Building Good Reputation: Pt 3 - Courage

Review

Four Character Qualities in a Christian :

Discipline

Humbleness

Courage

Honesty.

Lesson 1 - Discipline

We will develop the character trait of discipline by deciding in advance what results you wish to achieve (whether related to your body, finance, relationships with people or relationship with God), and then putting your shoulder to the wheel…and staying the course.

Key verse:

Lesson 2 - Humility

Humility is a state of mind. It’s an awareness of where we really fit in the big picture of life. It’s a realization that I am not the center of life…the world does not revolve around ME, MY, MINE. It is coming to terms with who we are in the light of who God is, and then “living out” that reality in our day-to-day lives.

Key verse:

Lesson 3 - Courage

1. To whom, what or where do we associate the word “COURAGE” to?

soldiers

with todays’ PANDEMIC - people in the medical field, grocery employees, courier employees and all other establishments need for a city to operate daily.

2. What is courage?

It is not the absence of fear.

It is taking action in the face of fear.

As John Wayne once put it: Courage is being scared to death…and saddlig up anyway.

Courage is having determination to do the right thing, even when others don’t.

It is the willingness to stand for what you believe, even when others won’t.

It is having the state of mind or spirit to align your thinking and your behavior with your beliefs and convictions, especially in the face of difficulty, pain, or danger.

3. Who is someone you have admired because of their courage? Why?

4. Think of a time when you found it difficult to display courage? What fear, difficulty, pain or danger were you facing? How did you handle it?

Scripture Lesson:

Nehemiah 6:1–17 NASB95

1 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way. 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. 7 “You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent a message to him saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.” 9 For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. 10 When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” 11 But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” 12 Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. 14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were trying to frighten me. 15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

CUPBEARER - An officer of high rank at ancient oriental courts, whose duty it was to serve the wine at the king's table.

STORY BACKGROUND

In 445 BC, Nehemiah was a devout Jew serving in the highly trusted position as royal cupbearer to Persian King Artaxerxes in the Persian capital of Susa. Upon hearing about his fellow Jews’ plight, Nehemiah becomes burdened in his spirit to help his countrymen rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem and God’s temple. God’s moves on the heart of King Artaxerxes to appoint Nehemiah for the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, and while engaged in this difficult work, Nehemiah is challenged by a group of non-Jewish leaders (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and others) whose authority and financial well-being will be undermined by any successful restoration of Jerusalem.

Background: In 445 BC, Nehemiah was a devout Jew serving in the highly trusted position as royal cupbearer to Persian King Artaxerxes in the Persian capital of Susa. Upon hearing about his fellow Jews’ plight, Nehemiah becomes burdened in his spirit to help his countrymen rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem and God’s temple. God’s moves on the heart of King Artaxerxes to appoint Nehemiah for the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, and while engaged in this difficult work, Nehemiah is challenged by a group of non-Jewish leaders (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and others) whose authority and financial well-being will be undermined by any successful restoration of Jerusalem.

1. Courage is required to stand for what is important. How do we know that the task of rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem was very important to Nehemiah?

2. Was Nehemiah taking a risk in allowing his sad countenance to be seen by the King? Why?

Was Nehemiah taking a risk in allowing his sad countenance to be seen by the King? Why?

3. What important thing did Nehemiah do in Chapter 2, Verse 4 to help him have courage before answering King Artaxerxes?

4. What tactics did Nehemiah’s enemies use when attempting to get him to stop rebuilding the walls? What happens when we allow ourselves to be intimidated?

5. How much of his energy did Nehemiah spend on the threats from his opposition and how much did he pour into the task of rebuilding? Why is this kind of focus so important to sustaining courage in the face of adversity?

How much of his energy did Nehemiah spend on the threats from his opposition and how much did he pour into the task of rebuilding? Why is this kind of focus so important to sustaining courage in the face of adversity?

6. What activity provided Nehemiah with a key source of strength, helping him to persist in the face of difficulty and adversity (Chapter 6, Verse 9)?

7. What was the greatest fear Nehemiah faced, and how much was he willing to sacrifice in pursuing what he believed to be the right course of action (Chapter 2, Verse 8 and Chapter 6, Verse 10)?

How much of his energy did Nehemiah spend on the threats from his opposition and how much did he pour into the task of rebuilding? Why is this kind of focus so important to sustaining courage in the face of adversity?

What was the greatest fear Nehemiah faced, and how much was he willing to sacrifice in pursuing what he believed to be the right course of action (Chapter 2, Verse 8 and Chapter 6, Verse 10)?

8. To whom does Nehemiah attribute the successfully rebuilt wall that resulted from his courageous stand (Chapter 6, Verse 16)? How critical was Nehemiah’s reliance and dependence upon God to the level of courage he mustered?

APPLICATION

1. Think about a challenge or opportunity you currently face (or may face in the near future) that will require courage on your part in order to be strong and stand for what is right and just. What decisions are important for you to make now in order to prepare yourself?

2. Consider the consequences you may experience as a result of doing what is right and just. Are you willing to pay the price and why?

3. Pray that God would help you to have the courage needed to stand for what is right and just? Your Prayer.

Pray that God would help you to have the courage needed to stand for what is right and just? Your Prayer.