Perseverance

Case Study: Nehemiah

Nehemiah 2:12 "...neither told I any man what God had put in my heart to do..."

Nehemiah 6:15 "...and the wall was finished in 52 days.."

Definition

The steadfast continuance in the will of God regardless of the circumstances or opposition that challenge you.

Key to Perseverance

When you can see God bigger that what you are up against.

Nehemiah 1:5

Nehemiah 4:14

Nehemiah 9:32

What did Nehemiah have to

persevere through?

Intimidation

"But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build:..." (Nehemiah 2:19-20)

Conquering Perseverance

Know Your Purpose: The enemy uses ridicule and intimidation to get at the heart of his servants.

Rise Above People: Must persevere through the faces of people and the opinions of men. (Numbers 13)

Know Your Calling: Revive burnt stones. (Nehemiah 4:1-4)

Let Faith Arise: Faith in God overcomes and conquers the enemy of intimidation. (Luke 8:25)

Confusion

“And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.” (Nehemiah 4:8-9)

Handling The Pressure

The attack of the enemy is to confuse. (Genesis 3:1-8)

The greater your success, the greater is your path of confusion. (Job 1)

Composure cancels confusion. (1 Samuel 17:41-51)

What is the solution?

....Nevertheless

OT and NT Word

Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

(Nehemiah 4:9) NKJV

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5) NKJV

Three Commands

PRAY

TRUST

OBEY

Exhausted & Overwhelmed

"In Judah, it was said: The strength of the laborer fails, since there is much rubble. We will never be able to finish the wall." (Nehemiah 4:10)

Dealing With The Situation (Nehemiah 4:10-23)

Execute a Plan

Strategic Positioning

Protecting the Workers and their Families

Focused on God 

Distractions

“ And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.”

(Nehemiah 6:3-4)

Handling Distractions

Success Breeds Distractions

How do you Persevere?

You Must Stay Committed to the Work of Your Heart.

The Distraction Called Worry

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. (Proverbs 12:25) NLT

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34) NLT

Distraction or Fruitfulness

When you worry, it keeps you from being fruitful.

Worry is revealed by whatever stresses you out.

It could be your bills, your health, your kids, ...whatever you fret about on a regular basis.

Distraction or Fruitfulness

Worry will keep you from serving God like you should, because worry keeps you from growing in faith.

The antidote for worry is trust. Give your worries to God.

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. (Psalm 55:22) NLT

Fear

And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is

there such as I who would go into the temple to save

his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God

had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this

prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat

had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I

should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that

they might have cause for an evil report, that they

might reproach me. 14 My God, remember Tobiah and

Sanballat, according to these their works, and the

prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets

who would have made me afraid. (Nehemiah 6:11-

14) NKJV

Fear or Faith

It's easy to run when threatened.

Nehemiah did not cave in to fear.

The greatest moment for fear is just prior to completing the task.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) NKJV

A Great Verse

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

(1 John 4:4) NKJV