Consider Your Importance

2.17.8

          

Nehemiah 6

I believe we have stepped in to a new day here at COTRBC. Of course it’s not going to be a bed of roses. It means there are new obstacles to face. Things we have never seen or encountered before.

      - much like the Hebrews coming out of Egypt.

            They were “baptized and had a lot of conflict mostly internal.

            They were “baptized again at the Jordan river and then their

                                    conflicts came from other directions.

I want to give you some simple tools to defeat the new obstacles.

The brief story of Nehemiah being sent back to Jerusalem to build the wall.

Nehemiah 6:2-4

The distractions he faced and how he ignored them.

• Nehemiah was involved in a great work.
  • Jerusalem was the city of God.
  • Rebuilding it was as big of a job as you could get.
• Because his work was so important and great he wouldn’t allow anything to stop him, or slow him down.

God has given you a commission as well.

We talk about His destiny for your lives.

      Just through the life of our church…

In 2008 we will send more people on mission trips, a few individuals on mission trips, reach more children and ministry to more families than we have ever.

      We know that individually God has a great plan for you.

      This plan is your potential, not a guarantee.

            --- I know the plans….

            --- the righteous have a future.

            --- Children will be mighty in the land.

            --- In the end you will look in triumph over your foes. 

Again… God has birthed us for purpose and destiny.

You might not feel the daily grind of life is something real important.

• think about the others working on the wall.
  • It doesn’t take to many days of laying stones to loose sight of the big picture.

CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE….

Doing this keeps us focused.

Lamentations 1:8-9 Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. 9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. "Look, O Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."

      --- what was the key to her failing ---- She did not consider her future....

Each of us has a calling in our church, family, community and when we don’t consider the future the fall in each will be great.

• Let me just use fathers for example.
  • When they don’t see the importance of being involved with their children.
    • That has a direct impact on who their daughters marry.
    • Usually someone who is a lot like their dad – deadbeat.
    • That will effect the way those children will be raised also.

In our life the enemy/ or the world throws out lies to distract us.

The lies are to make our problem seem bigger than our solutions.

Now I seem to face things much greater than someone coming to me saying… “come down here. That all is dumb.”

Through life we will encounter these distractions that will test us on many levels.

The difficulties we face expose the depth of our belief that God’s plan is real and important.

      ---- consider your importance in circumstances.

We must have two simple things set up in our hearts.

2 things that we must not only know, but trust in:

      1. God is good. That is His nature.

When we don’t understand what’s going on we depend on His nature. HE IS GOOD.

            I made a confession last night about how I see things…

Lord, do I need to keep telling You that I know I have nothing good to say and that I need You to give me something….

                  Illumination:

                  The confession wasn’t for God, it was for me.

                  It is my constant reminder, not God’s.

            We need to make a confession in our moment – GOD IS GOOD.

                              It’s our ongoing reminder for us to live by

                              something we already know.

      2. God never sets us up to fail, only to grow.

Each time we are able to over look a distraction by considering our importance, it adds strength to our life.

Would a good Father send out His child to do something he is not prepared to do?

            --- tell your 6 year old son… go change the oil in the car?

            --- neither would God send you into something you aren’t able to

                                                                        handle.

Consider your importance.

So a few points for this morning:

1. Do you believe you have an important purpose?
   1. If not then you are going to be easily distracted.

2. In the mist of all circumstances hold on to the simple building blocks.

3. Failure to consider your importance brings failure.

Considering your importance eliminates distractions.