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Nehemiah - 2:5 - I said to the king, "If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." The type of vision I am speaking about cannot be checked by visiting an Ophthalmologist’s office. This is the vision that relates to one’s goals being accomplished. A person’s vision is generally very clear at the start of their journey. However, while on your quest there will be many obstacles arise to cloud your vision. Nehemiah’s vision was very clear. It was to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem and re-hang the gates. How does a person develop a vision?
1st - His plan is to get to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:5-9). 2nd - He surveys the city and contrives a plan to rebuild the walls (Neh. 2:11-16). 3rd - He recruits other people in his plan (Neh. 2:17-18). LIFE LESSON: When you are working to achieve your goal or see your vision come to fruition, you need to know obstacles will appear. Neh. 2:19 - But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Nehemiah was trying to achieve the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem to once again bring honor and glory to the city chosen by God. Yet, there were people who didn’t like what he was trying to fulfill. When you cast a vision beware. There will be people who will become obstacles on your path. Why do obstacles come when you are trying to succeed in a worthwhile cause? I tell myself they come to test my resolve. They want to see how much it will take to get me to quit. There must not be an ounce of quit in us. This is where we can grow closer to God by asking for Him to help strengthen our mental fortitude.
1. How much money could someone offer you to get you to abandon your goal? 2. How much criticism from family, friends or enemies before you would give up on your vision? Obstacles will come once you take that first step to accomplishing your vision. Let the obstacles be fuel for your fire; don't let them extinguish your desire to complete the task. Nehemiah overcame the obstacles and rebuilt the wall and hung the gates in 52 days. The walls had been in ruins for years and years, because no one had the vision. Once Nehemiah got the vision nothing stopped him. He accomplished what no one else had tried. I challenge you to be a Nehemiah today. Get a vision and overcome all obstacles on your way to achieving it. Think About This: A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Josh. 2:11 - "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained..." In the text above, Rahab is confessing to the two spies sent into Jericho by Joshua exactly how they felt upon hearing the news that the Israelites were coming. She informs them that their hearts melted and no courage remained in any of them.
Maybe you walked into a doctor’s office and while sitting there the doctor informed you that you had a disease or a loved one you had accompanied into his/her office had a disease and upon hearing the news your heart melted within you. Maybe you received a visit from a police officer and informed you, a loved one died in an accident and your heart melted within and all your courage departed. Or maybe it was the time one of your children was lost at the amusement park and for over an hour you know your heart stopped.
We were talking after the ceremony and he asked if he could come and talk to me. I agreed and he came in the next week and shared with me what was going on in his life. David told me that his doctor informed him he had a very aggressive type of cancer and that he didn’t have long to live. Then he went on with his story. He came home and told his wife what the doctor said. Within days he came home and found a note from his wife that she was leaving him. He said he checked their bedroom closet and all her clothes were gone. He said, “My heart sank.” In Rahab’s day they said, “Hearts melted.” The meaning is the same and that is: what you are about to experience is going to be extremely painful. WOW! What a punch in the gut and a knee to the face. You talk about your heart melting and all courage departing from within you.
The same thing Rahab did and that is he put his faith in the God of Heaven and Earth. Here is what Rahab said, “…for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” She confessed that the Israelites' God was the true God. David confessed Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and I baptized him into Christ. When you get knocked off your feet, and you are laying flat on your back, you are in the perfect position to look up and see where your help will come. Your help will come from the One who created the "heavens and earth." David’s wife never came back and he lost his battle with cancer but I never met a more courageous man. I truly met one of God’s Special Warriors.
What we have to do is follow in the footsteps of Rahab and David and that is put your faith in God. Here is what the Hebrew writer says about Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” By Faith in Jesus Christ you and I will not perish with those who are non-believers.
The trouble with some people is that during trying times, they stop trying. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Judges 16:28-30 - Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. NASU
You have to want to do it more than anything else in the world. I have never met Rob or talked with him but I am sure that he wanted to play in the NFL again. He wanted this more than anything else. Therefore, he endured all the physical and mental pain that came with his rehabilitation of his torn ACL and MCL. Rob did play again in the NFL. He won the Super Bowl Championship with New England and Tampa Bay teams.
Then you need to know this: "Everyone loves a comeback story." This is what they make movies about because people love to watch stories that inspire. Comeback stories inspire others to try and overcome whatever obstacle they are facing.
He had squandered the best years of his life by being rebellious. He had a bad temper, was vengeful, and had a mean streak in him. He loved to show off and display his great feats of strength. He had a little problem with pride. Samson's association with Delilah will bring him an extreme amount of pain and I am sure a lot of second guessing. Has your association with someone brought you an extreme amount of pain? Samson lost his youth, his hair, his strength, his eyes, his job, his pride and God's Spirit will depart from him. That sounds like a lot to lose in one life time but Samson managed to accomplish this. We can learn a lesson from this situation like Samson and move forward.
Maybe you can relate to Samson. You have squandered your youth, your health, your finances, your reputation and your relationship with God. Then there is only one thing for you to do. Make A Comeback! Samson prays to God and asks Him to remember him and give him the strength that he needs to make a comeback. This is great advice for all of us. We need to pray to God and ask Him to strengthen us to make the "Comeback" that we need to make right now. God answered Samson's prayer. God will answer yours. Think About These: Pride hides a man's faults to himself, and magnifies them to everyone else. It's not the body's posture, but the heart's attitude, that counts when we pray. A little pride is a small thing to lose when compared with losing honor. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Joshua 1:6-7 - "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go." NASU
A person who is courageous is one who tells himself he is going to be courageous at that moment. We all possess a courageous or brave spirit. Some of us fail at being courageous when we choose not to be. It isn't because we can't. It is because we chose not to be when a challenge arises. When a courageous person is faced with new circumstances or even dangerous situations, he believes he must confront them and does. All one has to do is remember the courageous NYPD and FDNY officers running into the burning twin towers on September 11, 2001 (911) to see courage in action. They choose to enter those towers. It was their choice. They choose to be courageous. There can be no running from the challenge as this would not be a person who is courageous but would be more in line with a person who is cowardly.
Moses had recently died and up to this point Joshua had been Moses' assistant. God spoke directly with Moses and Moses made the decisions based on what God had told him. This is all going to change. God is now going to speak directly to Joshua. Joshua will be the new leader. Joshua will be making decisions based on God's commands. Joshua was going to lead the Israelites into battle and all he has to do is believe God's promises. In Joshua 1:5 God promises him - "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." NASU Now it is on Joshua's shoulders to believe what God told him. God tells us the same thing in Hebrews 13:5 - that He will not forsake us. Do you want to be courageous? Then believe God's promises when your faith is being given a test because that is what courageous warriors of God do.
When you take a stand to be courageous it is a mental decision. The more you know God's Word the easier it will be for you to be courageous. I heard a preacher say one time, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." People who know God's Word will not fall for anything or at least they shouldn't. Go ahead make your decision to be strong and courageous today. Stand up to the challenges that are before you today and every day and when you do you will be courageous. Think About This: Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it. Remember, you are your own doctor when it comes to curing cold feet. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Acts 10:30-31 - Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. NIV
I wonder what went through Cornelius' mind after that conversation with an angel. I am fairly sure he was not giving to the poor to be noticed by God. Yet, that is exactly what happened to him. He gave to the poor and God noticed him. I am fairly sure that when we give to the poor we do not give thinking "Well, God is watching me so I will give a large sum to this poor person." When we give we do so to help this person. Do you remember a time when someone helped you? Now it is our turn to return the favor.
In the Old Testament times when the Israelites lived in an agricultural society God told them not to harvest all of their crops. They were to leave the edges of their fields alone and the poor people could come and glean the edges of their fields for free. In other words, the poor people had to do something to help alleviate their poor condition. They were given an opportunity to better themselves by harvesting a crop that was left in the field for them by the land owner. They could use this harvested crop to feed their family or sell the crop to support their family. This type of living is supported by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament when he writes in 2 Thes. 3:10 - For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. NASU
I have been asked if I give to the people who are at the stop lights begging for money. My answer is "No." But I will tell you who I do give money too. I give to the ones working in the restaurants. I know the ones working there are definitely not rich. A lot of them are working there as a second job. They are trying to make ends meet. Some of them are in school during the day and working there at night. God's plan is to help those who are indeed working to try and get ahead in this life and I see waiters and waitresses doing exactly that. When I leave them a nice tip I see this as a way to give to the poor.
Proverbs 14:21 - But happy is he who is gracious to the poor. NASU Prov. 22:9 - He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. NASU
Think About These: Poverty is often the sidekick of laziness. A man is truly poor, not when he has nothing but when he does nothing. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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