STAY ON TRACK!

TEXT: Nehemiah 6:1-2

INTRODUCTION: Nehemiah and the people had a mind to work. They put their hands to the great and daunting task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem which had languished in disarray for over 150 years. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and others resisted the venture and sought to derail the project. The enemies launched a final assault designed to pull Nehemiah off the job and to do him bodily harm so the labor would cease. But Nehemiah possessed the strength to resist. He was going to stay on track. He demonstrated the same kind of courage and fortitude shown by U.S. Navy Commander Jeremiah Denton. On a combat mission over Thanh Hoa bridge in North Vietnam, his twin-jet A6 attack bomber was shot down by ground fire. Captured by the North Vietnamese, he began a 7 year ordeal. He thought he'd be tortured for military information, and was prepared to die rather than divulge anything helpful to his captors. During all the interrogations, Denton's only response was his name, rank, service number and birth date. Perhaps he'd gain more by co-operating with the enemy, but Denton held on, determined not to succumb. He might be a P.O.W., but he would not allow that to sidetrack him from his service of his country.  Nehemiah was determined to stay on track.  Jeremiah Denton was determined to stay on track.  There are influences all around us which would pull us off course in our service to Christ. We all need to be determined to stay on track because:

I.          THERE IS A DANGER OF GETTING SIDETRACKED: 1-4

A.        The enemies didn't want the wall completed. They tried various tactics to prevent that. Here we see them trying to get Nehemiah off track.

B.        In the text are 3 ways in which Nehemiah might have gotten off track and of these same ways we all ought to be aware. We might be sidetracked by:

1.      Consorting with the enemy:

a)      "Come on down, Nehemiah. Let's have a consultation; let's come to some agreement; let's negotiate."

b)      Peter consorted with the enemy around the fire just before he denied Jesus and when he pulled back from Gentile Christians to appease the Jewish believers.

c)      We consort with the enemy when we condone, excuse, tolerate or engage in any ungodliness.

2.      Cringing in fear:

a)      "If you don't come down, Nehemiah, we'll send this letter to the king telling him you're trying to establish your own kingdom and to get the Jews to revolt."

b)      Many turn away from their Christian testimony for fear of what others will think or say or how they will treat them. In John 7:13 we read that no one was speaking openly of Jesus for fear of the Jews. After the Resurrection, the disciples were hiding out for fear of the Jews. John 20:19.

c)      We may also be intimidated and silenced in our witness.

3.      Concentrating on things of minor importance.

a)      Nehemiah was right on track when he said through messengers to his enemies, "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?" V6.

b)      Not all concerns of life are of equal value or importance. The Bible gives us clues as to what really matters:

Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;" Seeking earthly goods ought not sidetrack us from the heavenly.

Philippians 3:8 "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, ..." Questing for temporal things ought not sidetrack us from Christ.

1 Timothy 4:7, 8 "... discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." Concern for our physical well-being ought not sidetrack us from our spiritual health.

c)      We all face it! Daily! Hourly! Moment by moment the temptation comes to swerve from the Christian way. So it is imperative that we be trained, disciplined, and determined to discern what is of utmost importance, to discriminate between the good, the better and the best, and to choose that which keeps us on track with the Lord.

C.        Stay on track!

1.      Nothing on earth; no pursuit, no goal, no desire, no pressure, no persuasion, no person ought to sidetrack us from serving Jesus Christ.

2.      We can be saved without education, or material possessions, or fame, or popularity, or creature comforts, or success as the world knows it, but we can never be saved without Jesus Christ. Choose Him whatever else you leave out of your life. As someone said, "Keep the world, but give me Jesus!"hands

D.        There is much that would call us from our service to Christ; the demand is for strength to resist. That old hymn says it well: "Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things! Give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of kings!"

Nehemiah's enemies wanted him to leave the great work to come down for dialogue; he refused to be sidetracked, he had the strength to resist. So did Commander Denton. He learned that his captors weren't after military secrets! To his surprise, their purpose was to get him to make statements that would be of propaganda value. After much abuse, Denton agreed to do a television interview controlled by the North Vietnamese. Throughout the interview, Commander Denton calmly, slowly blinked his eyes in Morse code. He repeated one word over and over: "Torture; torture." Intelligence officers recognized the blinked signals which gave direct evidence of the mistreatment of U.S. P.O.W.'s. Early on in his imprisonment Denton had devised, and taught to other P.O.W.'s, a code system by which they could communicate through taps on a wall, by waves, by coughs, sniffs, and hacks, by whistling, by hand signals and by scraping the broom on the ground while sweeping. It was vital to communicate to keep morale alive and to keep them focused on survival. Nehemiah kept focused on his task.  Denton kept focused on survival and being faithful to his country.  When things happen that tend to sidetrack us from the Christian life, it is important for us to keep our eyes on our task and on our Lord.

II.       TO STAY ON TRACK WE MUST KEEP OUR FOCUS: 3

A.        Nehemiah knew just what he had to accomplish and didn't let threat or enticement cause him to take his eyes of his purpose. He kept focused.

B.        To keep our focus we must do two things:

1.      We must know what our goals are: Maybe we set goals in regard to:

a)      Financial freedom.

b)      Overcoming some bad habit.

c)      Better use of our time.

d)      Developing a better plan for sharing our faith.

e)      Maturing in our devotional life through more diligent Bible Study and faithful time in prayer.

f)       Becoming a more responsible and faithful manager or steward of what God has loaned us.

2.      We must set our minds on completing the task to attain the goal: It is one thing to begin, it is another to persevere.

a)      The motto of some is: "If at first you don't succeed, never try again!"

b)      Some conclude that if it is hard it isn't worth doing; if it demands discipline, it isn't worth the effort; if it makes us in the least uncomfortable, leave it undone.

C.        Paul had a clear focus: "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13, 14.

D.        Jesus had clear focus: Isaiah spoke of it prophetically, "I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be ashamed." Isaiah 50:6, 7. Luke notes the fulfillment of it, "And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem;" Luke 9:51.

Nehemiah never lost focus and never forgot God in the process of wall building. He started the process in prayer, he turned to God when the enemy got too vicious, and he recognized the hand of God throughout the entire operation. The secret of Commander Denton's strength in captivity, the basis for his staying on track for his country, was his faith in God. He felt that his heart and soul belonged to God -- and captivity wouldn't alter that. He prayed regularly for strength to resist and for ultimate deliverance. His faith never left him, he never left his faith. He fashioned a cross from broom straws as a visual reminder of His Lord who had also suffered at the hands of tormentors. If we want to stay on track, we must keep focus and we must keep faith!

III.    TO KEEP OUR FOCUS WE MUST KEEP GOD IN MIND: 9, 14

A.        Nehemiah's prayers show his mindfulness of God:

1.      "But now, O God, strengthen my hands." V9. God was his strength.

2.      Then he prayed, "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." V14. God was his protection.

B.        Note how he credits God for the success: "And it came about 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." V16.

C.        If you were to truly consider God in all of life, how would that influence your:

1.      Plans?

2.      Activities?

3.      Values?

4.      Relationships?

5.      Attitudes?

6.      Speech?

7.      Thoughts?

D.        It is imperative to keep God in mind in all these things

1.      because it is not the critic we must please; not the popular mind we must satisfy. It is God to whom we owe ultimate accountability.

2.      because when there is much to oppose you, trusting in and relying on Him provides our strength and hope and success.

When Nehemiah surveyed the completed work, he did so with a spirit, a mind, a heart that were unmarred by the enemy's efforts. When Commander Denton was released in 1973 he had been promoted to the rank of Captain. His spirit was unbroken, his resolve unshrinking, his ardor undampened, and his faith strong. In his speech he said, "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."   All of us ought to be honored to have the opportunity to serve Jesus Christ.  He calls us to a great task; greater than rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; greater than serving our country.  He calls us to the task of carrying the gospel to our community.  If we are devoted to our calling, if we keep our commitment to Jesus Christ no matter who or what seeks to sidetrack us, we will one day realize the honor that God waits to bestow upon those who prove faithful. The invitation today is to make a commitment and keep it; enter a covenant with Christ and honor it; make a promise to Him and fulfill it! The challenge an demand is to stay on track!