Keep your eye on the ball
I have been preaching through the Book of Nehemiah on Sunday morning. It’s about God’s appointed man at God’s appointed time doing God’s appointed work — the work of re-building the wall around Jerusalem. We have seen that Nehemiah, even though he was God’s appointed man, received criticism from those he lived and worked with. Nehemiah was criticized for the things he did and also for the things he didn’t do. Does that sound familiar in your life? It’s like, “you’re between a rock and a hard place” whether you do something or not…you get criticized for it.
Here’s how Nehemiah was able to face the criticism and get the wall re-built in spite of it. First of all, he didn’t allow himself to be sidetracked. (Nehemiah 6:1-2) He “kept his eye on the ball.” See…God wants you focused, the devil wants you finished. There are some people who would rather talk about doing Kingdom work than actually do it.
The Bible says in Proverbs 14:23, “There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.” So, if God has called you to His work, keep your eye on the ball and do not be sidetracked.
Secondly, Nehemiah stayed faithful to the work. (Nehemiah 6:5) There was an “open letter” sent around trying to slander Nehemiah. He knew the printed statements weren’t true and he kept on re-building the wall. He did not take time away to confront those who were trying to slander him. Actually, in verse 6 he tells them “you are inventing these things in your mind.” That’s my kind of guy. He wasn’t afraid to let the chips fall where they might, because he knew what they were doing was wrong and he trusted God to bring him through it.
D.L. Moody once said, “If you will take care of your character, God will take care of your reputation.” How very true that is. The way you live out your life speaks volumes about who you are and the God that you serve. And then, even when he was warned about a possible threat to his life, he stayed firm. We would say, he stayed the course. Why was he able to do that? Because Nehemiah saw the “big picture.”
What is the “big picture” in your life? Has God called you to a work? Has he given you a dream? Has God given you something to do on this earth for Heaven’s sake? Then be about doing it, even in the face of slander and persecution. See the “big picture.” See what God wants to do and will do and then “press towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul said, “Forgetting those things that are behind, I press forward to what God has called me to do. Let me encourage you to keep your eye on the ball, see the “big picture” and move out and attempt great things for God. And then, one day, you too will hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Pastor Thad Gifford is lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church of Madison County, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.
