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Nehemiah 6:1-4 - Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it,.... 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together ...." But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" 4 They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way. NASU
What is a leader to do when confronted with this type of situation? Follow in the footsteps of Nehemiah by refusing to associate with them. If you are going to be a leader you need to realize there are certain people with whom you will not associate. "Bad company corrupts good morals," the apostle Paul said. Nehemiah had three powerful enemies who were trying to get him to stop building the wall and meet with them. They wanted to kill him. Your enemies may not want to kill you but they would like to kill your influence. Stop for a moment and think back over the last five to ten years of all the business, sports or political people who have lost their influence. The cause of their loss of influence may have been they succumb to drugs, fraud, greed or sexual promiscuity. The street smart leader will avoid people who would introduce them to these types of temptations and so should you. Governor DeSantis was invited to be on the TV show The View. He declined. There was nothing good going to come from this meeting so he did what all good leaders do, he refused to attend. He kept working for the people of Florida. I want to say, "Thank you Governor DeSantis for being a great leader".
Nehemiah said, "NO. I can't come down. I am doing a great work." He didn't say this just once he had to say it over and over again. When your enemy attacks you better be prepared to fight more than one battle. You better be focused on your goal. There are going to be times in your life where you are either going to take a stand and say, "NO" or give in and live with the regret. The choice is yours.
There is no doubt in my mind that the reason Nehemiah said, "NO" was he never lost focus of rebuilding the wall. That meant more to him than anything in his life at that time. By rebuilding the wall he was going to once again bring honor and glory to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the city that God chose for the Israelites. What is it that you need to reevaluate at this time? What has been tempting you? What is it that you need to say, "No" too? Are there some people with whom you should not be associating? Think About This: It is easier to judge people by what they fall for than by what they stand for. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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1 Sam. 17:32-33 - David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." NASU
That is exactly what David is going to do in this text. He is going to go out and fight Goliath. There wasn't one other Israelite soldier willing to do what David was going to not only try, but accomplish. If you want to get to the top of your company or organization it is quite simple "do what no one else wants to do or is willing to do." The soldiers were afraid and fears of all types handicaps people. Don't be afraid. Accept the challenge as David did and move forward. If you want to become the leader of your team then go and do what no one else on your team is willing to try. David becomes a hero because he was willing to step up and step out and accept a challenge. He will later become the king because he was known as a person who got things done.
Identify what it is that everyone is avoiding and go tackle this task. People will ask you, "Why are you doing this?" Some may even tell you to "Quit because you are making them look bad." All I can say is the way to the top is do what others are avoiding.
David was promised riches, the king's daughter's hand in marriage and his family would be free from taxes. All he had to do is accomplish what everyone else was avoiding (fighting and killing Goliath) and that is exactly what he did.
Goliath's great strength was negated because David never got close enough to him so that his strength could be used. Instead David rocked Goliath's world and then he moved in closer. When David gets close Goliath is already defeated. David then takes Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. David did what no other Israelite soldier was willing to try. It won't be too many years from now and David will be in charge of the entire Army and Kingdom of Israel. What unconventional method will you use to accomplish your task? Look outside the box when encountering a new adventure. We all know the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
You may be doing the little things already that no one else is willing to do. Many times this will not be a one and done. You may have to do them over and over again. In life you want to do what is right not because you think you will get some reward but because this is the right thing to do. Think About These: A man without principles never draws much interest. It's easier to follow the leader than lead the followers. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt 23:37-39 - "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'" NASU
Isn't it amazing how these men were sent by God to help the Israelites and they didn't like the prophet's messages so they killed them. WOW! I have been in the Lord's ministry for 40 years now and I haven't known any of God's servants who have been killed, but I have known a few who were fired.
We are living almost 2,000 years after Jesus' death and yet the message about Him continues to be spread throughout the world. The Bible is ban in countries like China and N. Korea yet the gospel is still preached there because you can't stop God's message from doing what it is supposed to do. Change people's lives for the better. You may be a Christian and reading this Pump Up today. I would like to encourage you to continue to share the gospel message with those around you. People may hate you, not invite you to their Christmas parties and say all types of evil things about you, but remember they killed the prophets for speaking what God wanted to be spoken. Jesus would die for our sins and be resurrected and because of this we can have our sins forgiven and share the message with those around us. Never forget this: people died for the message we get to share with others.
Religious people today are trying to silence the gospel by firing preachers for preaching God's Word. Yet, this isn't anything knew look what the apostle Paul said in the book of Acts 20:29-30 - "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them…."
What it means to be a Christian is it means to stay alert, be on guard and read God's Word so you will know when you are being lied to by the religious leaders. Remember it was the "religious leaders" who killed the prophets. Stay Alert and Stay Alive. Think About These: The person who expects to go to heaven must take the time to study the route that will get them there. The most popular religion today is CON-FUSION-ISM. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Prov. 24:17-18 - "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him."
When You Just Want To Scream "Yeah" If you are a leader or successful in any area of life you made enemies along the way. Some times in life you didn't do anything. There are some people in life that will be your enemy and have flimsy excuses for a reason why they are against you. One of the hardest things in life we will ever accomplish is not rejoicing when our enemy falls. When we want to scream "Yeah" the LORD says, don't do it. You Have A Visual Of That Person When you read the scripture above a visual of that person came to your mind. When they fell you may have not known about this scripture and you did rejoice. When they fell you may have said to yourself, "Good, they got what they deserved." You were glad they were receiving some type of punishment. How Are We Supposed To Respond? We are not to be glad or happy. We are not to be jumping up and down with joy. You may be thinking, "Serago, you have got to be kidding me. You don't know what was said about me or did to me". You would be correct, but God knows and that is why he/she has fallen. God is dealing out the correct judgment, at the correct time, and He doesn't need us gloating about it. Well, I guess you're right this is very hard. So How Am I To Behave In This Situation? You are to realize that God is in control and that He is watching over you. He will judge those who mistreat us. He is the judge and we aren't. Let Him do what He is supposed to do. Also, it might help to remember what happened to Joseph in the book of Genesis. His brothers sold him into slavery and then lied to their father about what had happened to him. I am always amazed at Joseph's faith when he makes this statement to them in Gen. 50:20 - "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." NASU Your enemies may be just like Joseph's brothers. What they have said about you and done to you may have been done with evil intent, but that doesn't mean that God can't use it for good. He did in Joseph's situation and may be doing the same in yours. Give God time to work like Joseph did. Joseph had to wait for 13 years while God was working His plan. What Took God So Long Before He Acted? It is my opinion He was giving the brothers time to repent which they never did and God could be giving your enemies time to repent and avoid being punished which they may never do. When the ones don't repent within God's time schedule judgment will be passed down upon them. God's judgment will always be just and always on time. The penalty will always fit the crime. Think About These: We always want judgment to come upon our enemies immediately, and we want our judgment to be delayed as long as possible. You can judge a man by his enemies as well as by his friends. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 18:36 - Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." NASU
Never have I seen the attack on that which is morally right like I have seen today. If I focused on this evil my spirit would be depressed and uneasy constantly, BUT I don't focus on it. I focus on our scripture for the day, John 18:36. Jesus stated His Kingdom is not of this world and because of that I am thankful to know that I am a member of His Kingdom. His Kingdom will conquer this world and the evil one who is constantly stirring up chaos.
2 Kings 19:35 -Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. WOW! One angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night. In the book of Matthew Jesus says this -"Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?..." (Matt. 26:53). A legion most likely represents 6,000 in number. So Jesus is saying the Father could put at His disposal 72,000 angels immediately. One angel wiped out 185,000 so you can do the math what would 72,000 angels be able to accomplish? Oh yes, and don't forget this you can't kill an angel. Yes, when I look at the craziness going on in this world I stop and say. "Thank you Lord for calling me out of this world of darkness and into Your marvelous light aka - Kingdom." Peter said it this way: 1 Pet. 2:9-10 -But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. If you are like me and from time to time the craziness of this world appears to be overwhelming look to God's Word and you will find a "Peace and Hope" that surpasses all the chaos this world is displaying. Think About These: Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. There is more hope for a confessed sinner than a conceited saint. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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