Overcoming Discouragement
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
When you know your in the right, but you can’t get the accusations out of your head.
Potential Impact
Potential Impact
Scripture Introduction
Zerubbabel- Temple 536-534; 519-515 BC (Ezra 1-6; Haggai 520 BC; Zechariah 519 BC)
Esther becomes queen- 515 BC (509 BC Purim) (Esther)
Ezra’s reform- 467 BC (Ezra 7-10)
Nehemiah- walls 454-442; 442 BC (Malachi 416 BC)
Connection: Discouragement from the enemy
Take Home: When the enemy tries to discourage us, we must stay focused on God to overcome his tactics.
Message Focus: Overcoming the tactics of the enemy
The Tactics of the Enemy Neh 2-6
The Tactics of the Enemy Neh 2-6
Tactics of the enemy (Satan- our enemy is not people) to hinder the work of God.
Locked in an arena unarmed against an assailant with a gun. You an be good at dogging bullets, or disarm your assailant.
Demean 2:18-20
Demean 2:18-20
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
A tactic when there is no logical argument to be made.
The only tool they had was discouragement.
Value
Goliath, Roman soldiers, Thief, etc.- Ridicule of the enemy usually come when God is doing something important.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Steadfast- firm in direction
Not in vain- Like watching a game you already know the outcome to. You can watch it without anxiety.
Discourage 4:1-5
Discourage 4:1-5
And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”
Restore- their weakness
Sacrifice- takes more than prayer and worship
Finish- they will give up under difficulty
Feeble- 1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;”
Chosen
Nehemiah got his encouragement from God
Focus on God- eyes off yourself and your problems
Pray- concerned for the glory of God.
Disrupt
Disrupt
And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
Equipped
There is a spiritual war that is going on and we are a part of it.
Ephesians 6:10–11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Truth- The world is full of plausible arguments, but that does not mean they are true.
Righteousness- Through Jesus
Peace- Reconciliation with God
Faith- Trust (rooted, built up, and established)
Salvation- Restoration
Word- Scripture
Praying- Enabling force that governs the effectiveness of all the above (Grant Osborne)
2 Corinthians 10:4–6 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Distract 6:1-3
Distract 6:1-3
Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
Nehemiah understood he couldn’t allow those distracting him from his work to gain his attention.
Mission
If we allow the distracting voices to gain our attention the enemy has succeeded in hindering the work.
It is okay to say no. Does not mean I don’t care. It means I can’t do it.
What are you doing hear? Is it for God that you . . .?
Defame 6:10-13
Defame 6:10-13
For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Spirit
Romans 8:14 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
The Tactics of the Enemy Overcome Neh 6:15-16
The Tactics of the Enemy Overcome Neh 6:15-16
Imagine the stress relief once the assailant no longer has a weapon t use against you. Reindeer loosing their antlers and removing the males.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
1.5 miles long wall
I prayed (2:4)
I came (2:11)
They labored (2:21)
They endured
Protect accomplishment
And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
Instead of Israel becoming discouraged, it was the enemy that lost hope.
Its hard to stay comfortable in unbelief or indifference when God’s work is made self-evident.
This is a blessed place to be (Mt 5:3), since god can work with us when we realize we are not the answer to the problems in the world.
Keep working in the face of opposition so the power of God is manifested.
The things people say may hurt us, but they can never harm us, unless we let them get into our system and poison us. If we spend time pondering the enemy’s words, we will give Satan a foothold from which he can launch another attack closer to home. The best thing to do is to pray and commit the whole thing to the Lord; and then get back to your work! Anything that keeps you from doing what God has called you to do will only help the enemy. - Warren W. Wiersbe
Discouragement hurts, but can only harm us if we allow the poison to reside in our minds. We will defeat ourselves if we become discouraged.
The Relentless Tactics of the Enemy Neh 6:17-19
The Relentless Tactics of the Enemy Neh 6:17-19
For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berech
The unarmed assailant will try and get his gun back. When we cut the antlers off the reindeer and told Juli they were safe. Being followed by one, she said, “but they still have hooves.”
We must be cautious of the attacks that come even after the victory.
Issue
Human bonds were stronger than for God
They spoke of Tobiah’s good deeds v. 19
They believed the lies and flattery.
Summary
The Tactics of the Enemy
Demean, discourage, disrupt, distract, and defame.
The Tactics of the Enemy Overcome
The power of God is manifested
The Relentless Tactics of the Enemy
be cautious of the attacks that come even after the victory.
A Possible Next Step
When the enemy seeks to discourage you, keep focused on God.
