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Discouragement_ Its Causes and Cure · 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 walls. 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 thinking,
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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
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Speaker 2: terrified and she said, run children, run! And each child
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Speaker 2: grabbed a skunk and ran in five different directions. One
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Speaker 2: went to the bedroom, one went to the kitchen, one
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Speaker 2: went to the bathroom. Another stayed pretty close. And she
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Speaker 2: was 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 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 2: about Judah that is worth noting. Hold your place here
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Speaker 2: and look back at the next to last chapter of
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Speaker 2: the first book of your Bible. Find verse 8 of
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Speaker 2: Genesis 49. You will discover that Judah was not just
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Speaker 2: any kind of tribe among the people of Israel. Judah
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Speaker 2: was the leader. Genesis 49.8 says, Judah, your brothers shall
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Speaker 2: praise you. Now these are the words of Jacob according
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Speaker 2: to verse 1. the father of these sons and he
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Speaker 2: is summoning his sons before him and he's casting upon
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Speaker 2: them blessings warnings predictions encouragements and when he comes to
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Speaker 2: Judah he says Judah you're going to be a leader
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Speaker 2: among the family Your brothers will praise you. Verse 10,
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Speaker 2: the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's
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Speaker 2: staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes. You could
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Speaker 2: in your own mind imagine the word Shiloh to mean Messiah. Judah,
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Speaker 2: you will be the messianic tribe. Through your loins there
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Speaker 2: will someday be born Messiah. the Savior of the world,
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Speaker 2: the Messiah. The scepter will never depart from you. And
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Speaker 2: to him, that is unto Shiloh, shall be the obedience
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Speaker 2: of the peoples. Now, aside from the prophetic impact of
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Speaker 2: this verse, there is a practical factor. These people of
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Speaker 2: Judah were to be respected and Because they were the
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Speaker 2: chosen ones through whom the Lord Jesus someday would be born.
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Speaker 2: But when you get to Nehemiah 4, you find that
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Speaker 2: it's Judah of all the peoples who are bringing the
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Speaker 2: words of discouragement to the group. Not only were they
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Speaker 2: coming from Judah, but verse 12 tells us something else.
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Speaker 2: Another source of discouragement. It came about when the Jews
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Speaker 2: who lived near them, near whom? Near the enemy. The
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Speaker 2: ones who said in verse 11, we will kill them.
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Speaker 2: We will put a stop to the work. Well, there
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Speaker 2: were Jews who lived near that information and they kept
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Speaker 2: having it bombard their ears day after day. In fact,
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Speaker 2: We read in verse 12 that they came and told
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Speaker 2: us ten times. The handwriting is on the wall. It's
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Speaker 2: just a matter of time before we will be wiped
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Speaker 2: off the face of the earth. The information of discouragement
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Speaker 2: came from people that lived near it. You see, you
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Speaker 2: cannot live around negativism and not have some of it
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Speaker 2: rub off on you. Which is one of the whole
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Speaker 2: points we want to make this morning about discouragement. If
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Speaker 2: you are given to discouragement, you cannot run the risk
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Speaker 2: of spending a lot of your time with people that
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Speaker 2: give constant discouraging information. It happens on a mission field
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Speaker 2: just like it happens here in the States. It's true
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Speaker 2: no matter what your status in life may be. So
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Speaker 2: first it came from Judah, which was very surprising. And
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Speaker 2: then it came from these Jews that lived near the critics,
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Speaker 2: which was very significant. Let's notice the cause, aside from
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Speaker 2: what we've mentioned. Let's notice four causes for discouragement. And
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Speaker 2: they are mentioned here, beginning at verse 10. Verse 10 says,
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Speaker 2: Judah said, the strength of the burden bearers is failing.
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Speaker 2: Reason number one, in this passage for discouragement is a
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Speaker 2: loss of strength, a loss of energy. 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 2: They were halfway through. The newness... had worn off. Let
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Speaker 2: me make it even more practical. You know when discouragement
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Speaker 2: sets in? When you're halfway through with a job. Ever
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Speaker 2: bought a new car? I'm sure we all have. Or
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Speaker 2: at least a used car that we call new. You
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Speaker 2: know when it got tiring? When we were halfway through
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Speaker 2: paying for it. That's when it got tiring. You wore
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Speaker 2: a cast on your leg? You know when that gets tiring?
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Speaker 2: When you're halfway through the period of time you've got
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Speaker 2: to wear the cast. You've undertaken a difficult project of
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Speaker 2: redecorating your home. You know when's the most discouraging time
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Speaker 2: when the mess gets to be more than you can handle?
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Speaker 2: When you're halfway through redecorating your home. Ever tried climbing
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Speaker 2: a mountain? Isn't it amazing how you can be fooled
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Speaker 2: by a mountain? You look up and you say, oh, maybe,
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Speaker 2: maybe an hour. Oh, an hour and 30 minutes at
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Speaker 2: the most. Three hours later, when you're halfway up, you
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Speaker 2: look back down and you say, man, I think the
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Speaker 2: Lord's leading us to go back down now that we've
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Speaker 2: gone and seen this site because halfway is discouraging. That's
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Speaker 2: what had happened. We're getting tired, Nehemiah. The strength of
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Speaker 2: these that have been working is failing. We'll get on
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Speaker 2: to something in a moment on how to handle that
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Speaker 2: problem of tiredness, but one of the most wonderful ways
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Speaker 2: to handle it is to change the pace. And that's
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Speaker 2: what Nehemiah does, but we'll deal with that in just
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Speaker 2: a minute. Look at the second. There was a loss
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Speaker 2: of vision. You notice what Judah says? Yet there is
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Speaker 2: much rubbish. The word yet is significant because it connects
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Speaker 2: you with the previous statement. The strength of the burden bearers,
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Speaker 2: it's being expended and it's failing. Yet, in spite of
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Speaker 2: all the work, there's a lot of rubbish. The Hebrew
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Speaker 2: word means dry earth, debris. It's the word for that.
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Speaker 2: We look around Nehemiah and all we can see is debris. Dirt,
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Speaker 2: broken stones. dried up, hard, heavy mortar. It's getting tiring.
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Speaker 2: There's too much rubbish. You know what they had lost?
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Speaker 2: They had lost the vision of the wall when it's completed.
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Speaker 2: I think a perfect illustration of this is a young
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Speaker 2: mother with an infant who has changed, oh, 50% 60
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Speaker 2: diapers today, okay? And she looks at the situation and
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Speaker 2: she says, there's too much rubbish, too much mess, too
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Speaker 2: many diapers, too much work. And what does she lose?
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Speaker 2: She loses the vision of that growing child and the
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Speaker 2: delight of introducing him to society. She loses the whole
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Speaker 2: role of motherhood because of the rubbish. Some of you
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Speaker 2: are involved in jobs right now that are very demanding,
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Speaker 2: even threatening. They're hard, they're harsh. Difficult people to work with.
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Speaker 2: And you can begin to lose the whole vision of
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Speaker 2: your work because of the rubbish. I don't know of
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Speaker 2: a musician that hasn't labored through hours of practice to
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Speaker 2: become perfect. Or an athlete. It is in the work
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Speaker 2: and the labor and practice where nobody is around that
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Speaker 2: a musician emerges. Or any artist in the long demanding
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Speaker 2: hours with the rubbish. That's what had happened. There's too
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Speaker 2: much rubbish. We can't see the wall finished. And there's
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Speaker 2: nothing like a loss of vision to reduce enthusiasm. All
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Speaker 2: you've got to do is move into a new house
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Speaker 2: to know how true that is. I'm going to share
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Speaker 2: with you something that's true in my life. And I'm
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Speaker 2: happy to report things are changing a little bit. And
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Speaker 2: if God can do it in my life, he can
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Speaker 2: 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. Until finally through
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Speaker 2: some very difficult changes. that had to take place in
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Speaker 2: my life, I began to realize we cannot raise this
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Speaker 2: family in a way that is free and relaxed and
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Speaker 2: delightful without having some mess in the process. And you
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Speaker 2: know what? When I lost the vision of the rubbish
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Speaker 2: and I gained the vision of the home, wow, not
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Speaker 2: only have I been happier, My wife is a little
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Speaker 2: bit happier too these days because now there is a
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Speaker 2: vision beyond the rubbish. You see, it is so possible
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Speaker 2: to be involved in the trees as you miss the forest.
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Speaker 2: Rubbish discourages you. Too much rubbish. There was also, perhaps
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Speaker 2: the worst of the four, a loss of confidence. We
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Speaker 2: ourselves are unable to rebuild the walls. When you lose strength,
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Speaker 2: when you lose vision, then you lose confidence. And when
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Speaker 2: you've lost your confidence, discouragement is winking at you around
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Speaker 2: the corner. Look up at verse 6. 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 can cause that. But there is
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Speaker 2: this empty feeling, this overwhelming sense that I am not
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Speaker 2: ever going to catch up. Ever had that feeling? It
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Speaker 2: just happens about every other day for you sometimes, doesn't it?
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Speaker 2: I'll never be able to catch up. And my heart
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Speaker 2: especially is touched by the student. The student at this
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Speaker 2: time of year is going through terrible pains. You may
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Speaker 2: hear them groan nearby as I say that. Final time
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Speaker 2: is around the corner. They're into it. And it's easy
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Speaker 2: to think only in terms of exams and another year
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Speaker 2: and another year, another postgraduate course, another area, and to forget,
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Speaker 2: you know, there's an education, there's a career, there's a
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Speaker 2: vision beyond this. That's better than any of these tests
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Speaker 2: could ever make it. But you can lose your confidence,
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Speaker 2: lose your cool, lose your calm, and discouragement just comes
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Speaker 2: in like an enemy. You lose your heart. Fourth, in
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Speaker 2: their case, they lost their security. Our enemy said, verse 11,
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Speaker 2: they will not know or see until we come among
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Speaker 2: them and kill them and put a stop to the work.
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Speaker 2: That's what I call a scare tactic. The enemy said,
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Speaker 2: We've got a plan. Oh, we're not going to tell
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Speaker 2: anybody what the plan is. But when you aren't ready,
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Speaker 2: we'll slip in. And that'll be it. We'll handle it
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Speaker 2: so fast and so efficiently, you'll never know we were
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Speaker 2: even there. They lost their security. You know, there are
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Speaker 2: a lot of areas of security that we hang on
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Speaker 2: to for encouragement. One is a good job. If all
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Speaker 2: of your security is wrapped up in your job, then
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Speaker 2: all you need to do is lose that job. And
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Speaker 2: discouragement will swamp you. Let that job be threatened. And
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Speaker 2: you've lost an area of tangible security. Let me name
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Speaker 2: another one. A solid, happy home. You can zing along
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Speaker 2: and roll and sail from one day to the next,
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Speaker 2: and then suddenly one of the partners comes or one
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Speaker 2: of the children comes and says, you know, let me
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Speaker 2: tell you the truth about things. And they just lay
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Speaker 2: it out in front of you. I've had husbands sitting
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Speaker 2: in front of me when their wives tell them the
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Speaker 2: facts about their marriages. And I've seen discouragement sweep across
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Speaker 2: the thinking and the mind of that man until he's useless.
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Speaker 2: Because the security of that home is threatened. And discouragement comes.
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Speaker 2: Let me tell you another one. A set of friends
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Speaker 2: and familiar circumstances. You know what threatens that? A movement.
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Speaker 2: to some other part of the country. Let's take, for example,
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Speaker 2: that your husband comes home tomorrow afternoon and says, honey,
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Speaker 2: 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
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Speaker 2: has been California. And all of the tangibles that you've
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Speaker 2: hung on to for security are threatened. And I'll tell you,
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Speaker 2: in an instant, discouragement can come. You can just be finished.
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Speaker 2: Now you might think discouragement is only for those that
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Speaker 2: aren't walking with God. That's not true. If I may
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Speaker 2: quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, perhaps the greatest voice England
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Speaker 2: ever heard, At least in the Baptist movement, he was
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Speaker 2: a marvelous spokesman for God. In fact, you know, before
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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 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 immigrate 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! Get away from the demands. Oh, I
27:52
Speaker 2: thought about that solitary nest in the backwoods where I
27:56
Speaker 2: might be sufficient for the things. that were demanded of me.
28:00
Speaker 2: It was just then, now listen, that the curtain was
28:04
Speaker 2: rising on my greatest life's work, and I dreaded what
28:10
Speaker 2: it might reveal to me. I hope I was not faithless,
28:16
Speaker 2: but I was timorous and filled with a sense of
28:19
Speaker 2: my own unfitness. This depression sweeps over me whenever the
28:25
Speaker 2: Lord is preparing me A larger blessing for my life
28:31
Speaker 2: in ministry. I've had the same experience. I'm not in
28:37
Speaker 2: that league, but I've had the same experience. Just before
28:41
Speaker 2: the doors are open all the way, I seem to
28:46
Speaker 2: slump into a discouragement. And I'm hesitant to move through.
28:51
Speaker 2: And God graciously says, boots me in the seat of
28:54
Speaker 2: my pants and I find myself on the other side
28:57
Speaker 2: and I think, oh man, that's great. And I forget,
29:01
Speaker 2: but I shouldn't. Because some of you right now are
29:05
Speaker 2: just before the door. You've lost your strength. You've lost
29:09
Speaker 2: your confidence. You've lost your vision. You've lost your security.
29:14
Speaker 2: And there's that feeling, oh man, it isn't worth it.
29:18
Speaker 2: And I want you to know it's quite possible you
29:20
Speaker 2: are just about to that place of worth. For you
29:25
Speaker 2: cannot believe what's coming. And so it was in the
29:30
Speaker 2: building of the wall. My. What a challenge for Nehemiah.
29:37
Speaker 2: Now he didn't ignore the discouragement. You can't ignore. discouragement.
29:41
Speaker 2: It's like ignoring a flat tire. You can't ignore a
29:44
Speaker 2: flat tire. Pray all you want to, drive all you
29:47
Speaker 2: want to, that thing never 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 2: That's the first thing he did. Let's back off and
30:12
Speaker 2: take a long look at what we're doing. He unified
30:16
Speaker 2: the people around the same goal. I stationed men in
30:21
Speaker 2: the lowest parts of the space behind the wall and
30:26
Speaker 2: the exposed places. Look carefully. I stationed the people in
30:32
Speaker 2: families with their swords, spears and bows. Now that's significant.
30:39
Speaker 2: Where have they been? They've been scattered all over Jerusalem.
30:45
Speaker 2: In the perimeter. Working with stones, working with water and mortar,
30:51
Speaker 2: working together and yet separated from families. He unified them
30:58
Speaker 2: according to families, which tells me something. The basic source
31:04
Speaker 2: of encouragement ought to be the family, not the church.
31:13
Speaker 2: Do you really believe that? When your children come home
31:18
Speaker 2: to roost, is there encouragement? Or is that when all
31:23
Speaker 2: hell breaks loose? When dad comes home from work, does
31:28
Speaker 2: that bring encouragement or does that add pressure? The home
31:34
Speaker 2: is a basic source, or should be, of encouragement. They
31:39
Speaker 2: were discouraged. He says, come on, let's get together. According
31:43
Speaker 2: to families, you folks sit there, you're stationed there, you're there,
31:48
Speaker 2: and he forced them together as a unit. You know
31:52
Speaker 2: what I noticed in the process of doing it? He
31:54
Speaker 2: stopped the work. Sometimes the very best thing to do
31:59
Speaker 2: when you're discouraged is to take some time off. There's
32:06
Speaker 2: an old Greek proverb that says, you will break the
32:09
Speaker 2: bow if you keep it always stretched. How tight is
32:16
Speaker 2: your bow? You know, it took Ken a long time
32:21
Speaker 2: to tell us he was going to Hawaii to have
32:23
Speaker 2: a good time. I expected him to just stand up
32:25
Speaker 2: and say, we're taking off to Hawaii to have a
32:28
Speaker 2: good time. But, you know, he wanted to say it
32:31
Speaker 2: so that he understood that it was all taken care
32:33
Speaker 2: of and whatever. But basically, Ken, we want you to
32:36
Speaker 2: know that's the greatest news we can hear. I just
32:40
Speaker 2: wish you needed an interpreter for the process of time
32:43
Speaker 2: in Hawaii. Vance Hafner says, if you don't come apart...
32:49
Speaker 2: You'll come apart. When's the last time you got away?
32:55
Speaker 2: Pull the kids out of school. A couple of three
32:58
Speaker 2: days because you had to. The bow is tight long enough.
33:04
Speaker 2: You know, when you talked about the ministry in Hawaii
33:07
Speaker 2: and all that, I had a fellow in seminary. Dave
33:09
Speaker 2: Nicholas was his name. He used to always tell us
33:12
Speaker 2: that God was calling him to be a missionary to
33:13
Speaker 2: the Jews in Miami Beach is what he had in mind.
33:17
Speaker 2: And he kept telling us to pray that God would
33:19
Speaker 2: lead us. What's the deal about being so uptight and
33:26
Speaker 2: intense and constant in our work? I'll tell you, I
33:31
Speaker 2: take time off. If I didn't take time off, I'd
33:34
Speaker 2: crack up. And I ask of our men on this staff,
33:38
Speaker 2: they take time off, at times demand it. And you
33:44
Speaker 2: need time away. Maybe not long chunks of it. You
33:48
Speaker 2: can't afford that. I got the sweetest letter from a
33:51
Speaker 2: member in our church just this past week. She said,
33:53
Speaker 2: we just got back from the mountains. The majesty of
33:57
Speaker 2: God was there. And while we were there, we thought
34:00
Speaker 2: about you and we prayed. And how refreshed we are
34:04
Speaker 2: these few days away. He stopped the work and he says, wait,
34:10
Speaker 2: let's get together as a family. That'll do a lot
34:17
Speaker 2: to stop discouragement. Now look at the next step. 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. 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 2: Because he trusts in thee. Isaiah 26, 4. 3 and 4.
35:49
Speaker 2: Philippians 4, 6. Do not be bothered about anything, but
35:53
Speaker 2: in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your
35:59
Speaker 2: requests be made known unto God, and the peace of
36:02
Speaker 2: God that passes understanding shall keep your hearts and minds
36:07
Speaker 2: through Christ Jesus. You remember the Lord by remembering what
36:12
Speaker 2: the Lord has said. Could you call to mind right
36:17
Speaker 2: now five, six, eight, ten good solid promises that you
36:22
Speaker 2: can claim beginning tomorrow morning? Because believe me, the devil
36:25
Speaker 2: knows you're hearing this message. And he will attack you
36:30
Speaker 2: in ways you cannot believe with discouragement. Are you ready
36:35
Speaker 2: with the living message darts to shoot back, the sword
36:41
Speaker 2: of the Spirit, to tell yourself what God has said
36:45
Speaker 2: when you remember him. The Christian must know what God
36:50
Speaker 2: has said. There's another way to remember the Lord. That
36:56
Speaker 2: is to call to mind who he is. We often
36:59
Speaker 2: miss that. When is the last time you reflected, perhaps
37:04
Speaker 2: laying flat on your back looking up at the stars?
37:08
Speaker 2: Or getting all alone in a quiet place of the home.
37:13
Speaker 2: Or some area where you could get alone, even if
37:15
Speaker 2: you had to drive to get there. And call to
37:19
Speaker 2: mind the greatness of God. Nehemiah says, you've got your
37:28
Speaker 2: eyes on the rubbish, the rocks, the project. Get your
37:34
Speaker 2: eyes on the Lord. People that are discouraged are thinking
37:38
Speaker 2: mainly about one thing, themselves. And these people were no exception.
37:48
Speaker 2: So he unified them around the same goal. That means
37:52
Speaker 2: he had to stop the process of work to get
37:55
Speaker 2: them alone. Second, he put their eyes on the Lord.
38:00
Speaker 2: He directed them to remember the Lord. What did he
38:03
Speaker 2: do thirdly? He encouraged them to maintain a balance. Discouraged
38:09
Speaker 2: people usually are in one of the swings of the pendulum,
38:13
Speaker 2: one extreme or another. Nehemiah pulled the pendulum back in balance.
38:20
Speaker 2: How did he do it? Look at verse 15. Well,
38:25
Speaker 2: 14 concludes, fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters,
38:29
Speaker 2: your wives, and your houses. Now you've got to fight.
38:34
Speaker 2: There's a job to be done. Load the weapon. Verse 15.
38:40
Speaker 2: It happened when our enemies heard that it was known
38:43
Speaker 2: to us that God 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
39:18
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,
40:07
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 Wickliffe. Oh, yeah? There's an English Bible
40:25
Speaker 2: that lives on because he did more than fight. He
40:29
Speaker 2: stayed at the task. Remember Bunyan? John Bunyan? Fighter? Builder?
40:38
Speaker 2: They threw him in prison. That'll finish him off. Oh,
40:42
Speaker 2: that's where he emerged. What did he do in the prison?
40:45
Speaker 2: He wrote Pilgrim's Progress. You see, he could do more
40:49
Speaker 2: than fight. He added by a personal investment the truths
40:56
Speaker 2: of Pilgrim's Progress, the second loved book, most loved book
41:01
Speaker 2: among Christians today. A balance. What a beautiful balance. Let
41:07
Speaker 2: me say one more thing. You be very careful about
41:10
Speaker 2: what you embrace concerning what is passed off in some
41:16
Speaker 2: people's lives as the deeper life. Now, I believe in
41:19
Speaker 2: the deeper life. But be very careful about the passive
41:25
Speaker 2: message that is 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 found that to be true. I question that.
41:46
Speaker 2: In fact... I called to mind with a chuckle the
41:49
Speaker 2: words of Harry Ironside. Wish I could have known that
41:52
Speaker 2: great man. He said this, what is passed off as
41:57
Speaker 2: the deeper life would be very good if we were
42:01
Speaker 2: rich and blind. I could tell by your response, you're
42:09
Speaker 2: not sure how to take that, so let me clarify it.
42:12
Speaker 2: If you're rich, you have no interruptions, no irritations, just
42:15
Speaker 2: hire it done. If you're blind, you have no temptations.
42:18
Speaker 2: There's no battle with the flesh. What does a blind
42:21
Speaker 2: person know about the lust of the flesh brought in
42:25
Speaker 2: by the eye gate? But I want you to know
42:28
Speaker 2: if you've got sight and if you're struggling for a
42:31
Speaker 2: living like the rest of us, you've got a battle
42:34
Speaker 2: on your hands. And there are some practical steps you
42:39
Speaker 2: can take to sweep away those tempting moments. But you've
42:45
Speaker 2: got to take them 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. Balance.
43:00
Speaker 2: That's my goal for life. God, keep me balanced. And
43:07
Speaker 2: I'm sure that was Nehemiah's goal because he was. The
43:11
Speaker 2: fourth thing that Nehemiah did, he provided a rallying point.
43:16
Speaker 2: That may not seem clear, so let's clarify it. Verse 19,
43:21
Speaker 2: I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest
43:23
Speaker 2: of the people, the work is great and extensive, and
43:30
Speaker 2: we are separated on the wall from one another, far
43:33
Speaker 2: from one another. Now here's the rallying point. Verse 20,
43:39
Speaker 2: I love this. At whatever place you hear the sound
43:42
Speaker 2: of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will
43:48
Speaker 2: fight for us. What was the rallying point? First of all,
43:53
Speaker 2: it was a place. Second, it was a principle. The
43:57
Speaker 2: place was wherever there was a gathering of people around
44:03
Speaker 2: the trumpet. Then you were to go there. For example,
44:07
Speaker 2: Nehemiah walked from place to place overseeing the building of
44:11
Speaker 2: the wall. But at any time, the enemy could attack.
44:15
Speaker 2: So he kept the trumpeter right by his side. He says,
44:18
Speaker 2: when I nudge you, blow that bugle because they're coming.
44:22
Speaker 2: And people, whenever you hear that trumpet sound, you come
44:26
Speaker 2: to where the trumpet is. In other words, don't try
44:29
Speaker 2: to fight alone. You know what that's saying to me
44:35
Speaker 2: and saying to you? That we need a rallying point.
44:41
Speaker 2: You know what that means? A close friend. Somebody That
44:49
Speaker 2: we can attach ourselves to when the attack comes. Don't
44:53
Speaker 2: try to fight it alone. You say I don't need
44:56
Speaker 2: anybody else. Then you're sick. You've got a warped idea
45:03
Speaker 2: of Christianity. The response of the healthy child of God is.
45:09
Speaker 2: I can't possibly do it alone. But oh God. If
45:14
Speaker 2: you will give me. Your strength. Through your spirit. And
45:21
Speaker 2: link me with a brother or a sister in the family.
45:24
Speaker 2: That can encourage me. And I can encourage. Oh God
45:27
Speaker 2: I'll rally around you. Till the last day of that test.
45:32
Speaker 2: You say well let's hear scripture for it. Oh. When
45:37
Speaker 2: Elijah was at the bottom. Jezebel says you breathe one
45:41
Speaker 2: more time. And I'll slice your throat so fast. You
45:45
Speaker 2: won't know it till you sneeze. I'll finish you off Elijah.
45:49
Speaker 2: So he ran under the juniper tree and he said, Lord,
45:51
Speaker 2: take my life. It's not worth it. I'm all alone.
45:54
Speaker 2: What did God do? Well, he catered a meal for
45:56
Speaker 2: the first thing he did. Brought in the food, you know.
46:00
Speaker 2: He went in the strength of that food 40 days
46:02
Speaker 2: and 40 nights. Wouldn't you love to have that recipe, mothers?
46:05
Speaker 2: 40 days and 40 nights, the same meal held him over.
46:09
Speaker 2: The next thing he did, said, Elijah, get up. So
46:11
Speaker 2: he got up. You're not alone, Elijah. And he gave
46:14
Speaker 2: him what? Elisha. And the last verse of 1 Kings
46:18
Speaker 2: 19 says, Elisha ministered to Elijah. And the beautiful part
46:24
Speaker 2: of it is when he really began to make tracks.
46:27
Speaker 2: He had a rallying point. When David was under the
46:30
Speaker 2: gun of Saul, God gave him Jonathan. And their souls
46:34
Speaker 2: were linked together like one. They loved each other as
46:37
Speaker 2: they loved their own soul. Because there was this marvelous bond,
46:42
Speaker 2: this rallying point. Discouragement couldn't find a wedge because of
46:48
Speaker 2: that friend. You've got somebody like that? It goes back
46:53
Speaker 2: to the ministry and messages on discipleship, doesn't it? Cultivate someone. Look,
47:02
Speaker 2: long for, pray. Don't give up until you can link
47:07
Speaker 2: your soul with another who has a kindred spirit, like-minded,
47:14
Speaker 2: who cares for your soul and for your needs. Nehemiah says,
47:19
Speaker 2: when you hear the battle cry, come to where the
47:22
Speaker 2: trumpet is. That's where strength is. And what's the principle?
47:26
Speaker 2: Not to come together to flatter each other. Come together
47:29
Speaker 2: for the principle that says our God will fight for us.
47:32
Speaker 2: We're in it together. A real friend says, oh, that's
47:36
Speaker 2: your problem? Well, let's see how I can pray for
47:39
Speaker 2: you and your problem. No, a real friend says, that's
47:43
Speaker 2: our need. Let me come into that with you. Let
47:48
Speaker 2: me enter that valley. I'm touched by that need. The
47:54
Speaker 2: fifth and final thing that he did, he occupied them
47:59
Speaker 2: in a ministry of service to others. Verse 21. We
48:04
Speaker 2: carried on the work. We carried on the work, half
48:10
Speaker 2: holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared, And I
48:14
Speaker 2: said to the people, let each man with his servant
48:17
Speaker 2: spend the night in Jerusalem that they may be a
48:20
Speaker 2: guard for us by night and a laborer by day. Hey,
48:24
Speaker 2: we need help. I'm asking these to come in and
48:27
Speaker 2: to serve us. We can't handle it alone. And in
48:33
Speaker 2: the process of time, notice in verse 23, they didn't
48:38
Speaker 2: even have time to change clothes when they went down
48:43
Speaker 2: For a drink of water, perhaps it means a bath.
48:48
Speaker 2: They took their weapon. They stayed at the task. They
48:53
Speaker 2: ministered to one another in service and involvement. You want
48:57
Speaker 2: 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? Or is it all wrapped up in yourself
50:10
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? Or
50:21
Speaker 2: are we serving? You know how to keep from growing
50:25
Speaker 2: old when you retire? Stay in touch with the needs
50:29
Speaker 2: of others. That's what touches me deeply when I bury
50:33
Speaker 2: Alter on Tuesday. As one of the girls in our
50:37
Speaker 2: office said to me, the heartbreak is that Her breed
50:43
Speaker 2: is dying. Her breed, her kind is dying. What do
50:49
Speaker 2: I mean? Since she lost her husband, she's been so busy,
50:52
Speaker 2: you could hardly find time to ask her to help.
50:54
Speaker 2: She was one of the first ladies that worked in
50:56
Speaker 2: this office when I came. Volunteer help, of course. So
51:01
Speaker 2: at times we needed her a little bit more, so
51:02
Speaker 2: we'd call her. She says, well, wait a minute, I'll check.
51:06
Speaker 2: She's 70 then, about 73. She'd go through this book.
51:10
Speaker 2: All the involvement. She said, let's see, I could fit
51:12
Speaker 2: you in from 2 to 4. No, 3.30. I could
51:15
Speaker 2: do it. Well, what are you doing the other day? Well,
51:17
Speaker 2: I'm wrapping bandages for the Cancer Society. I'm in the
51:21
Speaker 2: ladies' auxiliary over here working for these. I'm doing some
51:24
Speaker 2: work at the hospital. On and on and on. Involved
51:28
Speaker 2: in others' lives. And you know what? She never got old.
51:34
Speaker 2: Just like Caleb. But retirement to us in America means...
51:40
Speaker 2: Do not bother me. No time for others. Oh, I
51:48
Speaker 2: think of the manpower shortage and what a ministry of
51:52
Speaker 2: encouragement God could give you when he releases you from
51:55
Speaker 2: your workaday world. You could build into others lives. Nehemiah says,
51:59
Speaker 2: let's don't sit around and lick our wounds. We need
52:03
Speaker 2: your help. Come in and help us. We'll go there
52:05
Speaker 2: and help you. Let's serve. Let's minister. Isn't that what
52:09
Speaker 2: Christianity is all about? Giving up my rights? Saying no
52:16
Speaker 2: to myself? May God touch us. For all I know,
52:25
Speaker 2: that's the reason you're discouraged today. May He change us.
52:30
Speaker 2: Turn us around.
52:33
Speaker 1: For a few moments now, let's be quiet before the Lord.
52:37
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 Savior,
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Speaker 1: and Lord, I pray that their discouragement will be broken
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Speaker 1: by the realization that your Son's death on the cross
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Speaker 1: paid the complete payment for their sins. So there's nothing
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Speaker 1: they need to do or promise or change or give
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Speaker 1: 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 3: Amen. Discouragement, Its Causes and Cure was copyrighted in 1974, 1983, 1990, 2006,
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Speaker 3: and 2015, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2016
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Speaker 3: by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
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Speaker 3: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.