We all need the ability to focus. It’s not just about focusing on getting things done and doing, but God has this call on our lives, the call to be more like Christ.

In the midst of the challenges in our day or the struggles that we face, it’s the focus that helps us to remain centered in our relationship with the Lord. When we’re centered in our relationship with Christ, then God is able to do more work in our hearts.

Our passage today is about distraction.

Nehemiah is distracted in three ways: opportunities, criticism, and fear. I think those are things that we face in our lives. Sometimes we don’t even know what’s going on with the distractions. We just kind of go with them and we don’t realize what they are doing.

We can admire Nehemiah as a leader that we can emulate because of his ability to say NO. “No, I’m not going to do this,” He’s has pondered and realized that the distractions aren’t helpful and he takes a stand to remain steadfast in what God had for prepared for him to do.

When is it acceptable for Christians to feel anger? We live in a world full of social injustice. Through this sermon you will learn about Nehemiah’s righteous anger and how through his anger he was close to God’s heart. “When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. ” You will learn when it is justified to feel angry and how to handle it, to become part of a solution. “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?

Why do we act with integrity? We’re act with integrity because we know that we serve a God that’s concerned about justice in our world. We know that we believe in a God that’s concerned about the hearts of people, the needs of people, and that He’s chosen us to be part of the solution to those challenges.

Pastor Scott – “So I go away from this message that I read in Nehemiah with a feeling of the need to be part of the solution. So I asked myself, what does that look like? What does it mean to be part of the solution?

So I listed ten things that you might consider in your internal staff meeting and ponder for yourself. I suggest you want to do these things and make them convictions in your own life. “

Never compromise your faith.
Share the gospel with excitement.
Live boldly.
Love unconditionally.
Be a light in your home and in the world. Be kind.
Give generously and sacrificially.
Speak out.
Be courageous.
Where God leads, take action.

What does Spiritual Protection look like? When is it needed?
Wow, what an amazing  practical teaching about this subject for each of us. We tend to either take these things for granted or we don’t even understand them. If we focus on “the doing” continually, we might miss the truth that we need to believe in order to gain the spiritual benefits from God’s protection.

As Pastor Scott further explained with his diagram below “The problem, though, with all the doing and action and activity that we often look at, is that we can in some ways become so focused on the activity and the action and the doing that we do that we miss out on the believing that we must have as well. If we focus too much on the application without the depth, the belief, then we end up in a place where we almost become humanist. I need to do this myself. I need to protect myself and so on. That’s why at the very center of my circle I put the blood of Christ. It is because of the blood of Jesus Christ that we have protection. “

Discouragement is one of Satan’s best tools to weaken believers. We all need to have a plan. Nehemiah faces the discouragement from outside forces as well as from internal challenges. His solutions are ones that we need as well. As you listen to this sermon you’ll discover tools that will help you face difficulties in your life right now. And don’t forget to pass this message on to someone you know who might be discouraged.