Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Discouragement Its Causes and Cure Msg 616 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Discouragement Its Causes and Cure Msg 616 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: The further we travel through the pages of Nehemiah, the
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Speaker 1: more we discover the value and relevance of its instruction for, well,
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Speaker 1: every level of leadership. Today, as we turn to Nehemiah
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Speaker 1: chapter 4, verses 9 through 23, we find Nehemiah's work
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Speaker 1: crew discouraged for the first time since the project of
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Speaker 1: rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem had begun. Though they were
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Speaker 1: at one time enthusiastic and energetic, very motivated, Nehemiah's workers
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Speaker 1: now grew weary and became discouraged. They lost their strength,
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Speaker 1: their vision, confidence, and even their security. But Nehemiah, overcoming
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Speaker 1: his own discouragement, took up the task of curing their
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Speaker 1: melancholy mood through a variety of God-directed means, and it's
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Speaker 1: that which interests us in our study today. From this passage,
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Speaker 1: we're going to learn that during times of discouragement, it's
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Speaker 1: important for us to do several things. First, to refocus
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Speaker 1: our attention on the Lord and on the goal. Second,
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Speaker 1: to maintain a healthy balance. Third, to return to a
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Speaker 1: rallying point. And fourth and finally, to re-energize our spirits
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Speaker 1: through ministry to others. So, with all four of those
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Speaker 1: in mind, let's read Nehemiah's story from chapter 4, beginning
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Speaker 1: at verse 9. But we prayed to our God, and
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Speaker 1: because of them we set up a guard against them
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Speaker 1: day and night. Thus in Judah it was said, The
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Speaker 1: strength of the burden-bearers is failings, yet there is much rubbish,
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Speaker 1: and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall. Our
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Speaker 1: enemies said, They will not know or see until we
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Speaker 1: come among them, kill them, and put a stop to
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Speaker 1: the work. When the Jews who lived near them came
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Speaker 1: and told us ten times, They will come up against
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Speaker 1: us from every place where you may turn, then I
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Speaker 1: stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind
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Speaker 1: the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people
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Speaker 1: in families with their swords, spears, and bows. When I
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Speaker 1: saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles,
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Speaker 1: the officials, and the rest of the people. Do not
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Speaker 1: be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great
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Speaker 1: and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters,
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Speaker 1: your wives, and your houses. When our enemies heard that
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Speaker 1: it was known to us and that God had frustrated
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Speaker 1: their plans, then all of us returned to the wall,
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Speaker 1: each one to his work. From that day on, half
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Speaker 1: of my servants carried on the work while half of
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Speaker 1: them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates,
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Speaker 1: and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.
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Speaker 1: Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried
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Speaker 1: burdens took their load with one hand doing the work,
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Speaker 1: and the other holding a weapon. As for the builders,
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Speaker 1: each wore his sword girded at his side as he built,
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Speaker 1: while the trumpeter stood near me. I said to the nobles,
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Speaker 1: the officials, and the rest of the people, The work
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Speaker 1: is great and extensive, and we are separated on the
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Speaker 1: wall far from one another. At whatever place you hear
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Speaker 1: the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our
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Speaker 1: God will fight for us. So we carried on the work,
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Speaker 1: with half of them holding spears from dawn until the
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Speaker 1: stars appeared. At that time I also said to the people,
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Speaker 1: Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: so that they may be a guard for us by night,
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Speaker 1: and a laborer by day. So neither I, my brothers,
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Speaker 1: my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me.
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Speaker 1: None of us removed our clothes. Each took his weapon,
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Speaker 1: even to the water.
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Speaker 2: Mrs. Monroe lives in Darlington, Maryland. She's the mother of
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Speaker 2: eight children. And except for a few interesting experiences, she's
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Speaker 2: just like any other mother across America. One experience was
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Speaker 2: so unique that John Haggai put it in his book,
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Speaker 2: How to Win Over Worry. She came home one afternoon,
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Speaker 2: from the grocery store and walked into her home and
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Speaker 2: everything looked pretty much the same, though it was a
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Speaker 2: little bit quieter than usual. She looked into the middle
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Speaker 2: of the living room and five of her darlings were
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Speaker 2: sitting around in a circle, exceedingly quiet, doing something with
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Speaker 2: something in the middle of the circle. And so she
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Speaker 2: put down the sacks of groceries and walked over closely
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Speaker 2: and looked and saw that they were playing with five
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Speaker 2: of the cutest skunks you can imagine. She was instantly terrified,
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Speaker 2: and she said, Run, children, run! And each child grabbed
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Speaker 2: a skunk and ran in five different directions. One went
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Speaker 2: to the bedroom, one went to the kitchen, one went
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Speaker 2: to the bathroom. Another stayed pretty close. And she was
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Speaker 2: beside herself and screamed louder, more frantically, with great gusto,
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Speaker 2: and it so scared the children that each one squeezed
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Speaker 2: his skunk. And as the writer put it, skunks don't
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Speaker 2: like to be squads. And when I read that story
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Speaker 2: that Haggai mentions in his book, I cannot help but
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Speaker 2: think of Nehemiah. You may wonder, why in the world
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Speaker 2: does that remind me of Nehemiah? I think Nehemiah is
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Speaker 2: just like Ms. Monroe. He took on a project that
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Speaker 2: had all the appearance of being harmless and innocent and
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Speaker 2: simple and quiet. I mean, what could be very exciting
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Speaker 2: about building a wall around a city? Every city ought
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Speaker 2: to have a wall, at least cities that were built
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Speaker 2: in that day. And it seemed as though he would
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Speaker 2: be able to go, and in the passing of just
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Speaker 2: a very few weeks, he'd have the wall built and
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Speaker 2: go back to the capital there in Persia and take
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Speaker 2: up where he left off, but not so. He looked
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Speaker 2: over the shoulders of those workmen, if you please, and
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Speaker 2: he found all of a sudden a can of worms,
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Speaker 2: or if I could press it, a real problem with
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Speaker 2: a stink. In fact, the deeper he tried to alleviate
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Speaker 2: the problem, the greater it became. First, there was sarcasm.
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Speaker 2: Then there was difficulty from without as far as mockery
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Speaker 2: is concerned. And that led to open opposition and criticism,
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Speaker 2: which finally led to a conspiracy, as we've already noted
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Speaker 2: in chapter 4 of Nehemiah. The conspiracy was so great
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Speaker 2: that before long, the inevitable took place. Discouragement set in.
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Speaker 2: And there is nothing quite like dealing with the problem
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Speaker 2: of discouragement if you are a leader. In other words,
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Speaker 2: no matter how hard he tried to correct the problems,
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Speaker 2: they just got worse. They multiplied and magnified as time
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Speaker 2: went on. I suppose all of us in some measure
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Speaker 2: have experienced something like Mrs. Monroe or something like Nehemiah
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Speaker 2: trying to solve a problem and have it only get
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Speaker 2: worse on your hands and before your own eyes. And
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Speaker 2: so we come this morning to the problem that has
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Speaker 2: plagued everyone here and perhaps is right now plaguing you.
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Speaker 2: The problem of discouragement. I don't know of anything that
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Speaker 2: will take the wind.
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Speaker 3: Out of your sails like discouragement.
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Speaker 2: It was as though Nehemiah could walk back into his
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Speaker 2: tent and say, well, walls just don't like to be built.
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Speaker 2: No matter how hard I try, it's getting worse as
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Speaker 2: time passes. I want us to notice before we get
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Speaker 2: into the causes and then the cure for discouragement. I
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Speaker 2: want to notice with you where the discouragement came from. Look,
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Speaker 2: if you will, at verse 10. We prayed to our God,
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Speaker 2: says verse 9, and because of the enemy we set
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Speaker 2: up a guard. And then verse 10 says, Thus in
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Speaker 2: Judah it was said. Now that may not mean very
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Speaker 2: much to you if you're not familiar with Judah. But
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Speaker 2: it means a whole lot to people that are serious
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Speaker 2: Bible students. Genesis 49 and verse 10 tells us something.
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Speaker 3: About Judah that is worth noting.
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Speaker 2: Hold your place here and look back at the next
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Speaker 2: to last chapter of the first book of your Bible.
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Speaker 2: Find verse 8 of Genesis 49. You will discover that
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Speaker 2: Judah was not just any kind of tribe among the
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Speaker 2: people of Israel.
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Speaker 3: Judah was the leader.
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Speaker 2: Genesis 49.8, Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Now these
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Speaker 2: are the words of Jacob according to verse 1. the
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Speaker 2: father of these sons and he is summoning his sons
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Speaker 2: before him and he's casting upon them blessings warnings predictions
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Speaker 2: encouragements and when he comes to Judah he says Judah
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Speaker 2: you're going to be a leader among the family Your
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Speaker 2: brothers will praise you. Verse 10, the scepter shall not
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Speaker 2: depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his
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Speaker 2: feet until Shiloh comes. You could in your own mind
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Speaker 2: imagine the word Shiloh to mean Messiah. Judah, you will
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Speaker 2: be the messianic tribe. Through your loins there will someday
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Speaker 2: be born Messiah. the Savior of the world, the Messiah,
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Speaker 2: the scepter will never depart from you. And to him,
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Speaker 2: that is unto Shiloh, shall be the obedience of the peoples. Now,
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Speaker 2: aside from the prophetic impact of this verse, there is
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Speaker 2: a practical factor. These people of Judah were to be
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Speaker 2: respected and Because they were the chosen ones through whom
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Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus someday would be born. But when you
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Speaker 2: get to Nehemiah 4, you find that it's Judah of
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Speaker 2: all the peoples who are bringing the words of discouragement
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Speaker 2: to the group. Not only were they coming from Judah,
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Speaker 2: but verse 12 tells us something else. Another source of discouragement.
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Speaker 2: It came about when the Jews who lived near them.
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Speaker 2: Near whom? Near the enemy. The ones who said in
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Speaker 2: verse 11, we will kill them. We will put a
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Speaker 2: stop to the work. Well, there were Jews who lived
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Speaker 2: near that information. And they kept having it bombard their
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Speaker 2: ears day after day. In fact... We read in verse
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Speaker 2: 12 that they came and told us ten times. The
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Speaker 2: handwriting is on the wall. It's just a matter of
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Speaker 2: time before we will be wiped off the face of
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Speaker 2: the earth. The information of discouragement came from people that
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Speaker 2: lived near it. You see, you cannot live around negativism
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Speaker 2: and not have some of it rub off on you.
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Speaker 2: Which is one of the whole points we want to
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Speaker 2: make this morning about discouragement. If you are given to discouragement,
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Speaker 2: you cannot run the risk of spending a lot of
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Speaker 2: your time with people that give constant discouraging information. It
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Speaker 2: happens on a mission field just like it happens here
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Speaker 2: in the States. It's true no matter what your status
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Speaker 2: in life may be. So first it came from Judah,
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Speaker 2: which was very surprising. And then it came from these
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Speaker 2: Jews that lived near the critics, which was very significant.
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Speaker 2: Let's notice the cause, aside from what we've mentioned. Let's
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Speaker 2: notice four causes for discouragement. And they are mentioned here,
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Speaker 2: beginning at verse 10. Verse 10 says, Judah said, the
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Speaker 2: strength of the burden bearers is failing. Reason number one,
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Speaker 2: In this passage for discouragement is a loss of strength.
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Speaker 2: A loss of energy.
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Speaker 3: They were tired.
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Speaker 2: You see the word failing? The strength is failing. The
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Speaker 2: original text says stumbling, tottering, staggering under the load. These people, Nehemiah,
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Speaker 2: have been working a long time and they're getting tired. Well,
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Speaker 2: how long had they been building this wall? That's quite important.
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Speaker 2: Look up at verse 6. We built the wall and
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Speaker 2: the whole wall was joined together to half its height.
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Speaker 3: They were halfway through.
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Speaker 2: The newness... Had worn off. Let me make it even
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Speaker 2: more practical. You know when discouragement sets in? When you're halfway.
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Speaker 3: Through with a job.
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Speaker 2: Ever bought a new car? I'm sure we all have.
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Speaker 2: Or at least a used car that we call new.
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Speaker 2: You know when it got tiring? When we were halfway
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Speaker 2: through paying for it. That's when it got tiring. You
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Speaker 2: wore a cast on your leg. You know when that
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Speaker 2: gets tiring? When you're halfway through. the period of time
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Speaker 2: you've got to wear the cast. You've undertaken a difficult
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Speaker 2: project of redecorating your home. You know when's the most
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Speaker 2: discouraging time when the mess gets to be more than
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Speaker 2: you can handle? When you're halfway through redecorating your home.
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Speaker 2: Ever tried climbing a mountain? Isn't it amazing how you
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Speaker 2: can be fooled by a mountain? You look up and
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Speaker 2: you say, oh, maybe, maybe an hour. Oh, an hour
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Speaker 2: and 30 minutes at the most. Three hours later, when
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Speaker 2: you're halfway up, you look back down and you say, man,
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Speaker 2: I think the Lord's leading us to go back down
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Speaker 2: now that we've gone and seen this site because halfway
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Speaker 2: is discouraging. That's what had happened. We're getting tired, Nehemiah.
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Speaker 2: The strength of these that have been working is failing.
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Speaker 2: We'll get on to something in a moment on how
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Speaker 2: to handle that problem of tiredness, but one of the
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Speaker 2: most wonderful ways to handle it is to change the pace.
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Speaker 2: And that's what Nehemiah does, but we'll deal with that
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Speaker 2: in just a minute. Look at the second. There was
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Speaker 2: a loss of vision. You notice what Judah says? Yet
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Speaker 2: there is much rubbish. The word yet is significant because
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Speaker 2: it connects you with the previous statement. The strength of
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Speaker 2: the burden bearers, it's being expended and it's failing. Yet,
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Speaker 2: in spite of all the work, there's a lot of rubbish.
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Speaker 2: The Hebrew word means dry earth.
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Speaker 3: Debris.
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Speaker 2: It's the word for that. We look around Nehemiah and
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Speaker 2: all we can see is debris. Dirt. Broken stones. dried up, hard,
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Speaker 2: heavy mortar. It's getting tiring.
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Speaker 3: There's too much rubbish.
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Speaker 2: You know what they had lost? They had lost the
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Speaker 2: vision of the wall when it's completed. I think a
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Speaker 2: perfect illustration of this is a young mother with an
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Speaker 2: infant who has changed, oh, 50 years. 60 diapers today, okay?
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Speaker 2: And she looks at the situation and she says, there's
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Speaker 2: too much rubbish, too much mess, too many diapers, too
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Speaker 2: much work. And what does she lose? She loses the
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Speaker 2: vision of that growing child and the delight of introducing
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Speaker 2: him to society. She loses the whole role of motherhood
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Speaker 2: because of the rubbish. Some of you are involved in
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Speaker 2: jobs right now that are very demanding, even threatening. They're hard,
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Speaker 2: they're harsh, difficult people to work with. And you can
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Speaker 2: begin to lose the whole vision of.
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Speaker 3: Your work because of the rubbish.
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Speaker 2: I don't know of a musician that hasn't labored through
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Speaker 2: hours of practice to become perfect. Or an athlete. It
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Speaker 2: is in the work and the labor and practice where
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Speaker 2: nobody is around that a musician emerges. Or any artist
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Speaker 2: in the long demanding hours with the rubbish. That's what
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Speaker 2: had happened. There's too much rubbish. We can't see the
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Speaker 2: wall finished. And there's nothing like a loss of vision
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Speaker 2: to reduce enthusiasms. All you've got to do is move
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Speaker 2: into a new house to know how true that is.
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Speaker 2: I'm going to share with you something that's.
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Speaker 3: True in my life.
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Speaker 2: And I'm happy to report things are changing a little bit.
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Speaker 2: And if God can do it in my life, He
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Speaker 2: can do it in any life. I want to assure you.
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Speaker 2: For many, many years in our marriage, I wanted a
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Speaker 2: house that was immaculate. Okay? I wanted the home to
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Speaker 2: be just a picture. Every bed made, you know, you
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Speaker 2: can flip a coin, it'll bounce on it. Every bathroom cleaned,
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Speaker 2: every dish, every smudge, really nice. We had that for
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Speaker 2: six years in our home. And then God introduced to
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Speaker 2: us a reason that that could no longer be possible.
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Speaker 2: And he introduced it again and again and again. Well,
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Speaker 2: I thought he would never stop introducing reasons for the
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Speaker 2: home to be kept clean. You know, I felt at times,
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Speaker 2: you know, it would be nice to just hang a
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Speaker 2: little sign up that says disaster area, enter at your
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Speaker 2: own risk type of thing. And I was irked at that.
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Speaker 2: I was irritated about it. And what was my problem?
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Speaker 2: I was all involved in the rubbish. Because I saw
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Speaker 2: the rubbish and I saw no home.
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Speaker 3: Until today.
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Speaker 2: Finally, through some very difficult changes that had to take
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Speaker 2: place in my life, I began to realize we cannot
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Speaker 2: raise this family in a way that is free and
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Speaker 2: relaxed and delightful without having some mess in the process.
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Speaker 2: And you know what? When I lost the vision of
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Speaker 2: the rubbish and I gained the vision of the home, wow,
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Speaker 2: not only have I been happier, My wife is a
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Speaker 2: little bit happier too these days because now there is
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Speaker 2: a vision beyond the rubbish. You see, it is so
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Speaker 2: possible to be involved in the trees that you miss
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Speaker 2: the forest. Rubbish discourages you. Too much rubbish. There was also,
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Speaker 2: perhaps the worst of the four, a loss of confidence.
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Speaker 2: We ourselves are unable to rebuild the walls. When you
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Speaker 2: lose strength, when you lose vision, then you lose confidence.
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Speaker 2: And when you've lost your confidence, discouragement is winking at
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Speaker 2: you around the corner. Look up at verse 6.
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Speaker 3: We built the wall.
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Speaker 2: It was joined to half its height. Why? The people
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Speaker 2: had a heart to work, the Hebrew says. I'm suggesting
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Speaker 2: in verse 10 they lost their heart. When you lose
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Speaker 2: your confidence, you lose your heart. You lose your motivation.
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Speaker 2: A number of things.
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Speaker 3: Can cause that.
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Speaker 2: But there is this empty feeling, this overwhelming sense that
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Speaker 2: I am not ever going to catch up. Ever had
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Speaker 2: that feeling?
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Speaker 3: It just happens about every other day.
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Speaker 2: For you sometime, doesn't it? I'll never be able to
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Speaker 2: catch up. And my heart especially is touched by the student.
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Speaker 2: The student at this time of year is going through
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Speaker 2: terrible pains. You may hear them groan nearby as I
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Speaker 2: say that. Final time is around the corner. They're into it.
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Speaker 2: And it's easy to think only in terms of exams
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Speaker 2: and another year and another year, another postgraduate course, another area,
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Speaker 2: and to forget, you know, there's an education, there's a career,
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Speaker 2: there's a vision beyond this that's better than any of
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Speaker 2: these tests could ever make it. But you can lose
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Speaker 2: your confidence, lose your cool, lose your calm, and discouragement
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Speaker 2: just comes in like an enemy. You lose your heart. Fourth,
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Speaker 2: in their case, they lost their security. Our enemy said,
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Speaker 2: verse 11, they will not know or see until we
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Speaker 2: come among them and kill them and put a stop
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Speaker 2: to the work.
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Speaker 3: That's what I call a scare tactic.
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Speaker 2: The enemy said... We've got a plan. Oh, we're not
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Speaker 2: going to tell anybody what the plan is. But when
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Speaker 2: you aren't ready, we'll slip in. And that'll be it.
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Speaker 2: We'll handle it so fast and so efficiently, you'll never
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Speaker 2: know we were even there.
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Speaker 3: They lost their security.
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Speaker 2: You know, there are a lot of areas of security
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Speaker 2: that we hang on to for encouragement.
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Speaker 3: One is a good job.
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Speaker 2: If all of your security is wrapped up in your job,
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Speaker 2: then all you need to do is lose that job
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Speaker 2: and discouragement will swamp you. Let that job be threatened.
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Speaker 2: And you've lost an area of tangible security.
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Speaker 3: Let me name another one. A solid, happy home.
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Speaker 2: You can zing along and roll and sail from one
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Speaker 2: day to the next. And then suddenly one of the
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Speaker 2: partners comes or one of the children comes and says,
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Speaker 2: you know, let me tell you the truth about things.
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Speaker 2: And they just lay it out in front of you.
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Speaker 2: I've had husbands sitting in front of me when their
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Speaker 2: wives tell them the facts about their marriage. And I've
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Speaker 2: seen discouragement sweep across the thinking and the mind of
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Speaker 2: that man until he's useless. Because the security of that
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Speaker 2: home is threatened. And discouragement comes. Let me tell you
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Speaker 2: another one. A set of friends And familiar circumstances.
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Speaker 3: You know what threatens that?
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Speaker 2: A move. To some other part of the country. Let's
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Speaker 2: take for example that your husband comes home. Tomorrow afternoon
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Speaker 2: and says honey. The company wants to move us. To Bangor, Maine. Bangor, Maine.
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Speaker 2: What in the world is in Bangor, Maine? I mean
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Speaker 2: everything you know and love is in Southern California. You've
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Speaker 2: never been, you know, beyond eastern Arizona. The whole lifestyle
25:59
Speaker 2: has been California. And all of the tangibles that you've
26:03
Speaker 2: hung on to for security are threatened. And I'll tell you,
26:11
Speaker 2: in an instant, discouragement can come.
26:15
Speaker 3: You can just be finished.
26:18
Speaker 2: Now you might think discouragement is only for those that
26:21
Speaker 2: aren't walking with God. That's not true. If I may
26:25
Speaker 2: quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, perhaps the greatest voice England
26:29
Speaker 2: ever heard, at least in the Baptist movement, he was
26:34
Speaker 2: a marvelous spokesman for God. In fact, you know, before
26:38
Speaker 2: he was even 30, he was addressing over 5,000 people
26:43
Speaker 2: in one sitting. They called him to the church, that
26:46
Speaker 2: tabernacle church.
26:47
Speaker 3: In London when he was 23. Here's Spurgeon's words.
26:53
Speaker 2: Before any great achievement in my life, some measure of
26:57
Speaker 2: depression is very usual. Such was my experience when I
27:03
Speaker 2: first became a pastor in London. My success appalled me.
27:09
Speaker 2: And the thought of that career which seemed to be
27:11
Speaker 2: opening up so far from elating me cast me into
27:15
Speaker 2: the lowest depths out of which I uttered my misery.
27:19
Speaker 2: I found no room for a Gloria in excelsis. Who
27:24
Speaker 2: was I that I should continue to lead so great
27:27
Speaker 2: a multitude? I would slip away to my village obscurity.
27:34
Speaker 2: Or prefer to emigrate to America and find a solitary
27:38
Speaker 2: nest in the backwoods. You ever wanted that, by the way?
27:41
Speaker 2: Pardon me, Spurgeon, for interrupting. But haven't you thought at
27:44
Speaker 2: times saying to yourself, oh, if I could just get away.
27:47
Speaker 2: Meaning what? Escape! Escape! Get away from the demands. Oh,
27:52
Speaker 2: I thought about that solitary nest in the backwoods where
27:56
Speaker 2: I might be sufficient for the things that were demanded
28:00
Speaker 2: of me. It was just then, now listen, that the
28:03
Speaker 2: curtain was rising on my greatest life's work, and I
28:09
Speaker 2: dreaded what it might reveal to me. I hope I
28:13
Speaker 2: was not faithless, but I was timorous and filled with
28:18
Speaker 2: a sense of Of my own unfitness. This depression sweeps
28:24
Speaker 2: over me. Whenever the Lord is preparing. A larger blessing.
28:30
Speaker 2: For my life in ministry. I've had the same experience.
28:36
Speaker 2: I'm not in that league. But I've had the same experience.
28:40
Speaker 2: Just before the doors are open. All the way. I
28:45
Speaker 2: seem to slump into a discouragement. And I'm hesitant to
28:50
Speaker 2: move through. And God graciously boots me in the seat
28:54
Speaker 2: of my pants. And I find myself on the other
28:57
Speaker 2: side and I think, oh man, that's great. And I forget.
29:01
Speaker 3: But I shouldn't.
29:03
Speaker 2: Because some of you right now are just before the door.
29:07
Speaker 2: You've lost your strength. You've lost your confidence. You've lost
29:11
Speaker 2: your vision. You've lost your security. And there's that feeling,
29:15
Speaker 2: oh man, it isn't worth it. And I want you
29:18
Speaker 2: to know it's quite possible you are just about to
29:21
Speaker 2: that place of worth where you cannot believe what's coming.
29:29
Speaker 2: And so it was in the building of the wall. My,
29:34
Speaker 2: what a challenge for Nehemiah. Now, he didn't ignore the discouragement.
29:39
Speaker 2: You can't ignore discouragement. It's like ignoring a flat tire.
29:43
Speaker 2: You can't ignore a flat tire. Pray all you want to,
29:46
Speaker 2: drive all you want to, that thing never.
29:48
Speaker 3: Will get air back in it.
29:50
Speaker 2: You've got to fix it. And that's the way it
29:53
Speaker 2: is with discouragement. Nehemiah rolled up his sleeves and says,
29:57
Speaker 2: wait a minute. Hold it. Verse 13. The first thing
30:03
Speaker 2: he did, he unified the people around the same goal.
30:08
Speaker 3: That's the first thing he did.
30:11
Speaker 2: Let's back off and take a long look at what
30:14
Speaker 2: we're doing. He unified the people around the same goal.
30:20
Speaker 2: I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space
30:24
Speaker 2: behind the wall and the exposed places. Look carefully. I
30:30
Speaker 2: stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.
30:37
Speaker 2: Now that's significant.
30:39
Speaker 3: Where have they been?
30:40
Speaker 2: They've been scattered all over Jerusalem. In the perimeter. Working
30:48
Speaker 2: with stones, working with water and mortar, working together and
30:53
Speaker 2: yet separated from families. He unified them according to families,
31:01
Speaker 2: which tells me something.
31:02
Speaker 3: The basic source.
31:04
Speaker 2: Of encouragement ought to be the family, not the church.
31:13
Speaker 3: Do you really believe that?
31:16
Speaker 2: When your children come home to roost, is there encouragement?
31:22
Speaker 2: Or is that when all hell breaks loose? When dad
31:27
Speaker 2: comes home from work, does that bring encouragement or does
31:29
Speaker 2: that add pressure? The home is a basic source, or
31:36
Speaker 2: should be, of encouragement. They were discouraged. He says, come on,
31:41
Speaker 2: let's get together. According to families, you folks sit there,
31:46
Speaker 2: you're stationed there, you're there, and he forced them together
31:49
Speaker 2: as a unit. You know what I noticed in the
31:53
Speaker 2: process of doing it? He stopped the work. Sometime the
31:58
Speaker 2: very best thing to do when you're discouraged is to
32:02
Speaker 2: take some time off. There's an old Greek proverb that says,
32:08
Speaker 2: you will break the bow if you keep it always stretched.
32:15
Speaker 3: How tight is your bow?
32:19
Speaker 2: You know, it took Ken a long time to tell
32:21
Speaker 2: us he was going to Hawaii to have a good time.
32:24
Speaker 2: I expected him to just stand up and say, we're
32:26
Speaker 2: taking off to Hawaii to have a good time. But,
32:29
Speaker 2: you know, he wanted to say it so that he
32:31
Speaker 2: understood that it was all taken care of and whatever.
32:34
Speaker 2: But basically, Ken, we want you to know that's the
32:38
Speaker 2: greatest news we can hear. I just wish you needed
32:41
Speaker 2: an interpreter for the process of time in Hawaii. Vance
32:46
Speaker 2: Hafner says, if you don't come apart... you'll come apart.
32:52
Speaker 2: When's the last time you got away? Pull the kids
32:55
Speaker 2: out of school. A couple of three days because you
32:59
Speaker 2: had to. The bow is tight long enough. You know,
33:04
Speaker 2: when you talked about the ministry in Hawaii and all that,
33:07
Speaker 2: I had a fellow in seminary.
33:09
Speaker 3: Dave Nicholas was his name.
33:10
Speaker 2: He used to always tell us that God was calling
33:13
Speaker 2: him to be a missionary to the Jews in Miami Beach,
33:15
Speaker 2: is what he had in mind. And he kept telling
33:18
Speaker 2: us to pray that God would lead us. What's the
33:24
Speaker 2: deal about being so uptight and intense and constant in
33:28
Speaker 2: our work? I'll tell you, I take time off. If
33:33
Speaker 2: I didn't take time off, I'd crack up. And I
33:37
Speaker 2: ask of our men on this staff, they take time off,
33:40
Speaker 2: at times demand it. And you need time away. Maybe
33:47
Speaker 2: not long chunks of it. You can't afford that.
33:50
Speaker 3: I got the sweetest letter.
33:51
Speaker 2: From a member in our church just this past week.
33:53
Speaker 2: He said, we just got back from the mountains. The
33:56
Speaker 2: majesty of God was there. And while we were there,
34:00
Speaker 2: we thought about you and we prayed. And how refreshed
34:03
Speaker 2: we are these few days away. He stopped the work
34:09
Speaker 2: and he says, wait, let's get together as a family.
34:16
Speaker 2: That'll do a lot to stop discouragement. Now look at
34:19
Speaker 2: the next step.
34:20
Speaker 3: Verse 14.
34:23
Speaker 2: He directed their attention to the Lord. Where were they looking?
34:28
Speaker 2: At the rubbish. They needed to be looking at the Lord.
34:33
Speaker 2: When I saw their fear, I rose.
34:35
Speaker 3: Look at this.
34:37
Speaker 2: He took charge. That's the job of the leader. He
34:40
Speaker 2: took charge. He rose and spoke to them and he said,
34:44
Speaker 2: do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who
34:49
Speaker 2: is great and awesome. Comes to my mind as I
34:56
Speaker 2: read this, how do we remember the Lord? Don't you
35:00
Speaker 2: wonder that when you read this verse, you think, remember
35:03
Speaker 2: the Lord. That sounds so right and so good. How
35:06
Speaker 2: do you do it? A couple of things hung in
35:11
Speaker 2: my mind this week as I was thinking about the
35:13
Speaker 2: process of remembering the Lord. First of all, you remember,
35:17
Speaker 2: you call to mind some of the things the Lord
35:19
Speaker 2: has said. You actually put in your mind some of
35:25
Speaker 2: the words God has spoken. For example, thou will keep
35:34
Speaker 2: him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.
35:39
Speaker 3: Because he trusts in thee.
35:42
Speaker 2: Isaiah 26. 4. 3 and 4. Philippians 4. 6. Do
35:51
Speaker 2: not be bothered about anything. But in everything. By prayer
35:56
Speaker 2: and supplication. With thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known
36:00
Speaker 2: unto God. And the peace of God. That passes understanding.
36:04
Speaker 2: Shall keep your hearts. And minds through Christ Jesus. You
36:10
Speaker 2: remember the Lord by remembering what the Lord has said.
36:16
Speaker 2: Could you call to mind right now five, six, eight,
36:19
Speaker 2: ten good solid promises that you can claim beginning tomorrow morning?
36:24
Speaker 2: Because believe me, the devil knows you're hearing this message.
36:29
Speaker 2: And he will attack you in ways you cannot believe
36:31
Speaker 2: with discouragement. Are you ready with the... The living darts
36:39
Speaker 2: to shoot back. The sword of the spirit. To tell
36:43
Speaker 2: yourself what God has said when you remember him. The
36:48
Speaker 2: Christian must know.
36:49
Speaker 3: What God has said.
36:50
Speaker 2: There's another way to remember the Lord. That is to
36:56
Speaker 2: call to mind who he is.
36:58
Speaker 3: We often miss that.
37:02
Speaker 2: When is the last time you reflected, perhaps laying flat
37:05
Speaker 2: on your back looking up at the stars, or getting
37:08
Speaker 2: all alone in a quiet place of the home, or
37:13
Speaker 2: some area where you could get alone, even if you
37:15
Speaker 2: had to drive to get there, and call to mind
37:20
Speaker 2: the greatness of God? Nehemiah says you've got your eyes
37:28
Speaker 2: on the rubbish, the rocks, the projects, Get your eyes
37:34
Speaker 2: on the Lord. People that are discouraged are thinking mainly
37:39
Speaker 2: about one thing.
37:41
Speaker 3: Themselves.
37:44
Speaker 2: And these people were no exception. So he unified them
37:49
Speaker 2: around the same goal. That means he had to stop
37:53
Speaker 2: the process of work to get them alone.
37:55
Speaker 3: Second.
37:58
Speaker 2: He put their eyes on the Lord. He directed them
38:01
Speaker 2: to remember the Lord. What did he do thirdly? He
38:04
Speaker 2: encouraged them to maintain a balance. Discouraged people usually are
38:11
Speaker 2: in one of the swings of the pendulum. One extreme
38:14
Speaker 2: or another. Nehemiah pulled the.
38:17
Speaker 3: Pendulum back in balance. How did he do it?
38:22
Speaker 2: Look at verse 15. Well, 14 concludes, fight for your brothers,
38:28
Speaker 2: your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. Now
38:33
Speaker 2: you've got to fight. There's a job to be done.
38:36
Speaker 2: Load the weapon. Verse 15, it happened when our enemies
38:41
Speaker 2: heard that it was known to us that God.
38:44
Speaker 3: Had frustrated their plan. Look at that.
38:49
Speaker 2: Then all of us returned to the wall, each one
38:51
Speaker 2: to his work. It came about, now watch the balance.
38:55
Speaker 2: From that day on, half of the servants carried on
38:59
Speaker 2: the work, but half of them held the spears and
39:03
Speaker 2: the shields, the weapons for defense. Verse 17 says, those
39:10
Speaker 2: who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried the
39:13
Speaker 2: burdens took their load with one hand doing the work,
39:16
Speaker 2: and with the other hand they held a weapon. That's
39:19
Speaker 2: the Christian life. I'm really weary of the Christians today
39:24
Speaker 2: who do nothing but fight. I'm also weary of the
39:28
Speaker 2: Christian who says there's no reason ever to fight. I'm
39:33
Speaker 2: greatly attracted to the Christian that says there's both building
39:38
Speaker 2: and battle. Every saint that's done a job has been balanced.
39:45
Speaker 2: Let me call to mind a couple of them. We
39:48
Speaker 2: have an English Bible in our laps, humanly speaking, because
39:53
Speaker 2: of John Wycliffe, who was known not only as a builder,
39:58
Speaker 2: forging out the text of the English Bible, but as
40:02
Speaker 2: one who did battle. So much so that when he died,
40:06
Speaker 2: they martyred him. They burnt him and took the dust,
40:12
Speaker 2: the ashes of his body, and sprinkled them over that
40:15
Speaker 2: river that flows through London. And, you know, we're forever
40:20
Speaker 2: worth rid of Wycliffe. Oh, yeah? There's an English Bible
40:25
Speaker 2: that lives on because he did more than fight.
40:28
Speaker 3: He stayed at the task.
40:30
Speaker 2: Remember Bunyan? John Bunyan? Fighter? Builder? They threw him in prison.
40:39
Speaker 3: That'll finish him off.
40:41
Speaker 2: Oh, that's where he emerged. What did he do in
40:44
Speaker 2: the prison? He wrote Pilgrim's Progress. You see, he could
40:48
Speaker 2: do more than fight. He added by a personal investment
40:55
Speaker 2: the truths of Pilgrim's Progress, the second loved book, most
40:59
Speaker 2: loved book among Christians today. A balance. What a beautiful balance.
41:07
Speaker 3: Let me say one more thing.
41:09
Speaker 2: You be very careful about what you embrace concerning what
41:13
Speaker 2: is passed off in some people's lives as the deeper
41:17
Speaker 2: life Now I believe in the deeper life.
41:21
Speaker 3: But be very careful about the passive. Message. That is
41:27
Speaker 3: often given. Where you know we do nothing.
41:31
Speaker 2: And therefore there's no battle. God does it all. I
41:38
Speaker 2: have never.
41:39
Speaker 3: Found that to be true. I question that.
41:46
Speaker 2: In fact. I. I called to mind with a chuckle
41:49
Speaker 2: the words of Harry Ironside. Wish I could have known
41:52
Speaker 2: that great man. He said this, What is passed off
41:57
Speaker 2: as the deeper life would be very good.
42:01
Speaker 3: If we were rich and blind.
42:03
Speaker 2: I could tell by your response you're not sure how
42:09
Speaker 2: to take that, so let me clarify it. If you're rich,
42:12
Speaker 2: you have no interruptions, no irritations. Just hire it done.
42:17
Speaker 2: If you're blind, you have no temptations. There's no battle
42:19
Speaker 2: with the flesh. What does a blind person know about
42:22
Speaker 2: the lust of the flesh brought in by the eye gate?
42:27
Speaker 2: But I want you to know if you've got sight,
42:30
Speaker 2: and if you're struggling for a living, like the rest
42:32
Speaker 2: of us, you've got a battle on your hands.
42:37
Speaker 3: And there are some.
42:37
Speaker 2: Practical steps you can take to sweep away those tempting moments.
42:45
Speaker 2: But you've got to take them.
42:49
Speaker 3: And God comes in like a flood.
42:51
Speaker 2: They held a weapon, but they kept building the wall.
42:55
Speaker 2: I hope my life is characterized by one thing.
42:59
Speaker 3: Balance. That's my goal for life.
43:03
Speaker 2: God, keep me balanced. And I'm sure that was Nehemiah's
43:09
Speaker 2: goal because he was. The fourth thing that Nehemiah did,
43:13
Speaker 2: he provided a rallying point. That may not seem clear,
43:17
Speaker 2: so let's clarify it. Verse 19, I said to the nobles,
43:22
Speaker 2: the officials, and the rest of the people, the work
43:26
Speaker 2: is great and extensive, and we are separated on the
43:31
Speaker 2: wall from one another, far from one another. Now here's
43:36
Speaker 2: the rallying point. Verse 20, I love this. At whatever
43:41
Speaker 2: place you hear the sound of the trumpet.
43:44
Speaker 3: Rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.
43:51
Speaker 2: What was the rallying point? First of all, it was
43:53
Speaker 2: a place. Second, it was a principle. The place was
43:59
Speaker 2: wherever there was a gathering of people around the trumpet.
44:05
Speaker 2: Then you were to go there. For example, Nehemiah walked
44:08
Speaker 2: from place to place overseeing the building of the wall.
44:12
Speaker 2: But at any time, the enemy could attack. So he
44:15
Speaker 2: kept the trumpeter right by his side. He says, when
44:18
Speaker 2: I nudge you, blow that bugle. Because they're coming. And people,
44:23
Speaker 2: whenever you hear that trumpet sound, you come to where
44:26
Speaker 2: the trumpet is. In other words, don't try to fight alone.
44:30
Speaker 2: You know what that's saying to me? And saying to you?
44:36
Speaker 2: That we need a rallying point. You know what that means?
44:43
Speaker 3: A close friend.
44:47
Speaker 2: Somebody That we can attach ourselves to when the attack comes.
44:53
Speaker 2: Don't try to fight it alone. You say I don't
44:56
Speaker 2: need anybody else.
44:57
Speaker 3: Then you're sick.
45:02
Speaker 2: You've got a warped idea of Christianity. The response of
45:07
Speaker 2: the healthy child of God is. I can't possibly do
45:10
Speaker 2: it alone.
45:13
Speaker 3: But oh God.
45:14
Speaker 2: If you will give me. Your strength.
45:19
Speaker 3: Through your spirit.
45:20
Speaker 2: And link me with a brother or a sister in
45:23
Speaker 2: the family. That can encourage me. And I can encourage.
45:26
Speaker 2: Oh God I'll rally around you. Till the last day
45:29
Speaker 2: of that test. You say well let's hear scripture for it.
45:34
Speaker 4: Oh.
45:37
Speaker 2: When Elijah was at the bottom. Jezebel says you breathe
45:41
Speaker 2: one more time. And I'll slice your throat so fast.
45:44
Speaker 2: You won't know it till you sneeze. I'll finish you
45:48
Speaker 2: off Elijah. So he ran under the juniper tree and
45:50
Speaker 2: he said, Lord, take my life.
45:52
Speaker 3: It's not worth it.
45:52
Speaker 2: I'm all alone.
45:54
Speaker 3: What did God do?
45:55
Speaker 2: Well, he catered a meal for the first thing he did.
45:58
Speaker 2: Brought in the food, you know. He went in the
46:01
Speaker 2: strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights. Wouldn't
46:03
Speaker 2: you love to have that recipe, mothers? 40 days and
46:06
Speaker 2: 40 nights, the same meal held him over. The next
46:09
Speaker 2: thing he did, said, Elijah, get up.
46:11
Speaker 3: So he got up.
46:12
Speaker 2: You're not alone, Elijah. And he gave him what? Elisha.
46:16
Speaker 2: And the last verse of 1 Kings 19 says, Elisha
46:20
Speaker 2: ministered to Elijah. And the beautiful part of it is
46:25
Speaker 2: when he really began to make tracks.
46:27
Speaker 3: He had a rallying point.
46:29
Speaker 2: When David was under the gun of Saul, God gave
46:32
Speaker 2: him Jonathan. And their souls were linked together like one.
46:36
Speaker 2: They loved each other as they loved their own soul.
46:40
Speaker 2: Because there was this marvelous bond, this rallying point. discouragement
46:46
Speaker 2: couldn't find a wedge because of that friend. You've got
46:51
Speaker 2: somebody like that? It goes back to the ministry and
46:54
Speaker 2: messages on discipleship, doesn't it? Cultivate someone. Look, long for, pray.
47:05
Speaker 2: Don't give up until you can link your soul with
47:08
Speaker 2: another who has a kindred spirit, like-minded, who cares for
47:15
Speaker 2: your soul and for your needs. Nehemiah says, when you
47:19
Speaker 2: hear the battle cry, come to where the trumpet is.
47:23
Speaker 2: That's where strength is. And what's the principle? Not to
47:26
Speaker 2: come together to flatter each other. Come together for the
47:30
Speaker 2: principle that says, our God will fight for us. We're
47:33
Speaker 2: in it together. A real friend says, oh, that's your problem? Well,
47:37
Speaker 2: let's see how I can pray for you and your problem. No,
47:41
Speaker 2: a real friend says, that's our need. Let me come
47:45
Speaker 2: into that with you. Let me enter that valley. I'm
47:52
Speaker 2: touched by that need. The fifth and final thing that
47:56
Speaker 2: he did, he occupied them in a ministry of service
48:01
Speaker 2: to others. Verse 21. We carried on the work. We
48:08
Speaker 2: carried on the work. Half holding spears and dawn until
48:12
Speaker 2: the stars appeared. And I said to the people, let
48:15
Speaker 2: each man with his servant spend the night in Jerusalem,
48:19
Speaker 2: that they may be a guard for us by night
48:22
Speaker 2: and a laborer by day. Hey, we need help. I'm
48:26
Speaker 2: asking these to come in and to serve us. We
48:30
Speaker 2: can't handle it alone. And in the process of time,
48:35
Speaker 2: notice in verse 23, they didn't even have time to
48:39
Speaker 2: change clothes when they went down For a drink of water,
48:44
Speaker 2: perhaps it means a bath.
48:48
Speaker 3: They took their weapon. They stayed at the task.
48:52
Speaker 2: They ministered to one another in service and involvement. You
48:57
Speaker 2: want to know how to be miserable? Live only unto yourself.
49:05
Speaker 2: Use I, me, and my as often as possible. Think
49:10
Speaker 2: only about your needs, your desires, your wants, your pleasures.
49:22
Speaker 2: And as C.S. Lewis puts it in his book on
49:24
Speaker 2: four loves, you'll be safe. Just as safe as a
49:31
Speaker 2: corpse in a coffin. Motionless, dark, airless. No problem of risk.
49:42
Speaker 2: In fact, your soul will become impenetrable. How involved are
49:49
Speaker 2: you in others' lives? Honestly now, how involved are you
49:56
Speaker 2: when you leave this church and we get back together
49:59
Speaker 2: next Sunday? How much of your life will be spent
50:02
Speaker 2: for others?
50:07
Speaker 3: Or is it all wrapped up in yourself?
50:11
Speaker 2: Every couple here this morning ought to examine their home
50:15
Speaker 2: and ask themselves, are we living only unto ourselves?
50:21
Speaker 3: Or are we serving?
50:23
Speaker 2: You know how to keep from growing old when you retire?
50:27
Speaker 2: Stay in touch with the needs of others. That's what
50:32
Speaker 2: touches me deeply when I bury Alter on Tuesday. As
50:36
Speaker 2: one of the girls in our office said to me,
50:39
Speaker 2: the heartbreak is that Her breed is dying.
50:45
Speaker 3: Her breed, her kind is dying. What do I mean?
50:50
Speaker 2: Since she lost her husband, she's been so busy, you
50:52
Speaker 2: could hardly find time to ask her to help. She
50:54
Speaker 2: was one of the first ladies that worked in this
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Speaker 2: office when I came. Volunteer help, of course. So at
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Speaker 2: times we needed her a little bit more, so we'd
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Speaker 2: call her. She says, well, wait a minute, I'll check.
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Speaker 3: She's 70 then, about 73. She'd go through this book.
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Speaker 2: All the involvement.
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Speaker 3: She said, let's see, I could fit you.
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Speaker 2: In from 2 to 4.
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Speaker 3: No, 3.30. I could do it.
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Speaker 2: Well, what are you doing? Well, I'm wrapping bandages for
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Speaker 2: the Cancer Society. I'm in the ladies auxiliary over here
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Speaker 2: working for these. I'm doing some work at the hospital.
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Speaker 2: On and on and on. Involved in others' lives. And
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Speaker 2: you know what? She never got old.
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Speaker 3: Just like Caleb.
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Speaker 2: But retirement to us in America means... Do not bother me.
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Speaker 2: No time for others. Oh, I think of the manpower
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Speaker 2: shortage and what a ministry of encouragement God could give
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Speaker 2: you when he releases you from your workaday world. You
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Speaker 2: could build into others lives. Nehemiah says, let's don't sit
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Speaker 2: around and lick our wounds. We need your help.
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Speaker 3: Come in and help us. We'll go there and help you.
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Speaker 3: Let's serve.
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Speaker 2: Let's minister. Isn't that what Christianity is all about? Giving
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Speaker 2: up my rights? Saying no to myself? May God touch us.
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Speaker 2: For all I know, that's the reason you're discouraged today.
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Speaker 2: May He change us. Turn us around.
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Speaker 1: For a few moments now, let's be quiet before the Lord.
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Speaker 1: Let's sort of look back over the past few days.
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Speaker 1: There's something about discouragement and hearing words on discouragement that
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Speaker 1: sort of invade our lives. No one is immune to discouragement.
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Speaker 1: It is sort of like a plague that climbs into
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Speaker 1: our lives uninvited and unwanted and sort of clings to us.
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Speaker 1: My hope for you today is that you've heard enough
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Speaker 1: to know how to shake loose from that. The enemy
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Speaker 1: of our souls, the devil, loves to find us in
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Speaker 1: a discouraged frame of mind, and when he does, he
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Speaker 1: moves in like a flood. So let's not allow him
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Speaker 1: any space today. Lord, today I pray that you would
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Speaker 1: bring deliverance and relief to those who are swamped with
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Speaker 1: the ever-rising tide of discouragement. I pray for those who
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Speaker 1: are caught in the swampy backwash, the slimy waters of discouragement, depression,
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Speaker 1: the dark feelings that leave us hopeless, almost as if
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Speaker 1: things will never change. There's something about life going on
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Speaker 1: and on through times of discouragement that steals our joy.
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Speaker 1: So today, I pray that you will Give each one
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Speaker 1: of us a hope beyond the heartbreak that we're going through.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for strength that comes to us in weak moments.
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Speaker 1: I remember the words of the Apostle Peter that if
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Speaker 1: we humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God, you
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Speaker 1: will lift us up. You will exalt us at the
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Speaker 1: proper time. Something about being discouraged that keeps us humbled.
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Speaker 1: We're rarely proud and discouraged at the same time. So
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Speaker 1: in our humility, Father, we call upon you. We ask
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Speaker 1: you to help us to lift our spirits. Thank you
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Speaker 1: that Christ loves us and keeps on loving us. Thank
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Speaker 1: you that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
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Speaker 1: And there's nothing we can bring that would bring favor
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Speaker 1: to you outside of what Christ provides for us. So
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Speaker 1: I pray that we will remember today the value of
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Speaker 1: thinking on things that are true and honest and just,
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Speaker 1: pure and lovely and of good report. Help us to
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Speaker 1: fix our minds on those things rather than the things
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Speaker 1: that drag us down. Give us a rallying point around you,
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Speaker 1: dear Lord, as we, your children, need that. since times
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Speaker 1: are like they are. Our moods are so given to change. Lastly, Lord,
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Speaker 1: I pray for those who've never met your Son as
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Speaker 1: Savior and Lord. I pray that their discouragement will be
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Speaker 1: broken by the realization that your Son's death on the
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Speaker 1: cross paid the complete payment for their sins. So there's
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Speaker 1: nothing they need to do or promise or change or
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Speaker 1: give up or become in order to be accepted by you,
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Speaker 1: is simply to trust in your Son. May they do that.
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Speaker 1: Now unto him who was able to guard us from
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Speaker 1: stumbling and present us faultless before the presence of his
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Speaker 1: glory with exceeding joy, to the great God our Savior
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Speaker 1: be glory and majesty, dominion and power forever and ever
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Speaker 1: and ever and ever. In his great name we pray.
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Speaker 4: Amen. The preceding message Discouragement, Its Causes and Cure was
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Speaker 4: copyrighted in 1974, 1983, 1990, 2006, and 2015, and the
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Speaker 4: sound recording was copyrighted in 2016 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 4: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 4: commercial use is strictly prohibited.