CHANGE YOUR WORLD IN 52 DAYS Finishing Strong Terry Baldwin

Transcription

1 October 9, 2016 CHANGE YOUR WORLD IN 52 DAYS Finishing Strong Terry Baldwin 1 [ TITLE SLIDE ] Today we are in Nehemiah chapter 6 talk about HOW YOU FINISH STRONG! BC / Nehemiah cup bearer to king Artaxerxes of Persia - Learned of Jerusalem / great Burden caused him to Cry - Pray - Act - Walls been down 140 years / Started the Project [ Nehemiah 6.1 NIV ] When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates The closer you get to doing what God wants done, the harder your enemy will fight to stop you....who has encountered this? We Don t Face Opposition Because We Are Doing Something Wrong, We Face (Spiritual) Opposition Because We Are Doing Something Right - Some of you started off to Church - Almost there and the kids vomit... - You are going to have a Spiritual Marriage - On your way to Sunday School and someone is late... argument

2 - Your body is a temple of God... you ve stop smoking for 6 months... The closer you get to doing what God wants done, the harder your enemy will fight to stop you. 2 Today we ll look at 2 strategies spiritual enemy uses to take you off the wall and stop you from doing what God called you to do. Your enemy s Strategy: 1. Your Enemy Will Try To Distract You [ Nehemiah 6.2a NIV ] Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono. - The enemy saw progress and wanted to STOP Nehemiah - Let s Take him off the wall and Distract Him When YOU start moving forward and doing what God called you to do... Enemy wants to Distract YOU - It won t be big things... You re to smart for that - It s LITTLE distractions over time become Big Distractions - Start something and hammering it out... then decide to get on facebook for a minute... - Something Good can distract you from the great thing God has called you to

3 - ENEMY IS TRYING TO TAKE YOU OFF THE WALL Here is how you re going to Respond: I m Not Coming Down! 3 [ Nehemiah 6.2b-3 NIV ] Come, let us meet together in...ono. But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you? - I m not coming down... I m doing something Important! - You have to have the courage to say NO to distraction even if they are good EXAMPLE: - Let s start a school - Let start a Gym Just because you could do something does not mean you should do something - Some of you are raising your kids - Pouring into their lives THIS SEASON IN MY LIFE I M DOING A GREAT WORK... AND I CAN T COME DOWN - I m a Student right now... - I m not going to let the enemy DISTRACT me...

4 4 Your enemy s Second Strategy: 2. Your Enemy Will Try To Discredit You He will do this by 2 ways... FIRST: Spreading Rumors - The more you do for God, the more people will gossip about you - Misinterpret your motives - Misunderstand you [ Nehemiah NIV ] Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter - Unsealed letter was a letter meant to be read Publicly to discredit Nehemiah - Like a Blog Post today... 6 in which was written: It is reported among the nations and Geshem (bad guy) says it is true that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: There is a king in Judah! Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together. - They were spreading rumors / NO TRUTH TO IT - If you read Nehemiah 5 it was just the opposite. - Nehemiah was the MOST sacrificial man around... - Nehemiah Feed people - Spoke on behalf of the poor - Loaned out money no interest 5.16 I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. 17 I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! 18 The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we

5 needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden. We Don t Face Opposition Because We Are Doing Something Wrong, We Face (Spiritual) Opposition Because We Are Doing Something Right 5 This is how Nehemiah responded 1. Said NOT TRUE 2. Then He PRAYED 3. Then he GOT BACK TO WORK - He didn t respond by writing his own blog Don t let what someone else says take you away from what you re doing Second way enemy will try to DISCREDIT you... SECOND: Tempting You To Compromise - Compromise your Integrity - Compromise to Sin / to Discredit you New Character introduce... Shemaiah... probably a temple priest Only the priest were aloud into the temple [ Nehemiah 6.10 NIV ] One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah,... who was shut in at his home. He said, Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you by night they are coming to kill you. - According to God's law, it would have been wrong for Nehemiah to go into the Temple to hide because he wasn't a priest - If Nehemiah had run for his life, he would have undermined the courage he was trying to instill in the people

6 6 [ Nehemiah NIV ] 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. - Very easy for leaders to fall for this - Easy to believe that you are entitled to more than you re entitled to - As you rise in leadership your spiritual enemy will try to convince you... you are more than you really are - I deserve more money than I m paid... GREED sets in - Doing important things and ladies notice me... SEXUAL temptation - You have great reputation at work... making a difference... over worked so you justify putting something on business expense JUST ONE THING CAN DISCREDIT YOU! The closer you get to doing what God wants done, the harder your enemy will fight to stop you. When enemy tries to DISTRACT you... I M NOT COMING DOWN When enemy tries to DISCREDIT you... you respond with... I m Not Giving Up! - satan is trying to stop you and defeat you... I M NOT GIVING UP!!

7 7 Shemaiah said: They are trying to kill you [ Nehemiah 6.11 NIV ] But I said, Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go! - I came to build a wall... not stoping till finished! - I m not giving up my: GOOD NAME / INTEGRITY / My COST REVIEW 4 WEEKS: Who does God love to use?? ORDINARY PEOPLE... give extraordinary callings God gives burdens so strong, people... SIT DOWN CRY / KNEEL TO PRAY / STANDS UP TO ACT I m not ok with this.. somebody s got to do something... He or she knows with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE So what do you do?? YOU DEFINE THE VISION CLEARLY... - Going to rebuild this wall - Speak on behalf of unborn - Mentor kids MAKE PLANS CAREFULLY... - Small steps... step... step...

8 - Inspire people to follow you If you ever feel DISCOURAGED what do you do?? YOU REMEMBER YOUR GOD... 8 YOU FIGHT FOR THE CAUSE... - We re fighting for our sons / daughters - Fighting for our homes - Tool in one hand / Weapon in other - FIGHT AND NEVER GIVE UP When enemy DISTRACT you... I M DOING A GREAT WORK AND I M NOT COMING DOWN When enemy tries to DISCREDIT you put you down I M NOT GOING TO QUITE THEY PUT JESUS DOWN AND 3 DAYS LATER HE ROSE The same Spirit is in me!!! What is the end of this story [ Nehemiah NIV ] So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. - No lightning from heaven - No talking donkeys

9 - No prayer hankies - ALL YOU SEE IS MIRACLE OF GOD WORKING THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND DETERMINATION 9 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their selfconfidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6.9 God is not calling you to take up space and make a name for yourself - He is calling you to change the world Father I pray in the name of your Son Jesus, that your Spirit would speak to your church clearly, and that God, we would be different because we are in your presence.