A guide to deeper understanding, closer community, and broader application               October 6, 2019

Warm up question: What is it about some people that makes you sense so strongly that God is very real to them?

Prayer Focus: Ask God to help us stay focused on the priorities He has set before us in His word that have taken root in our hearts so that we may bear fruit for His glory.

Ask the following Thought & Discussion Questions giving plenty of time for discussion.

1. Nehemiah faced two specific types of distractions: criticism and opportunities. What’s the particular power in each one? Which one represents the strongest potential distraction for you? What do you plan to do to overcome this distraction?

2. What impresses you about the way Nehemiah responded to these kinds of distractions?

3. When your vision is criticized, what is your typical response? Where do you channel your emotions?

4. In regards to your vision, how easily and confidently can you say (like Nehemiah), “I am doing a great work”? How strongly do you feel that you are part of something bigger than yourself? 

5. Do you agree that it’s better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try? What are you trying to do now that has a risk of failure associated with it?  How might increased faith in God help you? 

6. Besides Nehemiah, what Bible characters model the ability to stay focused in spite of distractions like criticism, opportunities, and threats in a way that helps you?

7. Throughout this book we see Nehemiah praying and working. How do these two things go hand in hand in accomplishing great things?

This Week: I will not get weighed down by unwarranted criticism but respond with prayer and hard work.

Close by singing: What The Lord Has Done In Me

Let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich"
Let the blind say, "I can see"
It's what the lord has done in me

Hosanna, hosanna
To the lamb that was slain
Hosanna, hosanna
Jesus died and rose again

Into the river I will wade
And there my sins are washed away
From the heaven’s mercy streams
Of the savior's love for me

Hosanna, hosanna
To the lamb that was slain
Hosanna, hosanna
Jesus died and rose again

And I will rise from waters deep
Into the saving arms of God
I will sing salvation songs
Jesus Christ has set me free

Hosanna, hosanna
To the lamb that was slain
Hosanna, hosanna
Jesus died and rose again

Dealing with Distractions
Nehemiah 4:1-6 & 6:1-4
						
Everyone who strives to create a better future will encounter distractions along the way. Distractions are where many visions die.  It’s understandable. Distractions are urgent. The bills are due today. The job crisis is now. The vision is later. Little by little we lose sight of the main thing because the urgent thing is ever before us. 

Today we are going to talk about two specific types of distractions: criticism and opportunities. Nehemiah faced both as he worked to complete his God-given vision of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. I believe these are the kinds of distractions all of us encounter as we try to fulfill the vision God puts in our hearts. 

The distraction of criticism – Visions always draw criticism and criticism can be devastating to visions. Visions are about change and people with a vested interest in the status quo will perceive changes as threats.  When Nehemiah showed up with a plan to secure Jerusalem, it enraged the governor of Samaria and other regional powers. These men knew that if Israel regained it’s historical significance, they would lose control over the region. Look at the governor of Samaria’s critique (Neh 4:1-3).  He criticized the character of the builders. He questioned their abilities. He questioned the feasibility of the project. These kinds of criticisms can become huge distractions and derail our vision altogether. 

Nehemiah could have let it get to him…“Maybe they’re right. Maybe it’s impossible. Maybe I don’t have what it takes. Maybe I’m just wasting my time. Maybe everyone will abandon me.” But Look at what at what he did instead (Neh 4:5-6).  He prays and works. When you get a godly vision for your life or the world around you. There will be others who feel threatened. They will do all they can to drag you back down and to distract you from the upward call. Notice that he doesn’t engage with the criticism or feel compelled to answer every question. In fact, he shows us the best way to answer a critic in verse six. 

When tempted to be distracted by the critic - Pray and work!

The distraction of opportunities – Every day of your life, opportunities arise that may be good in themselves, but will distract you from moving toward your prime objectives. For some of us, the greatest challenge to vision fulfillment is the inability to say no to good things, in order to stay focused on the best things. In my world, the opportunities to do good things are endless. I could schedule meetings, counseling sessions, visits, speaking engagements, community functions, etc. that would fill my schedule from morning through evening every day of the week. I could easily make myself busier than I already am and yet make less progress toward accomplishing the few things that I know God has set before me to do. The same is true for you. 

In chapter 6:1-2, Nehemiah was invited to a meeting. Meetings with high level officials are a good thing and for all he knew at this point, they were wanting to work out a peace agreement. I love his response recorded in Neh. 6:3-4

I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.

This is the power a clear vision provides. It makes plain what you should do with your time and how to schedule your priorities. Can you say about the vision that you have for your life, I am doing a great work? If it is rooted in God’s word and planted in your heart then it is, whether the world thinks so or not! If you have a God-given burden and vision for your life then you need to say so. When distractions come to pull you off the job, whether temptations to evil or inducements to lesser things, you need to say out loud, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”

The final answer to Sanballat and anyone else who opposes the work God wants to do through you is found in Neh. 6:15-16. They finished the wall. Imagine the enemies of God with their hands over their mouths, and all the people who said, it can’t be done, or who are you to try, silenced as God enables you to lay the final brick on the wall He has put it in your heart to build.