Pastor Dave Martin, Cross Creek Community Church, February 5, 2012

“VISION”

Neh 4-5 & Selected - Part 5

‘Cross Creek Chronicles’

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision [revelation], the people perish…”

TEAMWORK… Makes the Dream Work!

T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Accomplishes More

• PTL about 40 filled out and turned in the ministry sheet!!  Thank YOU Team…
• Cross Creek is filled with so many servants… who has made a big difference in lives…
• Cathy counted up those who are directly engaged in ministry from 18months through 5^th grade…
• Can you guess how many people?  54 … PLUS those in nursery, teens, college/career, music, adult… PTL
• A principle we have talked about before is this… “Wherever God is working, the Devil is not far behind”
• You decide to step up for Christ in your home, job, family… the enemy will show up
• You decide to step up for Christ in your church, in ministry… the enemy will show up

• “Wherever God is working, the Devil is not far behind”… seen in the Lives of Moses, Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, Stephen, Jesus… Cross Creek… Now here with Nehemiah… Building and Battling!
• God called Nehemiah and His people to step out in faith to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem…
• If you are engaged in building for the Lord YOU WILL BE BATTLING… I call the battles “Vision Busters”…

I. “Vision Busters”…

Nehemiah 2:18b-20 ¹⁸ “…They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" ²⁰ I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

• The people where ENCOURAGED… Let’s start this “good work”… God moved their hearts… in courage!
• Notice the first word in verse 19 “BUT” we are now introduced to the “Vision Busters” prompted by the enemy… Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arab… bent on hindering and destroying God’s Work
• “Ridiculed” means to despise and to regard with contempt… We see an onslaught of attacks chpts 4-6
• God’s man Nehemiah’s response was of faith “The God of heaven will give us success” we belong 2Him

Overarching Truth… a principle seen here and throughout scripture is this…  

Problem --- Prayer --- Praise… Let’s say it together: Problem – Prayer – Praise… The KEY is PRAYER 

• Ridicule & Insults… The Problem in Vs 1-3; The Prayer in Vs 4-5; The Praise in V6

Nehemiah 4:1-6 ¹ When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, ² and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?" ³ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building--if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"

⁴ Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. 

• Devious Troublemakers 4:7-23… Enemy plotted together to stir up trouble… pray, praise… 
• Jewish Extortion 5:1-19… Enemy without, now within their own camp… fear of God, praise… 
• Deceptive Scheming 6:1-4… Enemy used deception & plots to distract from the goal/vision…  
• Slander 6:5-9… Enemy used the Devils language to slander and lie… prayed, strengthened…
• Lies & Intimidation 6:10-14… Enemy used lies and treachery… prayer, success…

Problem---Prayer---Praise is an overarching truth for us today!  The KEY is PRAYER

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

• God uses trials and troubles to grow His children… someday we will reap if we faint not…
• Building and battling takes its toll… We do grow weary and tired… our relentless enemy knows this…
• Some here has been battling physically… some spiritually… The people were growing weak & tired…

II. Discouragement began to Grip their Hearts…

• Rubble – Losing Vision

Nehemiah 4:10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall." 

• A few weeks earlier… Let’s Roll… they were enthused … Vision - they saw what “could be”
• Now we see their strength giving out… rubble everywhere… we can’t do it… discouraged, I quit

• Thoughts – Losing Courage

Nehemiah 4:11-12 ¹¹ Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work." ¹² Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us." 

• The mind game was engaged… thinking they would be killed any second… saps energy & courage
• Lives are controlled by our thoughts… Thinking = Feelings = Actions… Feelings of discouragement

• Isolation – Losing Teamwork

Nehemiah 4:19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 

• We also see another reason for discouragement is isolation… no longer functioning as a team
• When that happens, mark it down, there will be discouragement… The need to stay connected…

• Pressures – Losing Heart

Nehemiah 5:1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. 

• Battling Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and the Arabs is one think – External attacks from surrounding…
• Reading Chpt 5 we see attacks and pressures mounting from within the “camp” of God’s people
• Under the workload: V1 They were under heavy stress… V2 They had large families with little food…  V3 They had mortgaged their land & houses… V4 They were heavily in debt to their own nobles and officials… V5 They found themselves in a “hopeless” situation
• Pressures mounted from without and now from within… losing heart…

Discouragement… Doubts… Confusion… Depression…

Loss of Vision… Disorientation… Withdrawal… Despair… Defeat

• I think we have all been there.  Perhaps you are there right now.  What’s the solution?

If we compare ourselves with others, we will become either proud or discouraged—and neither is from God.

Dr. Park Tucker, former chaplain of the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, told of walking down the street in a certain city, feeling low and depressed and worried about life in general. As he walked along, he lifted his eyes for a moment to the window of a funeral home across the street. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, wondering whether his eyes were deceiving him.

But sure enough, he saw in the window of that funeral home was this sign, in large, bold words: "Why walk around half-dead? We can bury you for $69.50. P.S. We also give green stamps." Dr. Tucker said the humor of it was good medicine for his soul. Many people are walking around half-dead… living lives of discouragement

Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.

III. Winning the Battle over Discouragement…

1. 1. Resolve to Change… Desire

Psalms 40:8 I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

1. 2. Refocus your Thoughts… Perspective

Philippians 4:4-9 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

1. 3. Remember the Lord… Faith

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1. 4. Restore Communications…Word/Prayer & Others – renewed daily (no vacations)

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

1. 5. Resulting in Hope… Victory

Romans 8:35-39 ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.