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Intro and Tension
Intro and Tension
We are getting through the wilderness | Ever feel like you want to get out of the wilderness/break pattern etc. as soon as you do, People have an opinion | As soon as you try and stop that thing you where doing, people have comments | As soon as you start fulfilling your calling, someone will say something...
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Today, I want to talk about the people talking about you, what we can learn | What to do, biblically, So that you don’t stay trapped in the wilderness - And what God says about his Treasured posession in the New Testament.
We are in a series | Treasured Posession | It’s all about how God sees us, views us and what our reaction to that is | Old Testament | But look what Peter has to say in the New Testament;
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We, are being built up - We have a calling, a mission, a sacrifice to give, and to do that, we must step into our calling | Ignore the distractions | and rely on God and His people for encouragement
Title: How to stop letting the opinion of this world and the enemy effect your calling
My Hope: You will build discernment about which voices to listen to, about your calling, and about what God will have you do.
**Pray**
If you have taken steps in this series | You need to put distance between that thing that you have stopped doing | Stopped comfortable? Need boundary, stop the convinience? Need a boundary, need a commitment | Stopped condemnation? need a habit
A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.
In those days, a city was vulnurable without the walls, without boundaries, without habits, without self-control. Last week we spoke about the Spirit, one of fruits? Self Control. Ability to absorb the right opinions, and deflect the dangerous ones
I want to look at Nehemiah, and see what we can learn about when we get a calling, and haters come, and tell you, that you can’t do it.
a few points before the haters come I wanna make about your CALLING
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
Listen = Walls and Gates are gone = Wall keep things in, and things out - What is a gate for? to allow things to come in = It’s discernment, you choose what comes in with wisdom, and effects the city | No walls = No protection | Anything comes in, and it’s not always good.
You have to build your walls = Boundaries = Fortress = and you have to work on your gate = Discernment
What did Nehemiah do?
As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Calling started with Compassion - and Conviction - First thing you need is to feel something | Break my heart for what breaks yours | Get in the game.
Compassion and conviction = Commitment
Who was Nehemiah? Cup Bearer - His only job was to test the wine, to see if it would kill the king | Not too small to have a conviction | God talks to nobodies, to change everybody.
Do the task, forget the title - There is so much work that needs to be done.
Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
Your annointing is not for an announcement, it’s for Action
Then he gets to jerusulum
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
Listen - derosion = Disgrace ends when we rebuild - Disgrace ends, when we come together - Urging them to come together.
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
It wasn’t GOOD WORK, when you finish, it’s GOOD WORK, when you begin | Start the GOOD WORK | Be Faithful with the little bit | cook that meal = Good work. Turn up to connect group = Good Work, Look after your elderly neighbour = Good work, Worship, instead of watching porn = Good Work - Putting God first = Good work.
For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”
The world rejources when you finsh, God shouts when it starts - He is the God that knows the start from the end = Start it = Do the Good work.
What happens when you start?
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?”
Sanballat, in Hebrew = Enemy in Secret - Every time you start sometihng, you will hve an enemy in secret.
Watch the tension = You obeying God, Someone (maybe enemy) will have an opinion | This is the tension, of rebuilding or building anything worth building.
People start commenting, but it didn’t change nehemiah’s commitment (Because of compassion and commitment) The moment you commence ,you start getting opinions.
“Do you really put God first?” “You really should stop serving so much” “You help people A LOT”
The best thing is the “little” comment “How is your little biz going” ? little? what?
You will forfeit your plan, if you think about these opinions
The feedback I need is from Heavan | My Mentor | My spiritual Authority | people that are for me.
look at this;
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 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?”
What was the first thing Sanballot questioned?
What they/the Enemy will question
“What are these feeble jews doing?” -
Actions - People will question your actions - What are you doing? Do you really think you can do that?
Authenticity / Motive “Will they restore it for themselves” - They are not working for the good of everyone, just themselves | Just wants to be seen | Look, when you get called, he has called you because of how he made you to do a job that he wants you to do | Peter Fisherman | Me, Pastor | I am not just expressive because I am a pastor | I have bad jokes up here, and at home | I am going to pastor the way God has created me | In woolies, I was the same - Walking on the treadmill, I dance, in the middle of the gym - and because of how I am - They question “Oh, he makes a lot of jokes” “Can you believe he shared that?” - OF course I shared that, transparency. Listen - God made you, he knows what he is doing when HE wants HIS thing fulfilled
Test your Assurance “He was angry” - Sanballat was angry - Wait..Did I hear from God? - I thought they where gonna cheer, why aren’t they cheering? The world cheers, when we achieve, not when we start- Cause they want some attachement. **Poker story maybe**
Ability “Will they finish up in a day?” - Trying to remind them of what the world says they are - Can they really do it?
Assets - “Do they really think they can revive the stones out of hte heaps of rubbish and burned ones at that?” - If people always remind you of what you don’t have ,stop listening.
What did Nehemiah say to all of this?
Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
Prayed - First response to critism - prayed - Reach out to God!!
So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Built Half - They hating, Nehemiah is praying and people are working - AT THE SAME TIME. You can be hated, pray and keep on building - Master the art - Of fufilling your calling, in the midst of hate.
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. And 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?”
My favourite - Can’t come down - Can only engage in the poor opinion of others, when you aren’t engaged in the a great work. Ask God for a burden to fulfil on this earth.
These opinions might not even be people | Might be a voice = the enemy, whispering - If enemy can’t destroy you, he will distract you.
Know, you are doing a GREAT WORK - Mums, GREAT WORK, dads, GREAT WORK, Test your GREAT WORK against the BIBLE, not society.
For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
The enemy wants yo take you out of the game. Stop the work. Keep going
HOWEVER - haha HOWEVER.
Does this mean we should do what ever we want? No, you need help, to discern | a gate, is not opened by one person, it’s opened by many | Our flesh decieves us | We need to be rebuked, corrected - Bible tells us to.
I have 2 mentors | A reference Group | People to keep me accountable | I don’t trust myself.
If you are going to take a comment from someone, or give it to someone and you should make sure they meet these 3 criteria - By the way, YOU SHOULD.
Committed to Christ - Why are we listening to people that don’t follow the same principles and values as me?
Connected to Me - They have to be connected to you, to your situation, to your life - Church - Take someone out to coffee 3 or 4 times before you tell them they are meessed up. Change smooenes perspective, you need a seat at the table -
Compassion for others - Nehemiah was able to connect with a group of people that he didn’t know, because he had compassion
Jesus came, in compassion
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 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.
Inspo and Close
Inspo and Close
The wall took 52 days to build!! 52 days, that is it!!
Look, why is it important that we look at what can prevent us from building the wall? Because the wall is too important not to be built. We are on mission here. And you are required.
What do we do?
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
This is what he thinks about his treasured posession;
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
We are built up through our obedience to the word - through our spiritual worship, we have been given the same authority as the preists in the holy of holies to get close to the lord - Sacrafices in the old testament, there are spiritual sacrafices in the new testament, it’s what gets us close to the Lord = offering our bodies as a living sacrafice - the giving of your gifts to others to spread the gospel, the singing of praise and worship, doing of good and sharing posessions.
God, our Father, wants us to be built up - Wants us to be Spiritually Mature, wants us to mature in our faith, why? because when you are built up, everyone else gets built up - God’s Church gets built up. This same word, used all through the New Testament, about God’s house being built up - His Church, People being saved.
Rock Illustration
It says, rejected by Men - Coming to side with God, means that not everyone is going to like it - Don’t let the opinions of others, stop you from fulfilling your calling, and serving our Lord - You are required. You have a community that is for you.
**Pray**
**Altar Call** Jesus did the great work - He was on the cross - He could not come down.
