Nah, I'm afraid. I don't want to." And I said, "You can feel fear, but you got choose faith anyways." No, I didn't say that to him. I said, "Buddy, you should go jump off the diving board." As if he didn't just tell me he was afraid. See, because what he didn't know that I knew is that his dad wouldn't tell him to do something that would hurt him or harm him. Oh, come on, somebody. You pick it up when I'm putting down? Your father would not tell you to step out in courage and do something that would hurt you. You can feel afraid, but you got to move forward in faith anyways. So eventually Caleb gets out of the pool when he gets in line and he climbs up the ladder and he walks out one step after another on the diving board.

And see what I knew is he had arm floaties on. And I knew that I was in the pool going to catch him. And he'd walk out and he'd look down at me and he'd look around and he'd look down at the water and he'd do what you and I used to do. He'd turn around and walk backwards. And you laugh, but you've been doing that in your faith journey your whole life. You walk out on the diving board, you take all the steps that work it in your marriage and you get right here and you're about to get married and then you sleep together and you cut short the blessing that God has for you. You get so close, but you won't finish. You won't take the last step. They say the first step is the hardest. In this case, man, it was the last step. But sometimes he would even bend his knees and put his arms out and I would think this is it, this is it. He's got the courage, he's going to jump out and he'd turn around and walk away. Time after time after time after time. Days became weeks and weeks became more weeks and eventually the summer was winding to an end. Caleb walked out on that diving board one last time and he bent down and he jumped in and of course I caught him and I still remember the look on his face. And the joy. I remember cheering. What did Caleb say? Hey, Daddy? Can I, can I? Some of you are stuck in the baby pool, the kiddie pool. And the Lord saying if you would take a step of faith and you'd go on that diving board and you would jump out, you wouldn't need the kiddie pool. You wouldn't go back. You don't even know how good it is to live on mission. So here's what I want us to do. Like Caleb at every campus, I want us to get out of the pool. That means stand up. And I want you to literally take a step forward. Maybe you're going to run into the chair in front of you. Because once you step into living on assignment, everything changes. But let me remind you, when you decide to live on assignment, sure. God will work it out, but it takes courage.