Eagle LifeChurch

Helping People Experience Jesus in a Life-Changing Way

reBUILD in the Face of Discouragement

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One of the bigger obstacles in any reBUILDing project is Discouragement.  If our enemy can get us to live in the self-pity of discouragement then we will fail in the effort to rebuild our lives, our families, and our communities.

Find courage to stand and fight discouragement as the Holy Spirit empowers you.

*note: The congregation was seated at tables and had time during this talk to discuss for themselves the passage we were studying.

Discouragement brings ______self-pity_______.

Self-Pity is _____unbelief_______ that fails to ______TRUST__________ God.

  1. ______Reasons______________ for discouragement | Nehemiah 4:1
    • Discouragement often follows Victory
    • Discouragement comes from a helpless enemy who cannot stop the will and work of God

TABLE TALK—P.L.S.

/ Share about how you know when you are getting angry.

/ Compare 2:10, 2:19, and 4:1 and discuss what is happening to
Sanballat and why.

  1. ______Rubric______________ of discouragement | Nehemiah 4:2

TABLE TALK—P.L.S.

/ Evaluate verse 2, discuss what characteristic is being questioned:

Q: What are the FEEBLE Jews doing? C: ____________________

Q: Will they restore it themselves? C: ____________________

Q: Will they sacrifice? C: ____________________

Q: Will they finish up today? C: ____________________

Q: Will they revive burned rubbish? C: ____________________

  1. ______Results______________ of discouragement | Nehemiah 4:3-6

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)

TABLE TALK—P.L.S.

/ Analyze Nehemiah’s prayer together at your table.

/ Who is being despised?

/ What does Nehemiah want God to do about it? and why?

/ What would it look like if God turned your discouragement back on itself? How can a person cultivate a “mind to do the work?”

When faced by the devastation by our enemy we can say with confidence what Nehemiah told his enemies, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)

This Week’s Bible Reading
| Nehemiah 4-6 | 1 John 4:1-21 | 1 Peter 4:12-19 | Psalm 145-150 |

Coming Up: reBUILD in the Face of:
Accusation (1/31) | Devastation (2/7) | Discouragement (2/14) |
Intimidation (2/21) | Greed (2/28) | Distraction (3/6) | Fear (3/13) |

 

reBUILD in the Face of Devastation

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Many times our enemy comes against us in such an overwhelming way that we lose our will to reBUILD because of the comprehensive destruction that the enemy has brought to our lives.

Through this message the Holy Spirit will encourage you to WIN in the face of devastation.

Devastation brings _____Despair________.

DESPAIR is ______unbelief______ that fails to _______SERVE_________ God.

 

  1. reBUILDing in the Face of Devastation Kicks-off with spiritual ______Coaching/Leadership______ | Nehemiah 3:1-5

 Compare and Contrast Eliashib in 3:1 with the Tekoite nobles in 3:5

/ What type of Spiritual Leadership to respond best to? What type of Spiritual leader are you?

  1. reBUILDing in the Face of Devastation is tackled by Spiritual ____Teamwork_____ | Nehemiah 3:6-25a

Look at the team that God and Nehemiah brought together; goldsmiths, perfumers, rulers, citizens, priests, Levites, residents of Jerusalem, and people who lived far away. The Body of Christ is made up of many parts; the Holy Spirit gives us each a job to do! 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

/ What spiritual ruin are you “looking past?” Who do you need to recruit to help you reBUILD?

  1. reBUILDing in the Face of Devastation is Won by Spiritual ______Tenacity_____ | Nehemiah 3:25b-32

Yoggi Berra famously coined this cliché in his 2nd year as coach of the Mets, midway through the season when they were in last place in the division (9-games out) and a reporter asked if the season was over, Yoggi replied, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Some of these city walls had been ruined for 40 years. And some of the ruined walls were actually right on the door steps of people who had been living in the city for a decade. It’s often easiest to miss the mess right at our own feet.

These people needed some tenacity to get the work done.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. – Philippians 3:12-15 (ESV)

/ In what ways have you allowed Devastation to bring despair to your life? What do you need to do to press on to the finish?

When faced by the devastation by our enemy we can say with confidence what Nehemiah told his enemies, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)

 

 This Week’s Bible Reading
| Nehemiah 3-5 | 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 | Philippians 3:12-17 | Psalm 140-144|

Coming Up: reBUILD in the Face of:
Accusation (1/31) | Devastation (2/7) | Discouragement (2/14) |
Intimidation (2/21) | Greed (2/28) | Distraction (3/6) | Fear (3/13) |

reBUILD in the Face of Accusation

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reBUILD in the Face of Accusation

  1. To reBUILD in the Face of Accusation we must recognize the _______name________ of the accuser and the advocate


The Accuser 

– Name: __Sanballat = ‘sin (moon-god) gives life’______
– Represents: ______the devil_________
– _______’accuser’________ =  Literally “The satan” | Job 1
– the _______accuser________ of the church

The Advocate

– Name: ____Nehemiah = ‘The LORD Comforts’____________________
– Represents: ________The Holy Spirit____________
– _______advocate/intercessor_________ = Jesus
– the ______comforter________ of the church

/ What is the name you are known by, Complainer or Comforter? Accuser or Advocate? Blessing or Cursing?

  1. To reBUILD in the Face of Accusation we must recognize the _______nature___________ of the accuser and the advocate

The Accuser

Motivated by:
– __Own well-being / selfishness____
– _personal power / position_______
– _Lies_______ | John 8:4
The Accuser’s Goal is to ____condemn___ by attacking motives | Genesis 3

Accusations bring ___doubt________.

Doubt is __unbelief__________ that fails to ____hear________ God.

The Advocate

Motivated by:
– __well-being of others / selfless____
– __power and purpose of God______
– __truth________ | John 16:13
The Advocate’s Goal is to ___purify your____ motives | 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

/ What is motivating you? Is your goal to condemn or purify?  Are you driven by advocating for others or accusing others?  Are you seeking the power and purposes of God or to preserve your own power?

When faced by the accusations of our enemy, the satan, we can say with confidence what Nehemiah told Sanballat and his crew,

“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)

This Week’s Bible Reading
 | Nehemiah 3-5 | Genesis 3 | Revelation 12 | Psalm 135-139|

Coming Up: reBUILD in the Face of:
Accusation (1/31) | Devastation (2/7) | Discouragement (2/14) |
| Intimidation (2/21) | Greed (2/28) | Distraction (3/6) | Fear (3/13) |

If you find that the Devil is attacking you with accusations about your past, you can just remind him of his future.

…the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. – Revelation 12:9-10

New Ordinary

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New Ordinary–

How to move from ordinary to EXTRAordinary.

By Pastor Brad Murphy
Acts 3:1-26
May 3, 2015

New things smell new. New things look new. New things also need some-getting-used-to, because new things mean change.

God has new things planned for you. Things that you may have heard about, but haven’t experienced. Things that may terrify or excite you.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
– Isaiah 43:19

At the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry He commissioned a band of followers to carry the message of His Kingdom to the farthest reaches of the earth. He promised them power to witness. He promised them victory. He promised them Himself.

In the sermon series, NEW, we will study all the wonderful, powerful, and difficult things the disciple Peter, and other disciples, experienced in the days, weeks, and years after Jesus resurrection.

Listen now to this message from the Series NEW!

Follow along with the outline: New Ordinary
How do we overcome the tendency to get trapped in the ordinary, mundane, patterns of faith?

  1. Following Jesus is often very ordinary | Acts 3:1-3
    Matthew 6:2-4, 23:23; Luke 11:42; Acts 10:4, 31, 11:29-30; Philippians 4:10-20
    Three Types of New Testament Giving

    • Tithe giving for the Church
    • Missions giving for the apostles
    • Alms giving for the poor
  2. Ordinary become ExtraOrdinary by seeing differently | Acts 3:4-6
  3. ExtraOrdinary moments bring honor to God | Acts 3:7-10

Acts 3:11-26 | Jesus makes ExtraOrdinary ordinary

Additional Bible Reading | Acts 2-4 | 1 Corinthians 12-14 |

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