Pastor Alan is on the road and you're invited. Check out pastorallen.org for more information. But if you live in the Carolinas, you're invited to a men's event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 27th. And if you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, join us at the Epic Conference open to all in late February. Plus, catch Pastor Alan preaching at Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas on March 1st.
All the details at pastorallen.org. Yeah. Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical, faith-filled vision for your life. Blessings on your ability to focus. undistracted, undeterred, undaunted.
Regardless of the petty, pesky diversions and staticky white noise of daily life, Regardless of the purposeful schemes of hell to pull you from God's plan, you can, Nehemiah-like, live with focus. When opponents Sambalat and Geshem said, let's meet in the plain of Ono, Nehemiah said, Oh no. May you take his actual words to heart. I'm doing a great work, so I cannot come down. Nehemiah 6:2.
Whatever your great work might be, May you be filled with the grace to say, oh no. To everything that is a distraction from your true calling. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. It isn't surprising. that this is the nature of the accusation leveled by Sambalat.
that you're just being selfish because it's all about your ambition. The reason for this, not to be a surprise, is that this is the way Sambala thinks. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt.
Excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Nehemiah, Dreamer, Builder, Warrior, as presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. For a limited time, this can be yours for your donation to Allen Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org.
That's pastorallen.org. Or call 877-544-4860. Again, by phone, 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program, but now let's get started with today's teaching. Here.
is Pastor Alan Wright. Bye. Boy, I've had too much of this. I'm speaking from experience on this. And there's this part of me, too.
That even when I know I'm really right about something, that instead of just sticking to the mission of what I'm right about, I also want to go over here and fix this mixed-up person. I don't know why it came to mind, but I was remembering. Many years ago, the kids were little, and we were on the Summer Family Beach vacation. at Ocean Isle Beach and all the cousins, all these kids are out playing in the ocean and they're riding their boogie boards and jumping waves and laughing and they're out there. And I'm just kind of watching it, you know.
Glad they're having a good time. protector mode of everybody stay safe. And This guy goes up and takes his fishing rod and tackle. And plants down right there where our kids are and cast a line out there right where they're all swimming. I've had a hook in me before.
It is not fun. And I've been to the emergency with a kid at the beach more than once, and that's not fun. And I was just like, what? Is this guy doing? Why don't he just go 20 yards down the beach where there's nobody swimming?
What do you He's thinking so. My mission was kids be safe and have fun, and so I'm gonna have to go talk to the guy. know and either that or try to move a whole bunch of kids and it's like it'd be easier for him just take your fishing rod over there So I start walking over to the guy, and while I'm going, I don't know how your flesh does, you, but mine just starts feeling like I would really be righteous. In not only solving this situation and making sure everybody's safe, but setting this guy straight. Because what kind of idiot throws his line right out in the middle of a bunch of kids?
And I'm like starting to walk over there, like, I'm on, you know. And I'm just so thankful the Holy Spirit looks after me sometimes. And I just felt this voice inside of me go, Alan? Like, And it was kind of like this. You got room to hear from the Holy Spirit right now?
I don't know. I'm going to set this guy straight. And this inner dialogue, and I think I hear this voice: it says, What's your goal? I'm like Keep the kids safe and make sure they have fun. And it's like, don't forget your goal.
Are you on the beach today to try to fix This person who was insensitive, not even thinking about it, is that your goal? Or you want to walk up and down and fix everybody on the beach? Go fix all the idiots on the beach today.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Remember your goal. Praise the Lord, I was able to at least put down the flesh because I also had this vision.
I'll be on the front page of the Brunswick Beacon the next week, pastor in a brawl on the beach with fishermen. That's the way distraction works, right? Your mission is to drive safely from point A to and arrive at point B.
Somebody pulls in front of you in traffic and nearly hits you, but you're a good enough driver and defensive enough and you divert the car and you miss being hit by them. Mission accomplished. You're still safe. But now there's the added mission. Of riding up on his bumper for the next mile and putting everybody at danger just so he'll know.
that you're putting him to shame, because you're going to fix that idiot also. Can you imagine how after all of the Constant. prodding and poking and Just After after Sambalat finally says, Let's just talk about it. And Nehemiah goes, maybe this is my chance to follow. Set these guys straight.
The second kind of Distraction. Is it verse 5? If there's first a big temptation to go fix the mixed up people. Boy, there's a temptation to dispel all the made-up rumors. Look at this in verse 5.
In the same way, Sombala, for the fifth time, sent his servant to me with an open letter. in his hand for the fifth time. with an open letter in his hand. And it was written. It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it.
that you and the Jews intend to rebel. And that's why you're building the wall. And according to these reports, You wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets. to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem.
There's a king in Judah. And now the king will hear these reports.
So now, come.
Well, let us take counsel. together.
So normally in ancient times, a letter was on a piece of parchment is rolled up and then it's sealed with wax so that if that seal is broken, you know the confidentiality has been violated. But this was an open letter. This meant that there never was a seal on it, so anybody wanted to. could just read it. It was an organized effort.
to leak false information. Wrote all these things. Nehemiah is really just here to. You can tell it's rumor when something starts like this. Look again at verse 6: it is reported among the nations.
It's not that I'm saying it. But Everybody else is saying it. Yeah. people are saying. Everyone's talking about it.
It has been said. No actual data point, no source, no direct quote. Just the nations are saying. You know, it's tricky. It is tricky because PR it does matter.
And I have a pastor friend who says, you know, if we don't fill in the gaps, the devil will.
So I'm not just saying that we just never respond, but But rumors are going to come. About us, about God, about the people of God. And Now, notice the substance of this, verse 6, the rumor that you and the Jews intend to rebel. That's why you're building a wall. You you want to become their king.
He's saying to them, You just want to build your popularity.
so that then you can become king of Judah. And then and then At verse 7, he accuses him of setting all this up through religiosity. And you also, verse 7, have set up prophets. to proclaim you in Jerusalem saying there's a king in Judah. You're you're using Religious stuff to try to make it look like you're going to be the king.
Now Two observations about this kind of diabolical rumor and accusation. First, it isn't surprising. that this is the nature of the accusation leveled by Sambalat. that you're just being selfish because it's all about your ambition. The reason for this, not to be a surprise, is that this is the way Sambalat thinks.
Andy Stanley, in his good book on Nehemiah, put it this way: you'll probably be accused of whatever it is your accusers are guilty of. Sambalat did what so many critics do. He assumed of Nehemiah what was true of himself. People with impure motives question the motives of those around them. It's called projection.
Since their actions are laced with their own selfish ambitions, they assume everyone else's are as well. But the second reason it's not surprising that this was the nature of the rumor that Sambalat and others were spreading about Nehemiah. The Second reason is not surprising. is that this is the kind of rumor that would have hurt Nehemiah the most. That's Alan Wright.
And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Parents, are you ready for some good news? You can have a low-pressure, high-expectation home by God's grace. If you want your children to be their best without hounding, threatening, or pressuring them, there's good news. God's grace works in parenting.
Shame and pressure offer only fleeting motivation while creating long-term, toxic anxiety in a child's heart. But children thrive in the environment of grace.
Now, for the first time, Alan Wright has joined with his wife Ann to produce eight video sessions that blend humor, deep gospel insights, and loads of practical advice to equip parents and grandparents to raise their children in homes filled with grace and blessing. Use the videos for personal growth with your spouse or with your small group. The DVD album comes with a detailed study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power.
Of the gospel. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty.
That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. That's what's particularly grievous and diabolical about it.
They accused Nehemiah. of using his position for selfish gain. to just promote himself to be king. as if the rebuilding wasn't about. the honor of Jerusalem and the safety of God's people.
But it was all about Nehemiah. You got to remember the Amaya gave up a posh position in the Persian court. as cupbearer to the king himself, to put his life on the line and endure all this hardship, When he got word the walls were down, the Holy Spirit quickened something inside of him that made him care about the people of God and the well-being of his homeland the way God Himself does. He wept and he mourned and he fasted and he prayed for four months. He's not a perfect human being, but one thing.
that was beyond spot. was the motive of Nehemiah going. He had put Everything on the line when he asked the king to be released, the king might have punished him severely for such a request. He was in that position that any leader knows is so difficult. of leading a people who would have their ups and downs, and he kept everything and I'm focused on the mission at hand for love of God.
He was a man of prayer. He was one of the least selfish leaders you could ever see. And this was the very thing he was accused of. Because hell knows that nothing will hurt you more. Then for a rumor.
or an accusation to be spoken of you. That is the farthest thing from your heart. I'm talking about Maybe there's a pastor who just loves to reach the lost. And just wants to reach one more person for Christ and wants to lead for strategies to do so. And somebody says, He just wants to have a big church.
Or Maybe you're volunteering on the school board. and you sacrifice family time and you have late night meetings and you endure all kinds of conflict because you just care about the education, you care about the school system, and then somebody says, she just has to have power. I'm talking about when the devil wants to hurt you at the deepest place. is going to come. With an accusation and rumor of the thing that would be the most opposite.
of who you really are. And Nehemiah. felt that. But he was not distracted. Instead, he just gave a simple clarification at verse 8.
That's probably the best thing to do. I sent to him saying, no such things as you say have been done. for you're inventing them out of your own mind. Hand me another brick. Not true?
We're moving on. Makes me think of Mark Twain's famous comment: the rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. Yeah. The best way to prove a rumor wrong, especially if it is that you've died, is to just be alive. And the best thing for Nehemiah.
was to keep his heart pure before the Lord and keep on the task at hand. That would prove it in the end. If you if you end up feeling like you got to Get pulled by everybody to go prove your own purity all the time, you'll never get your task done. The reason for those rumors, Nehemiah said in his memoir at verse 9. They all wanted to frighten us, thinking their hands will drop from the work and it'll not be done.
Because rumors are not just scary, they're draining. They are exhausting. It's exhausting for anybody who leads. to not only be trying to do the work at hand. And gather the resources for the work at hand and bless the people that are doing the work, but also.
to be trying to answer the rumors. And what Nehemiah did with this was instead of primarily trying to answer all the rumors, he just said, Oh God, strengthen my hands. And in fact, in the Hebrew, it doesn't even mention God here. It's not really even exactly a prayer. The Hebrew text just says, hands strengthen.
There's a place for that. There's a biblical place, like sometimes you just say, soul, wake up. Hands, be strong. You speak to yourself like that. He prophesied to his own hands.
and he kept on working.
Sometimes you just got to look down at your own calloused hands and say, don't listen to the rumors, just pick up another brick.
So There's a distraction, like, come, let's talk about it. And we're tempted to go fix the mixed-up people. And there is a kind of distraction that That comes with this rumor-mongering, and there's some part of us that's tempted to get distracted by. fixing all the made-up rumors. But then there's even a worse.
temptation we see here towards distraction, and that's to fall for a made-up prophecy. Verse 10. When I went into the house of Shemiah, the son of Deliah, the son of Mehedabel, Who was confined to his home? He said, Let us meet together in the house of God within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they're coming to kill you.
They're coming to kill you by night. Shemiah is some sort of prophet that Nehemiah, at least initially, trusts. He must have been a trusted Jewish brother. And I thought he was on the same team. He meets with him, and Shemiah says.
There is a plot to kill you, and so come with me and go to the temple.
Now Nehemiah was not a priest. He was not entitled to the inner part of the temple unless, according to one stipulation of Jewish law, if there was a definite threat against your life, then you could go into that place and find sanctuary and safety there. And so that's what Shemiah is saying: come with me, I'll take you into the temple, you'll be safe there. And So Shemaiah offers this as if it's a legitimate Prophecy. But he'd been hired.
And Nehemiah, by discernment from the Holy Spirit, mainly, he knew it. Verse 11. I said, should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.
And I understood and saw that God had not sent him. But he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sambalot had hired him. You know what it means to use the Lord's name in vain? It's not these unthinking people that say GD, although that's bad. Using the Lord's name in vain is to take God's name.
and use it to try to validate Your own flesh. That's what Shemiah did. He took money Because he was known to be a prophet. That maybe he could prophesy to Nehemiah and get him to the temple away from the protection of all his people. Or sambalat.
could destroy him. Discern.
So somebody has a word from the Lord for you? Normally, a word from the Lord, you know what it does? It encourages. It strengthens and it comforts. And if it's not doing that, it's not from the Lord.
It's just not. That's Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message today, the fight for focus from the series Nehemiah. Please stay with us. Pastor Alan is back here in the studio sharing his parting good news thought for the day. In just a moment.
Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Alan Wright's Daily Blessing. It's free, and just a click away at pastoralen.org. I don't want to pressure my kids and I sure don't want to shame them, but I do want them to try hard and be all they can be.
That's the desire of every well-meaning parent. For over a decade, Alan Wright has been teaching all over the nation about the toxic effects of shame and the amazing power of the gospel of grace to heal and set free.
Now, for the first time, Alan has been joined by his wife Ann to produce a video series about shame-free parenting. It's called Good News for Parents: Raising Grace-Filled Kids in a Pressure-Filled World. The eight DVD video sessions are chock full of humor, deep gospel insight, and loads of practical advice. Use them for personal growth or with your spouse. They're also perfect for use in your small group.
The DVD album comes with a detailed step-by-step study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power of the gospel. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give to day, we will send you to day's special offer.
We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back now in the studio with Pastor Alan in the fight for focus.
Well, when you look at Nehemiah, as you say, the builder, the dreamer, the warrior. I think in order for success, you know, you'd have to say, you've got to have some focus somewhere along the way.
Well, it's just a it's just a huge, huge temptation when The Sunbalat, one of the leading opposers of Nehemiah's effort, when they come into our life. And they're like, hey, come down from there and let's go have a meeting. To Hakafarim in the plain of Ono, you gotta have a way to go, oh no. You gotta say no to Ono. Yeah.
Because There always is going to be Something that could pull you away. And we're learning from this because. He had to face the rumor mill that would get generated against him, and he had to. face some accusations. I mean, these weren't small matters.
They were huge distractions. that absolutely could have derailed the entire rebuilding effort. But instead, by the grace of God, Nehemiah was able to overcome. A lot to be learned here about overcoming distractions in our own life and the fight. for focus.
Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org.
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