winning the battle over discouragement

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, February 5, 2017 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister MESSAGE 3 IN WINNING LIFE'S BATTLES SERMON SERIES winning the battle over discouragement Nehemiah 4:1-10 (NKJV) Tonight as we continue with our series winning life's battles we are going to be looking at one of the most common battles we face in life and that is THE BATTLE WITH DISCOURAGEMENT. ****** To ask you, Have you ever been discouraged would be like asking you, Are you a human being? Of course you have been discouraged! Every one of us has been discouraged many, many times! Even the most optimistic, positive Christians you know battles discouragement. Perhaps some of you are battling discouragement right now. If so, I pray that the LORD will use tonight's message to encourage and strengthen you. Billy Graham once said, The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'O God help me. I have prayed simple prayers like that many, many times when I

2 was discouraged; haven't you? ************************************************ ILLUSTRATION: One day the devil was auctioning off some of his favorite tools such as PRIDE...ENVY...JEALOUSY... BITTERNESS...and HATE. And being the shrewd, dishonest businessman he was, the devil's tools were grossly overpriced. A potential buyer happened to notice one tool sitting off to the side away from all the others. The man asked the devil, How much do you want for that tool over there? The devil said, Oh I could never sell you that tool; its my favorite! Why I have used that tool to pry inside of more hearts than any other tool I own. The man said, Do you mind if I ask just what you call that tool? The devil said, Nope, don't mind at all. I call that tool DISCOURAGEMENT! Some of the greatest men and women of faith in the Bible battled greatly with discouragement. JOB BECAME GREATLY DISCOURAGED after losing everything he had including his ten children. And to add insult to injury Job's own wife told him to curse God and die. And as if that weren't enough, three of Job's friends came around to counsel him in his time of discouragement and blamed all of Job's troubles on SIN in his life. JOHN THE BAPTIST faced terrible discouragement when he was thrown into a dark prison cell. In fact he was so discouraged he sent some of his followers to ask Jesus, Are you the Messiah, or should I look for another?

3 THE PROPHET ELIJAH became so discouraged when Queen Jezebel put out a warrant for his death that he ran to the desert and laid down under a tree and asked GOD to take his life. In his first letter to Timothy, THE APOSTLE PAUL talked about his discouragement of having been abandoned by Demas, and Hymanaeus, and Alexander who had once worked as his faithful co-laborers in the gospel. The truth is, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ Satan is going to do everything he possibly can to discourage you and me, because a discouraged Christian is a defeated Christian. Tonight as we think about WINNING THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENT I would like for you to turn with me in your Bibles to the Old Testament Book of Nehemiah, chapter four. And let's read verses NEHEMIAH 4:1-10 (NKJV) 1 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish stones that are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall. 4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. 6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. 7 Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, 8 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. 10 Then Judah said, The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so

4 much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall. ILLUSTRATION: On the morning of Donald Trump's inauguration, Robert Jeffress, Minister of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas spoke at a prayer service. In his message that morning, Jeffress compared Donald Trump to Nehemiah. Jeffress said to President Trump, Today God has raised you and Vice- President Pence up for a great, eternal purpose. When I think of you, President-elect Trump, I am reminded of another great leader God chose thousands of years ago in Israel. The nation had been in bondage for decades, the infrastructure of the country was in shambles and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the nation. And the man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead, GOD CHOSE A BUILDER WHOSE NAME WAS NEHEMIAH. GOD chose Nehemiah to rebuild the great wall around Jerusalem that had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. It took Nehemiah and his fellow builders just 52 days to rebuild that wall, but along the way Nehemiah and his fellow workers battled discouragement almost every step of the way.

5 First of all, let's consider... I. Some CAUSES of DISCOURAGEMENT 1. In this fourth chapter of Nehemiah we see four causes of discouragement. (A) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FATIGUE (v.10a) v.10a Then Judah said, The strength of the laborers is failing... In the original Hebrew, the meaning of that phrase The strength of the laborers is failing literally meant they were stumbling and staggering under their load. Remember I told you while ago this wall-building project required fifty-two days of hard, back- breaking labor. These men were picking up huge pieces of stone from the wall that had been torn down seventy years earlier and putting them back together like a jig-saw puzzle. And when we come here to verse 10 the project is

6 only half done. For thirty straight days they have been working from sun up til sundown and they are just half-way through. Fatigue has caught up with these men! They have lost their strength, and when they lost their strength they lost their courage. In other words, they became DIS-couraged! The late Vince Lombardi, Coach of the Green Bay Packers once said, Fatigue makes cowards of us all. Some of our greatest battles with discouragement come at a time when we are dead tired... worn slam out,...fatigued! When you are discouraged make a mental note of how tired you are...how many nights you have gone without quality sleep...how many days you have worked in a row without taking a day off...how long it has been since you have taken a vacation. Fatigue caused the wall-builders to become discouraged and it will do the same to you and me!

7 (B) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FRUSTRATION v. 10b The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish... For thirty days they have been putting the wall back together brick by brick and stone by stone. And when they stand back and look at take a good look at what they have done their focus is on how many bricks and stones are still laying in a heap on the ground. They are FRUSTRATED! It looks like there's a whole lot more bricks and stones on the ground than on the wall! Simply put, they saw little fruit for all their hard labor. We have all experienced that frustration haven't we? We have worked for days or weeks or even months on a project and stepped back and wondered just what we have accomplished. When we see little or no fruit for all the hard work we have done it is very easy to get discouraged.

8 (C) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FAILURE. v. 10c Then Judah said, The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall. The wall-builders have thrown up their hands in defeat! We're fatigued...we're frustrated...and we have failed! We are NEVER going to get this wall built! The truth was they hadn't failed! They were just so discouraged they thought they had! One of the greatest causes of discouragement in the Christian life is FAILURE! We try our best to live for the LORD, and yet no matter how hard we try we sometimes fail, and fail miserably. And Satan uses our failures to discourage us to the point we want to give up and stop trying! Sometimes discouragement is caused by FATIGUE...sometimes by FRUSTRATION...sometimes by FAILURE...

9 (D) And sometimes discouragement is caused by FEAR. vs. 11, 12 And our adversaries said, They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease. So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us. Imagine this scene: These men have been working hard for thirty straight days. They are absolutely worn out...they are frustrated...and they feel like the whole project is a failure. They are just as discouraged as can be. And now to add insult to injury, enemies start passing by criticizing their work and even threatening to kill them if they continued to rebuild the wall. So add FEAR to their growing list of reasons to be discouraged! There are always critics and nay-sayers who will discourage us any time we try to do good, especially when we try to do the work GOD has called us to do. And sometimes the voice of the critic is so loud it discourages us from continuing with our good work until it is completed! One of the biggest reasons many ministers have

10 left the ministry is because they became so discouraged by the voices of nit-pickers and complainers that they just gave up! 2. The next time you find yourself BATTLING DISCOURAGEMENT if you will pause to reflect on why you are discouraged, chances are one or more of these four causes is the culprit...fatigue... FRUSTRATION...FAILURE...or FEAR! Well now that we have looked at SOME CAUSES OF DISCOURAGEMENT, let's consider... II. Some CURES For DISCOURAGEMENT 1. It is inevitable that you and I will BATTLE DISCOURAGE- But MENT many times over the course of our lifetime. what matters most is how we respond in times of discouragement. 2. Here in Nehemiah 4 the wall-builders did three things to WIN THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENT. (A) First of all, in times of discouragement REACH OUT TO GOD IN PRAYER.

11 vs. 4,5 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. v. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. How many of us in times of discouragement turn to prayer as a last resort, when it ought to be our first line of defense? When these wall-builders battled discouragement they prayed. When Abraham, and Moses, and Joseph, and Job, and David battled discouragement, they all prayed! The next time you battle discouragement PRAY FIRST, NOT LAST! REACH OUT TO GOD! (B) Second, in times of discouragement REMEMBER THE LORD IS ON YOUR SIDE v. 14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. At first, all the criticism and all those threats of

12 the enemy struck fear in the hearts of the wallbuilders. It appeared as though they were up against a formidable enemy they could not defeat! But when they REMEMBERED THE GREAT AND AWESOME GOD WAS ON THEIR SIDE THEIR DISCOURAGEMENT WAS REPLACED WITH COURAGE! When you and I are battling discouragement it often seems as though everybody and everything is against us and we are all alone in our battle! BUT WHEN WE REMEMBER THAT WONDERFUL PROMISE IN ROMANS 8 THAT IF GOD IS FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US WE CAN OVERCOME OUR DISCOURAGEMENT! (C) And thirdly, in times of discouragement RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT TO BE FAITHFUL UNTIL THE END. vs So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Remember that old saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going? Those who opposed

13 the re-building of the wall thought they had frightened the wall-builders enough that they would just quit and walk off the job. Instead they did the exact opposite. THEY RENEWED THEIR COMMITMENT TO STAY WITH THE WORK AND FINISH THE WALL. Half of the men worked while the other half suited up for battle to protect the workers from the enemy! One of the biggest temptations we face when we are discouraged is the temptation to quit, to give up, to throw in the towel! But if instead we will RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE END, we will see God's blessings and rewards! HOW DO WE WIN THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENT? ***-reach out to god in prayer! -remember the lord is on your side! -RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE END! ***************************************************** ** C O N C L U S I O N WINSTON CHURCHILL is remembered as one of the greatest men of the twentieth century. In public, Churchill was known renowned

14 for his great optimism; but in private Churchill suffered from prolonged bouts with discouragement and depression. Much of Churchill's discouragement and depression arose from the circumstances of his childhood. As a boy, Churchill had little contact with his parents. He was sent away to a boarding school, where he was absolutely miserable. He received severe beatings from the headmaster. And while he was in school, his parents seldom wrote him letters. When his father wrote, his letters were filled with rebuke and criticism of Winston. As he grew older the bouts with discouragement and depression became more intense and frequent. Churchill even gave a name to his discouragement; he called it: Black Dog. When he was having a particularly bad day he would say, Black dog is here today. But in time, Churchill began to realize that the black dog was in reality the devil himself. Churchill once wrote... Negative thoughts originate with Satan the devil, who can capitalize on difficulties in our lives; sickness, job pressures, and other severe trials----the devil can use negative episodes like these to generate feelings of dejection. (Churchill: The Man by Anthony Storr, pp. 207, 245) Is that black dog of discouragement hanging around your house these days? Remember discouragement is the devil's favorite tool! HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

15 Why should I feel discouraged and why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion, a constant Friend is He, His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free; His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.