Welcome to the

Elizabeth St Church of God

www.elizabethstcog.com
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
 DESTROYING
YOUR
DISCOURAGEMENT

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
What did Nehemiah do to over come
discouragement?

First:

He Recognized It

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
 Then Judah said, "The strength of the
laborers is failing, and there is so much
rubbish that we are not able to build the
wall." And our adversaries said, "They will
neither know nor see anything, till we come
into their midst and kill them and cause the
work to cease." So it was, when the Jews
who dwelt near them came, that they told
us ten times, "From whatever place you
turn, they will be upon us."
Nehemiah 4:10-12 SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Characteristics
of
Discouragement

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Characteristics of Discouragement

A. Fatigue

Nehemiah 4:10 “the strength of the

laborers is failing”

When we are tired and give out is

when it is easy to get discouraged and
depressed.
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Characteristics of Discouragement

B. Frustration
“there is so much rubbish that we will

not be able to build the wall”

Not only were that tired but they saw

what had been accomplished andSLAYING
had THE
not been impressed.
IN YOUR
Characteristics of Discouragement

C. Failure
“we will not be able to build the wall”

In their mind they saw their progress

and felt like a failure.

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Characteristics of Discouragement

D. Fear

Vs. 11 – 12 And our adversaries said,

"They will neither know nor see anything,
till we come into their midst and kill them
and cause the work to cease." So it was,
when the Jews who dwelt near them
came, that they told us ten times, "From
whatever place you turn, they will be upon
us." SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Characteristics of Discouragement

D. Fear (continued)
The last characteristic of
discouragement is fear. We covered that
topic last week but fear comes. It comes
from “fear of failure”, it comes from
criticism. It comes as an attack of the
devil. And as we have said binds us and
blinds us from seeing what is the true
perspective. SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
What did Nehmiah do to over come
discouragement?

Second:

He Responded To It

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement
A. With A Cry out to God

Hear, O our God, for we are despised;

turn their reproach on their own heads,
and give them as plunder to a land of
captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and
do not let their sin be blotted out from
before You; for they have provoked You
to anger before the builders.
Nehemiah 4:4-5 SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement

A. With A Cry out to God (continued)

Nevertheless we made our prayer to our

God, and because of them we set a
watch against them day and night.
(Nehemiah 4:9)

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement
A. With A Cry out to God (continued)

“When you are discouraged cry out to

God first not last”. Not after you have
exhausted all means. How many times
have you heard people say, “Well we
have done all we can do, now all we can
do is pray”. When they should have
been praying the whole time.
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement

B. He Continued the Work God had given

So we built the wall, and the entire wall

was joined together up to half its height,
for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6

It is so easy to quit when we are

discouraged? But we should not quit.
Sadly once we start quitting it getsSLAYING THE
easier and easier. IN YOUR
B. He Continue the Work God had given (continued)

Look at another tactic that old Sanballat and

Geshem tried to use on Nehemiah. When fear
didn’t work they tried the old bog down routine.
How? They called a committee meeting. They
said, “Let us discuss this matter.” But listen to
Nehemiah’s response,

So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am

doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.
Why should the work cease while I leave it and go
down to you?" Nehemiah 6:3 SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement

C. He Concentrated on the Big Picture

Therefore I positioned men behind the

lower parts of the wall, at the openings;
and I set the people according to their
families, with their swords, their spears,
and their bows. And I looked, and arose
and said to the nobles, to the leaders,
and to the rest of the people,
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
C. He Concentrated on the Big Picture (continued)

"Do not be afraid of them. Remember the

Lord, great and awesome, and fight for
your brethren, your sons, your daughters,
your wives, and your houses." And it
happened, when our enemies heard that it
was known to us, and that God had
brought their plot to nothing, that all of us
returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
Neh 4:13-15
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
 Did you know that in a given week there are
over 102 million people attending church? In a
given year if you take all the people who attend
professional sports there are 94 million who
attend, in a year. They kind of blows the myth
of people needing to be more passionate about
God than sports.
For ever 100 worshipers in their seventies on
a typical weekend there are 160-200 in their
twenties. That kind of blows the myth that
young people just don’t come to church any
more.
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement
D. He Claimed the encouragement of
God’s promises

And I looked, and arose and said to the

nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of
the people, "Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, great and awesome,
and fight for your brethren, your sons,
your daughters, your wives, and your
houses." Nehemiah 4:14 SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
D. He Claimed the encouragement of
God’s Promises (continued)

God is our refuge and strength, A very

present help in trouble. Therefore we will
not fear, Even though the earth be
removed, And though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea; Though
its waters roar and be troubled, Though
the mountains shake with its swelling.
Selah Psalms 46:1-3
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
D. He Claimed the encouragement of
God’s Promises (continued)

But as for you, brethren, do not grow

weary in doing good. 2 Thes 3:13

And let us not grow weary while doing

good, for in due season we shall reap if
we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement
E. They Carried someone else’s burdens

So we labored in the work, and half of the men

held the spears from daybreak until the stars
appeared. At the same time I also said to the
people, "Let each man and his servant stay at
night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard
by night and a working party by day." So
neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the
men of the guard who followed me took off our
clothes, except that everyone took them off for
washing. Nehemiah 4:21-23 SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
Nehemiah’s Response to Discouragement

E. They Carried someone else’s burdens

(continued)

Discouragement tends to cut us off

from helping others. It sends us inward,
where pity parties are common. How
often I’ve forgotten own little worries
when I’ve been busy helping others who
are sick, or just need encouragement.
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
CONCLUSION

Matthew 11:28

SLAYING THE

IN YOUR
NKJV "Come to Me, all you who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

NLT 28 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of

you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.

MSG 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out

on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and
you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take
a real rest.
SLAYING THE

IN YOUR