Dis-couraged
Last week we preached on Handling dirty laundry. We said that one dictionary says that the name Sanballat means: sin has given life to. Sin will give life to condemnation, discouragement, alienation etc. The cure is twofold: Stop sinning, and 2. learn how to deal with your dirty laundry, your and others: wash it. And remember: God treated Jesus on the cross as if He lived your life, so that He could treat you as if you lived Jesus life.
Today I want to bring my second dissed message from the book of Nehemiah. The first was dis-ease, and if you remember I used the illustration of using your left hand, (weak hand) how it produces feelings of awkwardness, and uncomfortableness, and we are prone to want to go back and do things the old way. The purpose is so that we can become like David’s mighty warriors and be able to use a sling with either hand. Even so God used people with no building experience to build the walls of Jerusalem. Goldsmith’s perfumers, priests, and politicians. They had to learn how to overcome feelings of dis-ease
Today I want to talk about how to overcome feelings of discouragement.
Discouragement is a tool the enemy uses to turn progress into retreat.
It is used as a tool of leverage to move someone towards quitting, resigning, bailing on a marriage, and the ultimate quitting is suicide.
One of the reasons it is so powerful a weapon is because we are extremely susceptible to it and it is highly contagious.
If you pitch an idea or dream to someone, and with a laughing type attitude they simply say, "Yeah right",
it could throw you into a fit of discouragement, and make you want to give up your idea.
2 Key verses for today: Nehemiah 4:10, and 6:9
Ne 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and [there is] much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
Ne 6:9 For all of them were [trying] to frighten us, thinking, "They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done." But now, [O God,] strengthen my hands.
Also we will read Nehemiah 4:7-15
Ne 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us [they will be upon you].
2 Causes of their discouragement
1. They were worn out.
Spiritually and physically.
This happened in the middle of their project.
Ne 4:5 Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before Thee, for they have demoralized the builders.
Ne 4:6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its [height,] for the people had a mind to work.
The wall was half built. Initial enthusiasm would have worn off, and the enormity of the task ahead that would have to face without the enthusiasm that got them started.
Reminds me of Ezekiel 37 - he was set down in the middle of the valley and all he could see in every direction was dead bones. You are most susceptible to discouragement in the middle of a project, because at the beginning you have starters enthusiasm, and at the end you have finishers enthusiasm. Think about college, those of you who have gone there. Freshmen year you have a lot of enthusiasm as you start your journey, Senior year you are excited and motivated because the finish line is in sight. It is in the middle of that journey that many give up and quit. Sophomore and Junior years are the hardest, in the same way in the middle of the battle it is the hardest.
A. They were under constant spiritual attack:
Water can wear down mountains. The Jews were attacked over and over again. Continued attacks can wear out the best of men. I want to show you some verse that show this continuous attack, but also remind you that one of the things the antichrist is said to do is to, "wear out the saints of the most high." Dan 7:25
Look at all theses verses that show the continual harassment they had from the enemy:
Ezr 4:4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.
Ne 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Ne 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard [it], they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What [is] this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Ne 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
Ne 4:7 But it came to pass, [that] when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
Ne 4:8 And conspired all of them together to come [and] to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. {to hinder
Ne 6:1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and [that] there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
Ne 6:2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in [some one of] the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
Ne 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I [am] doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
Ne 6:4 And they sent [messages] to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way.
Ne 6:5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
Ne 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us [they will be upon you].
B. Physical exhaustion:
Ne 4:10 Thus in Judah it was said, "The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall."
In Judah it was said...
Judah usually signifies the spiritually strong in Israel, the praisers. Send Judah first etc.. They got so down in the mouth they said, "we can’t do this anymore."
The burden bearers: the spouse that has been carrying the load, the intercessors, the encouragers, the people who have been getting the job done. This is not talking about those who do nothing, but the people who normally carry the load. A church is in great danger when the burden bearers get worn out, included in this group are your pastors.
Why? What caused this?
Ne 4:22 At that time I also said to the people, "Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day."
In other words they were working night and day. The Sabbath is God’s idea. A day off is good for you. Vacations, rests, time off from work.
We know when small children need a nap - they can’t cranky. What makes you think you are different now that you are older?
Cause 1 Worn out by enemies
Cause 2 Worked over by friends
Ne 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us [they will be upon you].
Discouragement is contagious, especially when conditions are right. In this case there was prolonged spiritual attack, and physical exhaustion.
They were beat up by the rabble in the church.
Rabble is the lowest or coarsest class of people. I am not talking about their financial status, but their spiritual status.
They have always been with us, but never are really of us. In Moses day they were called the mixt multitude. A little bit like us, and a little bit like the enemy, that is how they are described.
They lived closest to the wall. They were Jews, it wasn’t simply the enemy who was discouraging them.
They were susceptible to the ideas of the enemy.
They become the spokesperson for the enemy not the Lord.
There will always be people in your life who are more susceptible to fear than faith, and the reason is they live too close to the enemy. Even Jesus, once said to Peter, get thee behind me satan. Just because someone is sitting in a pew, doesn’t mean they aren’t stewing in negative pew. Church folk can discourage just as good as the devil sometimes, because they live so carnally as to be in tune with his thoughts and ideas.
The cure:
1. Rally your strength. (Gen 48:2 NIV)
Straighten yourself out. Encourage yourself in the Lord.
Nehemiah said, "Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears, and bows." (Nehemiah 4:13)
2. Remember, and repeat.
"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your people, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (Nehemiah 4:14)
Refocus on the importance of what you are doing, and refocus on what the Lord says, and tune out the devils radio station.
Keep your mouth shut and only say what God told you.
Ne 2:12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I [any] man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither [was there any] beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
Nehemiah got on his horse and traveled up and down the wall. Though he saw the ruin, the difficulty, the problems, he stayed focused on what God had put in his heart to do. Unlike Peter, he kept his focus on God, and not on the wind and waves.
3. Resist: Fight the Good Fight.
Everyday you let fear stay for free is a day you lose.
I heard that statement without explanation on one of those drug intervention shows. I took it to mean this: When fear comes in, if you don’t fight it, you lose.
I would like to expand that statement and restate this way:
Lack of attack = permission
In other words, if a thought is planted in your heart and mind that is negative and discouraging and you don’t attack it, you have in fact given it permission to remain.
Think of building a wall of lego’s it may start out small, but it can become quite the dominant feature in your life’s landscape. Negative people aren’t the ones who have the hardest lives, they are the ones who have let negativity have free reign in their hearts and minds. Paul spoke of bringing every thought captive to Christ. Whatsoever is pure, whatsoever is lovely etc. think on these things and the God of peace will keep you. The 10 of the 12 Israeli spies, let negativity rule, instead of sweeping it out of their mind, and they influenced their whole nation into surrendering to fear, and missed God’s plan for 40 years.
Fight the good fight of faith, with every thought that tries to land in your spirit, or you will be completely taken over by the negative in your life.
Close: Prayer for those who have been battling discouragement.
