WINNING THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENT

Nehemiah 4:1-10

INTRODUCTION:

To ask you, “Have you ever been discouraged” would be like

asking you, “Are you a human being?”

Of course you have been discouraged! Every one of us has been

discouraged many, many times! Even the most optimistic,
positive Christians you know battles discouragement. Perhaps
some of you are battling discouragement right now. If so, I pray
that the LORD will use tonight's message to encourage and
strengthen you.

Billy Graham once said, “The Christian life is not a constant

high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to
go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God,
forgive me,' or 'O God help me.”

Satan is so good at making us discouraged. He knows that if he

can keep us discouraged, he can make us not want to be a part of
what God is doing.

This is precisely the tactic that Sanballat and Tobiah used against
Nehemiah and the Jews. As Nehemiah and the Jews are
rebuilding the wall, are mocking them all along the way.

Note: Sanballat and Tobiah lived around Jerusalem and were

not happy at all about the Jews rebuilding the wall. They were
pagan enemies of the Lord who did not have any regard for
the God of Israel. Ultimately these guys were instruments of
Satan who was the number 1 opponent of the rebuilding of
Jerusalem and its wall just like how he is the number 1
opponent of every child of God.

Too many Christians tend to walk around always discouraged.

Satan will use challenging life- circumstances, other people, or
whatever to keep God's people in a place of discouragement but
the Bible tells us that it is the JOY of the Lord that is our strength.
Proverbs 24:16 "For a righteous man may fall seven times and
rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity."
The truth is, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ Satan is going to
do everything he possibly can to discourage you and me, because
a discouraged Christian is a defeated Christian.

Today, as we think about “WINNING THE BATTLE OVER

DISCOURAGEMENT” I would like for you to turn with me in your
Bibles to the Old Testament Book of Nehemiah, chapter four. And
let's read verses 1-10.

NEHEMIAH 4:1-10:
1 Nang mabalitaan ni Sanballat na aming itinatayo ang pader,
siya'y nagalit, labis na napoot at kanyang tinuya ang mga
Judio. 2 At kanyang sinabi sa harapan ng kanyang mga
kapatid at ng hukbo ng Samaria, “Anong ginagawa nitong
mahihinang Judio? Ibabalik ba nila ang mga bagay? Mag-
aalay ba sila? Makakatapos ba sila sa isang araw? Kanila
bang bubuhayin ang mga bato mula sa mga bunton ng
basura, bagaman nasunog na ang mga iyon?” 3 Si Tobias na
Ammonita ay nasa tabi niya, at sinabi niya, “Kapag ang
alinmang asong-ligaw ay umakyat roon, ibabagsak nito ang
kanilang mga batong pader!” 4 Pakinggan mo, O aming
Diyos, sapagkat kami ay hinamak; at ibalik mo ang kanilang
pag-alipusta sa kanilang sariling ulo, at ibigay mo sila sa
isang lupain upang pagnakawan na doo'y mga bihag sila. 5
Huwag mong pagtakpan ang kanilang kasalanan, at huwag
mong pawiin ang kanilang pagkakasala sa harapan mo
sapagkat kanilang ginalit ka sa harapan ng mga
manggagawa. 6 Kaya't aming itinayo ang pader at ito ay
napagdugtong hanggang sa kalahati ng taas niyon. Sapagkat
ang taong-bayan ay may isang pag-iisip sa paggawa. 7 Ngunit
nang mabalitaan nina Sanballat, Tobias, ng mga taga-Arabia,
mga Ammonita, at ng mga Asdodita, na nagpapatuloy ang
pagkukumpuni ng mga pader ng Jerusalem at ang mga sira
ay nagsisimulang masarhan, sila'y galit na galit. 8 Silang
lahat ay magkakasamang nagbalak na puntahan at labanan
ang Jerusalem at gumawa ng kaguluhan doon. 9 Kami ay
nanalangin sa aming Diyos, at naglagay ng bantay laban sa
kanila sa araw at gabi. 10 Ngunit sinabi ng Juda, “Ang lakas
ng mga tagapasan ay nauubos, at marami pang basura, hindi
kami makagawa sa pader.”
Today we are being reminded of another great leader God chose
thousands of years ago in Israel. The nation had been in bondage
for decades, the infrastructure of the country was in shambles
and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the nation. And the
man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead, GOD
CHOSE A BUILDER WHOSE NAME WAS NEHEMIAH.

GOD chose Nehemiah to rebuild the great wall around Jerusalem

that had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion in 586
B.C. It took Nehemiah and his fellow builders just 52 days to
rebuild that wall, but along the way Nehemiah and his fellow
workers battled discouragement almost every step of the way.

I. SOME CAUSES OF DISCOURAGEMENT

1. In this fourth chapter of Nehemiah we see “four causes” of

discouragement.

(A) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FATIGUE

(v.10a)
Ngunit sinabi ng Juda, “Ang lakas ng mga tagapasan ay
nauubos, at marami pang basura, hindi kami makagawa sa
pader.”

In the original Hebrew, the meaning of that phrase “Ang lakas ng

mga tagapasan ay nauubos,” literally meant “they were
stumbling and staggering under their load.”

This wall-building project required fifty-two days of hard, back-

breaking labor. These men were picking up huge pieces of stone
from the wall that had been torn down seventy years earlier and
putting them back together like a jig-saw puzzle.

And when we come here to verse 10 the project is only half done.
For thirty straight days they have been working from sun up til
sundown and they are just half-way through

Fatigue has caught up with these men! They have lost their
strength, and when they lost their strength they lost their courage.
In other words, they became “DISCOURAGED!”
Through I Kings 18-19, Elijah experiences an emotional roller
coaster. Elijah brings a drought to the land through God’s power,
and, when he comes to see Ahab again, the king is very hostile
toward Elijah. In turn, Elijah proposes a challenge: set up two
alters, one to Baal and one to Jehovah, and Baal’s priests would
pray for their God to consume their sacrifice in fire. Elijah would do
the same. Baal’s priests cry out, dance, and cut themselves to no
avail. Elijah then evokes God with a small, quiet prayer after
having his alter deluged with water, and fire from God incinerates
the sacrifice and alter.

The people enthusiastically turn to God, praising Him and killing

the prophets of Baal. The drought ends. It is a monumental
victory, but it is very short-lived. By chapter 19, Jezebel proclaims
death on Elijah and promises his end within a day. Elijah flees
beyond the political influence of Ahab and Jezebel, collapses by a
juniper tree, and asks God to take his life.

Elijah does a great deal of traveling in I Kings 18 alone, before

and after the strenuous events on Mount Carmel. He is also worn
out from the constant pressure of resisting the pressures around
him. Likewise, we are always over-booked and overextended.

Ngunit siya'y naglakbay ng isang araw patungo sa ilang at

dumating at umupo sa lilim ng isang punungkahoy. Siya'y humiling
na siya'y mamatay na sana, na nagsasabi, “Sapat na; ngayon, O
Panginoon, kunin mo ang aking buhay sapagkat hindi ako mas
mabuti kaysa aking mga ninuno.” 1 Hari 19: 4, ABTAG2001
The late Vince Lombardi, Coach of the Green Bay Packers once
said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Some of our greatest battles with discouragement come at a time

when we are “dead tired”...”worn slam out,”...fatigued!

When you are discouraged make a “mental note” of how tired you
are.......how many nights you have gone without quality
sleep.......how many days you have worked in a row without taking
a day off.....how long it has been since you have taken a vacation.

Fatigue caused the wall-builders to become discouraged and it will

do the same to you and me!
(B) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FRUSTRATION
(v.10B)

v. 10b “Ang lakas ng mga tagapasan ay nauubos, at marami

pang basura,...”

For thirty days they have been putting the wall back together brick
by brick and stone by stone. And when they stand back and look
at take a good look at what they have done their focus is on how
many bricks and stones are still laying in a heap on the ground.

They are FRUSTRATED! It looks like there's a whole lot more

bricks and stones on the ground than on the wall! Simply put, they
saw little fruit for all their hard labor.

We have all experienced that frustration haven't we? We have

worked for days or weeks or even months on a project and
stepped back and wondered just what we have accomplished.
When we see little or “no fruit” for all the hard work we have done
it is very easy to get discouraged.

(C) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FAILURE

(v.10B)

v. 10c Ngunit sinabi ng Juda, “Ang lakas ng mga tagapasan

ay nauubos, at marami pang basura, hindi kami makagawa sa
pader.”

The wall-builders have thrown up their hands in defeat! “We're

fatigued...we’re frustrated...and we have failed!” “We are NEVER
going to get this wall built!”

The truth was they hadn't failed! They were just so discouraged
they thought they had!

One of the greatest causes of discouragement in the Christian life

is FAILURE! We try our best to live for the LORD, and yet no
matter how hard we try we sometimes fail, and fail miserably. And
Satan uses our failures to discourage us to the point we want to
give up and stop trying!
(D) Sometimes discouragement is caused by FEAR (vv. 11,
12)
11 At sinabi ng aming mga kalaban, “Hindi nila malalaman o
makikita hanggang sa kami ay makarating sa gitna nila, at
patayin sila, at patigilin ang gawain.” 12 Nang dumating ang
mga Judio na naninirahang kasama nila, sinabi nila sa amin
nang sampung ulit, “Mula sa lahat ng mga lugar na kanilang
tinitirhan, sila ay aahon laban sa atin.”

Imagine this scene: These men have been working hard for thirty
straight days. They are absolutely worn out...they are
frustrated...and they feel like the whole project is a failure. They
are just as discouraged as can be. And now to add insult to injury,
enemies start passing by criticizing their work and even
threatening to kill them if they continued to rebuild the wall. So add
FEAR to their growing list of reasons to be discouraged!

There are always “critics” and “nay-sayers” who will discourage us

any time we try to do good, especially when we try to do the work
GOD has called us to do. And sometimes the voice of the critic is
so loud it discourages us from continuing with our good work until
it is completed!

One of the biggest reasons many ministers have left the ministry
is because they became so discouraged by the voices of “nit-
pickers” and “complainers” that they just gave up!

The next time you find yourself BATTLING DISCOURAGEMENT if

you will pause to reflect on why you are discouraged, chances are
one or more of these four causes is the
culprit...FATIGUE...FRUSTRATION...FAILURE...or FEAR!

II. SOME CURES FOR DISCOURAGEMENT

1. It is inevitable that you and I will BATTLE DISCOURAGEMENT

many times over the course of our lifetime. But what matters most
is how we respond in times of discouragement.

2.Here in Nehemiah 4 the “wall-builders” did three things to WIN

THE BATTLE OVER DISCOURAGEMENT.
(A) In times of discouragement REACH OUT TO GOD IN
PRAYER.

9 Kami ay nanalangin sa aming Diyos, at naglagay ng bantay

laban sa kanila sa araw at gabi.
How many of us in times of discouragement turn to prayer as “a
last resort,” when it ought to be our first line of defense?

Nehemiah responded to this adversity by appealing (PRAYING) to

God! Nehemiah appealed to God in the face of overwhelming
adversity and God responded!

Look at the transition from verse 3 where Nehemiah and the

builders are being mocked to verse 4. Literally the next verse is
Nehemiah praying to God. Nehemiah knew exactly what to do
with the adversity: he gave it to the Lord.

4 Pakinggan mo, O aming Diyos, sapagkat kami ay hinamak;

at ibalik mo ang kanilang pag-alipusta sa kanilang sariling
ulo, at ibigay mo sila sa isang lupain upang pagnakawan na
doo'y mga bihag sila. 5 Huwag mong pagtakpan ang kanilang
kasalanan, at huwag mong pawiin ang kanilang pagkakasala
sa harapan mo sapagkat kanilang ginalit ka sa harapan ng
mga manggagawa.

We need to learn from Nehemiah's example here. When Satan

attacks our lives and brings adversity upon us, we need to go
straight to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is how we fight.

ILLUSTRATION:

WAR ROOM (MOVIE)

Drug salesman Tony Jordan and his wife, estate agent, Elizabeth
Jordan, appear outwardly successful; they have a large house,
plenty of money, and a beautiful daughter named Danielle. Behind
the façade, however, Tony and Elizabeth's relationship is strained.
Tony is callous, verbally abusive and thinking about cheating on
Elizabeth. In addition, because his job requires frequent travel, he
is almost never there for his daughter.
Elizabeth goes to work with an elderly woman, Miss Clara, to sell
her house. Miss Clara senses the stress Elizabeth is under, and
suggests that Elizabeth fight for their marriage by praying for
Tony. Miss Clara shows Elizabeth a special closet she has
dedicated to praying, which she calls her "War Room"; as she puts
it, "in order to stand up and fight the enemy, you need to get on
your knees and pray." As Elizabeth starts to seriously pray for her
husband, Tony leaves for a business trip, having dinner with a
beautiful woman who invites him back to her flat. Just as he is
about to leave with her, he becomes nauseous and runs to the
bathroom to vomit.

Shortly afterward, Tony is fired for stealing drug samples;

unbeknownst to Elizabeth and Danielle, he has been illegally
selling those stolen samples to make even more money. Realising
he has hit rock bottom, Tony rededicates his life to God. He now
realises that he has to return both the stolen samples and his ill-
gotten gains, even though revealing what he's done could send
him to prison. Tony meets with his former boss and confesses; his
former boss is moved by his willingness to admit his wrongdoing
and make amends, and decides not to press charges. Tony
begins to show an interest in his daughter's skipping rope skills
and offers to participate with her and her friends in the upcoming
double Dutch competition at the local community center. Tony and
his daughter's team takes second place in the competition,
creating a new bond between him and his daughter.

Elizabeth successfully sells Miss Clara's house to a retired pastor

who realises someone has been praying in the closet. Shortly
afterwards, Tony is offered a job as the director of the community
center.

There's an old hymn called "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

that some of you may know that has some powerful words
regarding what we're talking about here:
"Oh, what peace we often forfeit
0h, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer"
When these wall-builders battled discouragement, they prayed.
When Abraham, and Moses, and Joseph, and Job, and David
battled discouragement, they all prayed!

The next time you battle discouragement PRAY FIRST, NOT

LAST! REACH OUT TO GOD!

When you kneel down to God, He stands up for you. And when
He stands up for you, no one can stand against you

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS AND IS HOW WE FIGHT

(B) In times of discouragement REMEMBER THE LORD IS ON
YOUR SIDE

Nehemiah and the builders would've had every right to fear

Sanballat and Tobiah's threats if they weren't actively trusting in
God Almighty.

Were the Jews outnumbered and out gunned? Absolutely they

were but it didn't matter because they knew that the Lord of
Heaven's Armies was on their side, and it was HIS work that they
were doing.

When the Jews who got word of the plans of Sanballat, Tobiah,
and their armies came and told Nehemiah and the builders there
was likely a lot of fear instilled in them. But Nehemiah turns to the
people.

14 Ako'y tumingin, tumayo, at sinabi sa mga maharlika at sa

mga pinuno, at sa iba pang taong-bayan, “Huwag kayong
matakot sa kanila. Inyong alalahanin ang Panginoon, na
dakila at kasindak-sindak, at ipaglaban ninyo ang inyong mga
kapatid, ang inyong mga anak na lalaki at babae, ang inyong
mga asawa, at ang inyong mga tahanan.”

When faced with adversity as we seek to build God's kingdom, we

must remember the power of the God we serve. We serve the
God of all creation, the Lord of Hosts, the Commander of the
Lord's Armies. We have no reason to fear.

Yahweh Nissi- "the Lord is our banner (of victory)"

Look at this faith-boosting verses from when Israel would soon
inherit the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 3:22 "You must not fear them, for the Lord your God
Himself fights for you.'"

You see, Nehemiah and the builders no doubt trusted in the Lord,
but they did not forgo their responsibility to defend the wall and
fight back against evil.

Truly we are living in the days where evil is advancing rapidly. We

are to absolutely 100% trust the Lord, but we must also get in the
fight! Gone are the days of "Spectator Christianity"! How can the
Church bury it's head in the sand in the face of such evil times?!

Because of the evil that surrounded them, Nehemiah and the

builders built the wall with one hand and carried a weapon in the
other!

We are living in the days where with one hand we build, with the
other we fight!

At first, all the criticism and all those threats of the enemy struck
fear in the hearts of the wall- builders. It appeared as though they
were up against a formidable enemy they could not defeat! But
when they REMEMBERED THE GREAT AND AWESOME GOD
WAS ON THEIR SIDE THEIR DISCOURAGEMENT WAS
REPLACED WITH COURAGE!

God has given us reason to trust and hope in Him. We are no

strangers to discouragement and struggles, but we can always
look up to Him who loves us and created us. As Romans 8:31-39
reminds us, nothing can separate us from God’s love. None can
oppose us when God is with us. We can take confidence in our
God and face our discouragements with the knowledge that He is
with us.

God never sends you into a situation alone. God goes before you.
He stands besides you. He walks behind you. Whatever situation
you have right now, be confident God is with you.
(C) In times of discouragement RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT
TO BE FAITHFUL UNTIL THE END.
16 Mula nang araw na iyon, kalahati sa aking mga lingkod ay
gumawa sa pagtatayo, at ang kalahati ay humawak ng mga
sibat, mga kalasag, mga pana, at mga baluti; at ang mga
pinuno ay nasa likuran ng buong sambahayan ng Juda, 17 na
gumagawa sa pader. Yaong mga nagpapasan ay
pinagpapasan sa paraang ang bawat isa'y gumagawa sa
pamamagitan ng isang kamay habang ang isa nama'y may
hawak na sandata. 18 Bawat isa sa mga manggagawa ay may
kanyang tabak na nakasukbit sa kanyang tagiliran habang
gumagawa. Ang lalaking nagpapatunog ng trumpeta ay katabi
ko.
Remember that old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough
get going? Those who opposed the re-building of the wall
thought they had frightened the wall-builders enough that they
would just quit and walk off the job. Instead, they did the exact
opposite. THEY RENEWED THEIR COMMITMENT TO STAY
WITH THE WORK AND FINISH THE WALL. Half of the men
worked while the other half suited up for battle to protect the
workers from the enemy!

One of the biggest temptations we face when we are discouraged

is the temptation to “quit,” “to give up,” “to throw in the towel!” But
if instead we will RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO BE FAITHFUL
TO THE END, we will see God's blessings and rewards!

CONCLUSION

WINSTON CHURCHILL is remembered as one of the greatest

men of the twentieth century. In public, Churchill was known
renowned
for his great optimism; but in private Churchill suffered from
prolonged bouts with discouragement and depression.

Much of Churchill's discouragement and depression arose from

the circumstances of his childhood. As a boy, Churchill had little
contact with his parents. He was sent away to a boarding school,
where he was absolutely miserable. He received severe beatings
from the headmaster. And while he was in school, his parents
seldom wrote him letters. When his father wrote, his letters were
filled with rebuke and criticism of Winston.
As he grew older the bouts with discouragement and depression
became more intense and frequent. Churchill even gave a name
to his discouragement; he called it: “Black Dog.” When he was
having a particularly bad day he would say, “Black dog is here
today.”

But in time, Churchill began to realize that “the black dog” was in
reality the devil himself. Churchill once wrote, “Negative thoughts
originate with Satan the devil, who can capitalize on difficulties in
our lives; sickness, job pressures, and other severe trials----the
devil can use negative episodes like these to generate feelings of
dejection.” (Churchill: The Man by Anthony Storr, pp. 207, 245)

Is that “black dog” of discouragement hanging around your house

these days? Remember discouragement is the devil's favorite
tool!

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

Why should I feel discouraged and why should the shadows
come? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and
home? When Jesus is my portion, a constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. His eye is
on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free;

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.