Keep Your Eye On The Ball Series

Series: Momma Says… (James)[#9]

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL

James 5:13-20

Chris (Congregational Reading):

What is our vision? It is our vision to:

1. Lead the lost to Jesus Christ!

2. Live lives in the world that lead the lost to Jesus Christ!

3. Intentionally make all church activities about the worship of Jesus Christ, growing stronger in Christ, and taking our faith beyond these walls.

IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS!

Prayer: Chris

Baptism

Scripture Reading (Chris): James 5:13-20

Boyd’s Testimony Of Healing

Introduction:

What a week! We have lived Nehemiah 6 and James 5:13-20 this week (which is where both our series just happen to be). On Wednesday evening we have Foundations Worship Service (which is our youth service) at 6:00 p.m. Our praise and worship team struggled with tempo the whole time to the point that Brandon (the worship leader) was skipping parts of the song so that it could end quicker. Jeff (the youth minister) was sick and feeling terrible. He had almost no voice. As Jeff preached a powerful sermon on salvation to an audience with several lost people in it, his voice began to get stronger and stronger to the point that I had to turn his microphone almost off. At the invitation time, 6 of the youth walked out of the service. Jeff went and spoke to them while the praise team continued to struggle.

After the service, we have our Sunday Morning Praise Team rehearsal. Chris knew that Brenda and Pat needed to leave on time so he had prepared very well in order for that to happen. We started later Wednesday then we ever do. Music that was there was gone. Praise team members had unexpected problems they had to deal with. We finally got started and Chris’ guitar popped and sputtered several times. After only practicing 1 song, Chris told Brenda and Pat they could go and apologized for how things were going.

The rest of us stayed and begin to talk about what a tough day it had been and all of sudden God showed me why Chris had not preached Nehemiah 6 last Saturday. I had asked Chris to continue in the series but he thought I said not to continue in the series. Anyhow James 5:16, (which is usually a dangerous thing to do amongst gossiping people in churches today) began to happen. “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (James 5:16 MSG). I began to tell them about Nehemiah 6 and what was going on. In verse 1 it says, “Now it came about when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates”. The wall was completed, but the gates were not yet up. The city was still vulnerable to attack but not for much longer. The enemy knew that and had to do something quickly before their opportunity for victory over Nehemiah and the people was over.

Nehemiah 6:2-4 (Message)

“Sanballat and Geshem sent this message: "Come and meet with us at Kephirim in the valley of Ono." I knew they were scheming to hurt me so I sent messengers back with this: "I’m doing a great work; I can’t come down. Why should the work come to a standstill just so I can come down to see you?" Four times they sent this message and four times I gave them my answer.”

1. The enemy tries to draw us out from where we are secure. This message looked innocent, but Nehemiah knew that if he went to Ono he would end up dead.

The enemy was trying to draw those 8 guys out of this Church the other night so we wouldn’t stay and wage spiritual war against him. He was trying to get us to not stay and continue that work God had been stirring up in us all day long. We didn’t leave, and God moved in a mighty way as we prayed. We are secure in the arms of Jesus.

Nehemiah 6:5-9 (Message)

“The fifth time- same messenger, same message- Sanballat sent an unsealed letter with this message: "The word is out among the nations- and Geshem says it’s true- that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. That’s why you are rebuilding the wall. The word is that you want to be king and that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem, ’There’s a king in Judah!’ The king is going to be told all this- don’t you think we should sit down and have a talk?" I sent him back this: "There’s nothing to what you’re saying. You’ve made it all up." They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought, "They’ll give up; they’ll never finish it." I prayed, "Give me strength."