SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks for joining us for week four of this series that we've been in titled Called to This.
SPEAKER_00: Now, let me, in the most loving way I know how, encourage you that if you haven't watched the first three messages in this series, to go ahead and pause this video right now and to go back and to start with whatever messages that you have not completed.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is we don't have time right now to recap all that we've talked about, but suffice it to say, this entire series is about this idea of calling.
SPEAKER_00: And what we believe personally is that if you know Jesus, then every single follower of Jesus has a calling.
SPEAKER_00: And so the first three weeks of the series, we walk through that idea of everyone has a calling and then figuring out what is my calling, and then sometimes just this idea that, hey, my calling may not be this grand plan, it may not change the world, at least from what I can tell, but sometimes our calling is just doing the average, ordinary work that God has right in front of us.
SPEAKER_00: And so I would encourage you to go back and to watch those three messages because today we're just going to jump right into this last message.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the idea for today's message, and that is this that if you are obedient to God's calling for you, no matter how grand, no matter if it's a leadership position or it's just the average, ordinary day-to-day tasks that you do already, whatever it is, if you are obedient to God's calling on your life, then here's what you need to know.
SPEAKER_00: You need to expect opposition.
SPEAKER_00: If you are obedient to God's calling, then you need to understand that just because God reveals to me what it is that He has for me, and I agree to that and I walk in obedience to that, that does not mean that the path ahead is sunshine and rainbows.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that here on earth those streets are paved with gold and it's an easy road to walk.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, if you are obedient to your calling, then you need to expect opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason that we say this is that in this series we've been walking through this book of the Bible titled Nehemiah, but it's about a man who God raises up, who has a calling for Nehemiah's life, and it moves him to action.
SPEAKER_00: But what we see in chapter four, and again we saw this a little bit in chapter two, is that when you walk in this calling, that does not mean that you will not face opposition.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, you should expect it.
SPEAKER_00: And so the background is that Nehemiah and the Jews, the people of God, that he returned to Jerusalem to inspire and to encourage to do this work.
SPEAKER_00: The reality is that they faced opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And we'll see this in detail in chapter four.
SPEAKER_00: But to summarize is that we see these three guys mentioned by name in chapter two, and they pop up repeatedly throughout the book of Nehemiah.
SPEAKER_00: They are referred to and they are known as Sanbalat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab.
SPEAKER_00: And what we need to understand about these men is these are not just made-up characters, that these men were governors of the lands that surrounded Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: So you don't have to be a geography expert to know that Jerusalem is kind of in the center and they're surrounded by other nations or the remnants of other nations, and they are surrounded by other people groups of different languages and cultures and practices.
SPEAKER_00: But these men, San Balat, Tobi, and Geshem, they were the governors of these lands.
SPEAKER_00: They were the men of influence and power.
SPEAKER_00: And so what happens is when Nehemiah shows up to inspire and encourage the work to be done in Jerusalem, it did a couple things.
SPEAKER_00: Number one is that it threatened the balance of power.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is that these three governors, they have influence in the land, they have power in the land.
SPEAKER_00: They could charge taxes, they could control the goods, they could manage the land.
SPEAKER_00: And when you add Nehemiah, who becomes the governor of Judah, you add another governor to the mix.
SPEAKER_00: Well, guess what?
SPEAKER_00: Now that means less power for me.
SPEAKER_00: It also threatened their political influence because they had political influence over the territories that they governed, but they also had influence with the king, and they would have correspondence with the king.
SPEAKER_00: They were hired and entrusted by the king to exercise jurisdiction over these places.
SPEAKER_00: And so when Nehemiah shows up, it threatens a balance of power.
SPEAKER_00: Now you have one more person, one more slice of the pie, so to speak.
SPEAKER_00: It threatened their political influence.
SPEAKER_00: And lastly, we understand how this works today.
SPEAKER_00: It threatened their bank accounts.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you had jurisdiction over a region, that meant that you had control and say so over the goods, over the money, over the taxes.
SPEAKER_00: And so when Nehemiah shows up, we need to understand that Nehemiah is doing what God has called him to do, and he encourages the people of Judah to rebuild the wall.
SPEAKER_00: But to these governors of surrounding nations, we have to understand that they saw Nehemiah and the people of Judah as a threat.
SPEAKER_00: We said this at our live book location in week two when we see these three men show up, and we see this that we've said in all along in the series that calling is birthed out of a burden.
SPEAKER_00: But what happens is this burden that God gives you, at some point, this burden becomes your passion.
SPEAKER_00: And your passion for what God has given to you, your passion infects the people around you.
SPEAKER_00: And we saw that with Nehemiah, that his burden to do what God had called them to do as a nation, that he believed that God would gather and restore this nation of Israel because of the promises that he made to Abraham, that this passion infected the people, inspired the people, and their hands were strengthened to do the work.
SPEAKER_00: But we also see that passion attracts critics.
SPEAKER_00: And that's where we jump into in chapter four of Nehemiah.
SPEAKER_00: And the question I want us to ask that kind of frames this chapter, at least for us in 2026 as modern day Americans, as we read through this chapter, here's the question I want us to ask, and it's this How do I respond when I face opposition?
SPEAKER_00: If I'm obedient to what God's called me to, if I have clarity, I know for sure what God's calling me to do.
SPEAKER_00: What do I do, and how do I respond when I face opposition to what God has called me to do?
SPEAKER_00: So with that question in mind, let's read in Nehemiah chapter 4, starting in verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we read.
SPEAKER_00: When Sanbalat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that's chapter 3, by the way, he became furious.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because now this is a threat to all of the things that we've mentioned.
SPEAKER_00: He mocked the Jews before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, So these are the mockings that he said, what are these pathetic Jews doing?
SPEAKER_00: Can they restore it by themselves?
SPEAKER_00: Will they offer sacrifices?
SPEAKER_00: Will they ever finish it?
SPEAKER_00: Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?
SPEAKER_00: And then Tobiah, one of these other governors, the Ammonite, who was beside him, this is his criticism.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Indeed, even if a fox climbed up on the wall, remember, the people have labored to begin to rebuild the wall.
SPEAKER_00: And what Tobiah says is, Well, even if a fox climbs on it, it's going to fall down.
SPEAKER_00: He would break down their stone wall.
SPEAKER_00: When the walls start going up, we've seen these men in Nehemiah chapter 2, when the walls start going up physically, now the work is being done, these men show back up.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because when you walk in your calling, you can expect opposition.
SPEAKER_00: You can expect that whenever God calls you and He gives you clarity in what to do, you should expect that at some point when you are doing the work, the opposition will show up.
SPEAKER_00: And in Nehemiah chapter 4, the way it shows up is through these governors who are threatened and furious by the work that's being done, but it shows up, and here's what happens is that at first this opposition begins with humiliation.
SPEAKER_00: It begins with words, these targeted words, these insults that are thrown at these men and these women, these people who are rebuilding the wall.
SPEAKER_00: The opposition here takes the form of humiliation.
SPEAKER_00: Some of the things that they say, they refer to them as pathetic Jews.
SPEAKER_00: They question, are they actually capable of doing this?
SPEAKER_00: Are they actually going to be able to complete it?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they say it like this, that their ambitions are bigger than their abilities.
SPEAKER_00: And then this question of, yeah, but it won't last.
SPEAKER_00: And so these insults, these phrases, these words are heaped up, and it was meant to destroy the mental side and the emotional side and the work ethic of the people.
SPEAKER_00: As they hear these insults, the hope was that they would be humiliated and that they would be discouraged in their work.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say to you.
SPEAKER_00: I would say to you that if you have a clear path of what God's calling you to do, then you should expect opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, for some of you watching this, maybe you do have a sense of what God's called you to do.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you do have enough life experience.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I would say to you is that maybe some of these criticisms strike a nerve with you because this isn't the first time that you've heard similar comments.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you maybe have heard these similar sentiments from a coworker.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe is their ambitions are bigger than their abilities.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe for some of you you've heard this from a classmate, a classmate that says you are pathetic and you aren't capable of doing what you say that you want to do.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe for some of you you've heard this from a boss or an ex, or maybe you've heard this from a parent or a family member.
SPEAKER_00: That there's this clear path that God has called you to, and yet that path, even though it's God's calling for you, has been met with these words of humiliation.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would encourage you is to say, well, how do I respond when the opposition is meant to humiliate me?
SPEAKER_00: Well, the good news is I think we can draw encouragement from how Nehemiah responds.
SPEAKER_00: Look in verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 4, it doesn't say that Nehemiah prayed, but we clearly understand that these words that he's offering, this is his prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah chapter 4, verse 4, this is Nehemiah saying, he says, Listen our God, for we are despised.
SPEAKER_00: We are taunted, we are scorned, we are made fun of, we are humiliated.
SPEAKER_00: So what Nehemiah does is instead of engaging with the verbal conflict, is he prays and he asks God to listen, and I believe he's asking God to listen because of what he and the people have heard.
SPEAKER_00: For we are despised.
SPEAKER_00: God, this is what's going on.
SPEAKER_00: We are humiliated, and so he takes his requests to God.
SPEAKER_00: And his prayer is, God, we are despised.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm asking you to listen to my cry for help.
SPEAKER_00: Make their insults return on their own heads, and let them be taken as plundered to a land of captivity.
SPEAKER_00: Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what we see that Nehemiah's response when people are hurling insults, when their opposition looks like humiliation, Nehemiah's response is that he prays.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say to us he doesn't post about it, he doesn't engage with it.
SPEAKER_00: There's no context or commentary here that he speaks back to defend his honor or to feel the need to reply to all of these inserts, these insults.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he prays, he doesn't post about it, he doesn't engage it, he doesn't make passive aggressive comments to other people about it.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he simply prays.
SPEAKER_00: And his prayer is, God, hear my cry, and I'm asking you to do to them what you see fit, because I am not getting consumed in that.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the second thing that we see in verse 6 it says this.
SPEAKER_00: So, how do we respond?
SPEAKER_00: When people humiliate us, when people oppose us and the work that God's called us to do, how did he respond?
SPEAKER_00: Verse 6, so we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together.
SPEAKER_00: You know what that means?
SPEAKER_00: It means that even though insults were flying, they were being humiliated with the words, they didn't stop doing what God had called them to do.
SPEAKER_00: So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what we have said throughout the series is that God calls and positions his people for his purposes.
SPEAKER_00: The opposition is ultimately not opposition to you.
SPEAKER_00: For Nehemiah, the words were directed to them, but the opposition was to the work that God had called them to do.
SPEAKER_00: And so rather, the opposition, even though it was hurled at Nehemiah and the people, we have to understand that perspective allows us to understand that the opposition was ultimately not really about them, it was about the work that God had called them to do.
SPEAKER_00: Why does that matter?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's what I would say to you.
SPEAKER_00: If you face opposition in the form of humiliation, these verbal attacks, here's my encouragement to you is that personal attacks lose their sting when I remember that my calling is not about me.
SPEAKER_00: Is that personal attacks, they may sting for a minute, but they lose their sting when I remember that the opposition is not ultimately about me, even though I stand in the way.
SPEAKER_00: Is that the ultimate opposition is that they are opposing what God has called me to do.
SPEAKER_00: And when I remember that it is God who has called me to do this work, I can continue to work even through the stings of the insults.
SPEAKER_00: Because those insults and those personal attacks begin to lose their sting, that this really isn't about me in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: This is about what God's called me to do.
SPEAKER_00: And so in verse 7, here's what we see.
SPEAKER_00: We see that the insults don't stop the work, so then they take it up a notch.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 7, now they begin to conspire.
SPEAKER_00: When Sanbalat Tobiah and the Arabs, the Ammonites, the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem were progressing, in other words, that my humiliation didn't stop the work, and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious.
SPEAKER_00: Their tactic failed, so now they take it up a notch.
SPEAKER_00: So in verse eight, they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to throw it into confusion.
SPEAKER_00: So now the tactics change.
SPEAKER_00: The tactics were we're going to verbally abuse these people, try to humiliate them and to doubt their work, to question their work, to question that they can even complete the task in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: So that didn't work.
SPEAKER_00: So now let's just go attack the city.
SPEAKER_00: When we attack the city physically, it will throw the city into confusion and the work will stop.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because no workers means there's no work.
SPEAKER_00: Now they decide, hey, we will attack the workers, and if their lives are threatened and we kill some of the workers, then there's not enough workers or there's not enough morale to complete the work.
SPEAKER_00: It ratchets up a notch.
SPEAKER_00: So how do you respond in this moment?
SPEAKER_00: Look in verse nine.
SPEAKER_00: This is Nehemiah and the people's response when they hear that now their enemies are conspiring to physically attack them.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 9, this is what we read.
SPEAKER_00: So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night.
SPEAKER_00: You see a pattern here?
SPEAKER_00: Then Nehemiah's response to opposition is always first and foremost to pray and to intercede on behalf of his countrymen and to say, God, we need your help.
SPEAKER_00: God, I know that you have called us to this work.
SPEAKER_00: I know that this opposition is in response to the work that you have called me to.
SPEAKER_00: And so his response is, God, we need your help.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the pattern of Nehemiah, that he prays to God.
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't just pray, he's also not stupid about it.
SPEAKER_00: He has a plan about it, and so he prays and asks God for his help, and they station a guard because of them.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, they say, Well, if this is their plan, like we're going to pray and we're going to ultimately trust God for his protection and his provision, but we're also not going to be dumb enough to leave ourselves vulnerable, so we station people around the wall who can defend us and guard us.
SPEAKER_00: But look what happens in verse 10.
SPEAKER_00: This is a very interesting comment.
SPEAKER_00: In Judah, it was said, this is the land of the people where they're rebuilding, the strength of the laborer fails, since there is so much rubble, we will never be able to rebuild the wall.
SPEAKER_00: I think we need to understand here is that verse 10 is that the people begin to doubt their ability to complete the task that God has given them.
SPEAKER_00: And we have to see this in connection with the insults that are hurled in the first few verses, is that at some point we can begin to believe the lies that are hurled at us from the enemy, from the opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And so what we see is that whenever the threat is escalated, that now we're going to attack the people, is that we see that their morale was lowered.
SPEAKER_00: We see that their momentum was in many ways stalled or halted.
SPEAKER_00: That the people of Judah even begin to question, maybe they're right, maybe we can't do this, or maybe it's not worth it because we're going to be attacked.
SPEAKER_00: The threats of these governors and these men began to erode the confidence of the workers.
SPEAKER_00: Their strength began to fail.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because their perspective on the work began to change.
SPEAKER_00: In Nehemiah chapter 2, it says that their hands were strengthened.
SPEAKER_00: Let's rebuild the wall.
SPEAKER_00: But in the face of opposition, their strength began to fail because their perspective shifted from the God who called them to work and the work that they were tasked with, and their perspective was now they are looking at the threats and the opposition and the enemies around them.
SPEAKER_00: And because of the threats, because their perspective focused on not no longer the task involved, but the enemies around them, their perspective and their focus shifted, and they began to believe the lies.
SPEAKER_00: They began to believe the insults that were hurled at them.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I would say to us.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not doubting and I'm not downplaying that this is a very real reality for us.
SPEAKER_00: Is that if you walk in what God has called you to do, then you will face opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the momentum that we have, the strength that we begin this journey with in the middle roads, when things get rocky and things get hard, when threats are escalated, when when opposition seems to mount against us, it can be easy to be discouraged.
SPEAKER_00: It can be easy to lose focus.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I would say to us is when the work is dependent on me, it's easy to be overcome with doubt.
SPEAKER_00: Is that their insults that they were hurling at the Jews was, I don't know if they can do it.
SPEAKER_00: Do they believe that they can do it?
SPEAKER_00: And what happens in the face of opposition is our perspective begins to shift from the God who called us to we believe the lies, and now we inwardly turn and we begin to think, you know what, maybe they're right.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I can't do this.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say from Nehemiah is that it's hard to focus on the work that God has called you to when you're having to look over your shoulder.
SPEAKER_00: And that's one of the ways in which opposition stalls momentum.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of the ways that opposition creates discouragement and distraction, is because when you face opposition, it requires your focus to shift from the work to the threats.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's what we see in verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: How do you respond in this moment when the people's morale is lowered, when their strength begins to fail?
SPEAKER_00: Look what Nehemiah does in verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: After I made an inspection, he begins to inspect the work that continues.
SPEAKER_00: I stood up and I said to the nobles, officials, and the rest of the people don't be afraid of them.
SPEAKER_00: Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord and fight for your countrymen, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say.
SPEAKER_00: I would say, you don't have to look over your shoulder when you know that it is Jesus who watches over you.
SPEAKER_00: The threat of opposition is that we have a tendency to be distracted and our focus shifts from the work God's called us to to the threats around us, and that's a very real thing that happens.
SPEAKER_00: What Nehemiah does is he encourages the people, hey, your focus has shifted, your perspective has shifted, and your attitude towards the work has changed because your focus is now on the threats around you.
SPEAKER_00: So what he does is he encourages them to turn their eyes back to the all-inspiring Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And when you look at not the threats around you, but when you keep your eyes focused on the Lord, then you don't have to be afraid of them.
SPEAKER_00: And here's why is because fear tells you your enemies are great.
SPEAKER_00: Faith, when your eyes are fixed on Jesus, reminds you that he is greater.
SPEAKER_00: And so the opposition was we're going to distract you with threats and we're going to threaten you physically with harm.
SPEAKER_00: And so their shift and focus turn from their work to their enemies and their threats.
SPEAKER_00: But what Nehemiah does is, hey, remember the Lord who fights for you.
SPEAKER_00: Remember the Lord who protects you.
SPEAKER_00: And fear tells you that your enemies are great because it shifts your focus to them.
SPEAKER_00: Faith reminds you that Jesus is greater.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Nehemiah does.
SPEAKER_00: The threats are real.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not downplaying that.
SPEAKER_00: What Nehemiah does is he shifts their focus.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, don't allow your focus to be consumed with the threats and the enemies and the opposition around you.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, keep your eyes fixed on God because He is the one who has called us to do this work, and He is the one who is with us as we work.
SPEAKER_00: Look in verse 15.
SPEAKER_00: When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, the people defend themselves.
SPEAKER_00: They foil the plan to be attacked by their enemies.
SPEAKER_00: They're no longer vulnerable.
SPEAKER_00: They can fight to defend themselves.
SPEAKER_00: When their enemies see that they have taken up arms to defend themselves, their plan is foiled.
SPEAKER_00: No longer do they have the element of surprise, and now their plans are discouraged and frustrated.
SPEAKER_00: And so in verse 16, from that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, they continued to work, but they did so wisely, and they made sure that they had protection.
SPEAKER_00: The officers supported all the people of Judah who were rebuilding the wall.
SPEAKER_00: The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other.
SPEAKER_00: Each of the builders had his own sword strapped round his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the ram's horn was beside me.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the key in verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: Even though the threats loomed, the people act wisely, they no longer work and leave themselves open to vulnerability.
SPEAKER_00: They work now with a sword on their hip, they work with a guard around the clock day and night.
SPEAKER_00: But the most important part is verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: So we continued the work in face and in spite of the opposition, the humiliation and the insults, the threats of physical harm, we continued the work while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say to us.
SPEAKER_00: If you are walking in what God has called you to walk in, then you should expect opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I would say to you is that the opposition is real.
SPEAKER_00: Whether it be verbally through humiliation, whether it be threats of physical harm or violence, the opposition is real.
SPEAKER_00: But here's what we see through Nehemiah because their eyes are no longer focused on the threat and their enemies and how big or bad or threatening they are.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, because Nehemiah Up and encourages the people don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Remember who your God is, the God who fights for you, the God who protects you, the God who provides for you.
SPEAKER_00: The opposition is real, but the work doesn't stop.
SPEAKER_00: And here's why.
SPEAKER_00: This is why calling matters.
SPEAKER_00: This is why I encourage you to go and make sure you understand what we mean when we say calling is that every person who follows Jesus has a calling.
SPEAKER_00: Here's why the work continues is because of the God who called us in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: Because if the work that we're doing is the result of what God has called us to do, no matter how average or ordinary that work may seem to us, then here's what happens is that we can have confidence in the face of opposition to continue the work.
SPEAKER_00: And here's why.
SPEAKER_00: Because it is God who calls us, and because God called us to do this work, He is the one who is with us in the work, and He is the one who fights for us.
SPEAKER_00: So what I'm telling you is if you walk in your calling, you can expect opposition, but just because the opposition is real does not mean that you have to stop the work that God has called you to do.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a matter of having somebody who can speak truth into your life, who can remind you when you're discouraged or frustrated, when your strength begins to fail, is to not look at the threats or the opposition around you, but instead to fix your eyes on heaven and to understand that this is God who called you to do this work.
SPEAKER_00: It is God who is with you in this work, and it is God who fights for you.
SPEAKER_00: So no longer is it dependent on your ability to defend yourself, but instead you can oppose the opposition because you know that it is God who fights for you and goes with you.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore the work doesn't stop.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say as we summarize this entire message is this that operation may st or opposition, sorry, may stall momentum.
SPEAKER_00: You will face opposition.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the opposition begins to win, sometimes your strength fails, sometimes you're discouraged, sometimes you begin to doubt.
SPEAKER_00: Opposition may stall momentum, but it does not have to cancel the mission.
SPEAKER_00: And the mission is whatever it is that God has called you to do, no matter how significant or insignificant you may think it is, it is God who calls and positions his people for his purposes.
SPEAKER_00: That is our mission.
SPEAKER_00: Opposition may stall the momentum that we have.
SPEAKER_00: We may face temporary lapses in judgment or concentration or morale or strength, but it does not have to cancel the mission because we shift our eyes from our opposition and reminded that this is the God who called me and this is the God who goes with me.
SPEAKER_00: And here's my last encouragement to you is this that opposition often is a sign that you are making progress.
SPEAKER_00: So here's my encouragement: is this so press on.
SPEAKER_00: And press on with your eyes fixed on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He allows you, in spite of opposition, to continue to do the work that he has called you to.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you for this series.
SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you that we do have a calling and a purpose that informs our lives and informs what we do with our lives and our work and our ethic, God.
SPEAKER_00: And we ask that in spite of opposition, that we would keep our eyes fixed on you, and you would allow us to press on.
SPEAKER_00: You would allow us to press on through discouragement or through distractions.
SPEAKER_00: God, that you would give strength to our weary bodies and our weary souls and our weary hands.
SPEAKER_00: God, that you would help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus so that we can continue to press on with whatever it is that you have called us to do.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, not because it's about us, but Lord, it is about you and your glory and your kingdom, and help us to be faithful.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, help us to press on.
SPEAKER_00: We love you, we thank you, and we ask this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.