The Power Of Determination Series

Determination makes the differance! Determination makes the differance!

I would like to start our time together this morning by asking you a question. My intent is

not to embarrass anyone, so please don’t raise your hands, but rather answer this question

in your own heart. The question is, “Am I willing to live my life for Jesus Christ,

regardless of the cost, regardless of what obstacles may come at me and regardless of the

opposition that I am sure to face?” Are you willing to live the new life that God has in

store for you, putting behind you the old ways and the old habits and striving toward that

which God has planned for you? Do you sit here this morning with the determination or

the “stick-to-itiveness” that it will take, because you know what God brought you out of,

what HE purchased you out of with the payment of the death of His son Jesus Christ on

the cross.

Our focal passage this morning is short and is found in Nehemiah 6:15-16;

“so the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it

happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these

things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this

work was done by our God”

Over the past several weeks we have been looking at the book of Nehemiah from various

points of view, but I feel that this is the most powerful one yet. Why? Because of that

first part of our scripture for today, “so the wall was finished”.

Nehemiah found himself living a privileged life as the cup bearer to the great king

Artexerxes, giving advise to the king when asked, participating in meetings of all types

and as the cupbearer was even responsible for the safety of the king. While this life was

great in comparison to standards of the time, he was simply going about his daily tasks and

living a fairly uneventful existence. In fact, I think that Nehemiah is a lot like many of us

here this morning in that, we go to work everyday, day in and day out, but not really

believing that we have found our purpose in life, God’s purpose in our life. Nehemiah

probably felt this way. But then God intervened and asked Nehemiah to give up his good

job to go and do a hard job in the building around Jeruselam.

Is there anyone in the room today that has been tempted to quit anything? I am sure that

Nehemiah was tempted to quit at every step along the wall building project, but he didn’t.

He kept going regardless of what oppostion came at him. This is a great picture of

determination.

How many diplomas have been earned because of determination? How many court battles

won, because of determination? How many addictions conquered because of

determination? How many musical pieces written, how many cures for diseases found,

how many marriages built strong due to determination? What faithfulness to God kept,

because of determination?

This determination is not common as most do not have what it takes to complete the

tasks that God has called them too. As a matter of fact we find in the bible that out of 400

leaders mentioned, only 80 finished well. Most did not as most do not have what it takes

to cross the finish line.

Barna says that most New year’s resolutions last only 17 days. We just don’t stick to

things very well these days. There is a lack of, a void of, a chasm of determination. But I

don’t want to dwell on defeats this morning, I want to talk about the victories! We will

study some inspriration, learn some applicaton and then we will be done.

Dr. Beck Wethers attempted to climb Mt Everest in 1987 along with many other people.

This was, and is a monumental task as it takes three months, averages $50,000 in cost and

only 1 in 4 ever reach the summitt. For every 17 that reach the summit, one dies. Dr

Wethers and a companion were stranded high up in 30 -50 below 0 temperatures, 50-60

mile per hour winds and a blinding snow storm. By the time that the rescuers found them

the lady had dies and Dr. Wethers showed no signs of life, had ice over his face and they

assumed he was dead. Before they could get the two bodies off of that area of the

mountain the weather turned even worse and the rescuers had to retreat to a base camp

futher down the mountain. A revived Dr. Wethers came to and began to snake his way

down the mountain to the camp. He was snow blinded, walked frankenstien like and had