When Building a House
· you don’t just decide one day to build a home and purchased a block of land and start building.
· Even if you are a builder, you don’t do this.
· There is a specific process that needs to take place for the dream of the new Home to become a reality.
· There is planning, and councils, and architect drawings, builders, tradesman, banks, utility compliances and a whole lot of stuff that needs to happen.
· Sometimes it can become so emotionally, financially and physically draining.
To make a Dream a reality you have be prepared to make some changes along the way..
Just like this market…
“1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews,
2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”
4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land!
5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”
6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.
7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.
8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.
9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.
10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”
11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”
12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!”
13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.
14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall.
16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah
17 who were building the wall. The labourers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon.
18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.
19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.
20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!”
21 We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard.
22 I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day.
23 During this time, none of us—not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.”
As you are moving ahead with your dream....a few things to be to help you...
1. Your Dream may Face Opposition.
When God births a dream in you, as much as it is for you, it is for so many other people.
· Your dream is ultimately not yours but it comes from God.
· Anything that God initiates or creates the enemy hates.
· When you start to declare it and build something that honours God… expect opposition.
· The enemy hates it when you take ground.
· If you are birthing and activating God’s purpose in your life….EXPECT OPPOSITION!!
· It will come in all forms…
- Accusation
- Ridicule
- Sickness
- Opposition that does not make sense
“LITMUS TEST: If you start dreaming again, and the dream comes under attack, you know you are probably heading in the right direction.”
“Because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
What can the opposition look like?
1. Intimidation:
Nehemiah 6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”But they were scheming to harm me;
2. Ridicule and Mockery:
Nehemiah 4:2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing?
3. False Witnesses
Nehemiah 6:5-6 They were twisting the truth to stop the wall from being built.
The enemy is an accuser of the saints. He will always try and deflate you, speak defeat over your life; he will try and expose your weaknesses.
John 10:10a says: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.”
“Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;”
This is a battle for AUTHORITY.
· The Cross of Christ is the ultimate Authority
· Your God given dream, birthed by God in your heart, carries the authority of the Cross
· It carries the authority of the Word, which is Christ himself.
2. Charred Stones is all God wants…
God dreams always look bigger than us…(And they are).. We often look at the brokenness, the deficiencies, the failures of “who” we are and discard the possibility of seeing that dream birthed.
The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 happened because a little boy with the 2 fishes and 5 loaves gave what he had…the giving of the one thing ended up in multiplication.
- Charred stones that have been discarded as rubbish as unusable….God CAN use again.
Luke 20:17 “Jesus was the stone the builders rejected.”
He makes significant things out of insignificant things.
3. Don’t Drop Your PRAISE.
Nothing worth building costs nothing.
There will always be a price to pay for something significant.
“Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.””
They weren’t complaining because of the opposition. They were complaining about the amount of the work.
- When you get physically tired, your defences are down, your motivation is less. Then your language drops.
- They started speaking about the impossible
- “We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”
Judah means “Praise”.
Praise is essential to keeping you in faith.
When you are tired one of the first things you can tend to lose is your praise.
- Praise is a matter of decision
- When you are tired.....Praise even more…..The Joy of the Lord is your strength.
Why Praise is so important?
- Praise gets your eyes off of your circumstance and back onto God, who, by the way, gave you the dream in the first place.
- Praise is activated by Faith
- Praise denies the flesh and the flesh doesn’t really like it
- It positions the flesh, our feelings, in its rightful place, back under the direction of our renewed mind that is making a decision to praise anyway.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases”
“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”
Isaiah 61:3-7 (MSG)
Announce Freedom to All Captives
61 1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me
because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new.
You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks
and foreigners to work your fields,
But you’ll have the title “Priests of God,”
honored as ministers of our God.
You’ll feast on the bounty of nations,
you’ll bask in their glory.
Because you got a double dose of trouble
and more than your share of contempt,
Your inheritance in the land will be doubled
and your joy go on forever.