Encouraged About Work
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Reason Why People Quit a Job in 2021:
63% Low Pay
63% No opportunities for advancement
57% Feeling disrespected at work
The Great Regret
80% of of those who resigned had regrets about quitting.
78% of individuals who left their jobs said that they would like to return to their former positions. 68% had attempted to do so.
89% of Gen Z’ers say they regret quitting, and as a result, their mental health is on the decline.
The Great Reward
The greatest opportunities await those who will fight to stay encouraged about work. Christians who understand that it is God’s will to use our work to bring Him Glory.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever work you do, do it with all your heart. Do it for the Lord and not for men. 24 Remember that you will get your reward from the Lord. He will give you what you should receive. You are working for the Lord Christ. - NLV
A God Promotion is about Passion & Purpose Not Position and Popularity
Nehemiah stepped away from what seemed to be a great job and the comforts of the palace, to step into a greater work of comforting and encouraging God’s people to rebuild the ruins for God’s greater purpose.
Favor with God can take you further than you ever dreamed and faster than you ever thought was possible.
Nehemiah 2:8
And the king gave me what I asked for, because the good hand of my God was upon me.
God’s good hand of favor was behind the great work of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 2:18
I told them how the hand of my God had brought good to me, and the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us get up and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.
Focus on what’s going well for you, rather than what others say will go wrong for you.
Nehemiah 2:19-20
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they made fun of us and hated us. They said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you turning against the king?” 20 I answered them, “The God of heaven will make it go well for us. So we His servants will get up and build. But you have no share or right or anything to be remembered in Jerusalem.”
One of the ploys of the enemy at work is to discourage you by getting you to only focus on what is wrong!
Don’t allow the things that might go wrong or are actually going wrong at work to contaminate what’s going well in your life.
Familiarize Yourself the Causes and Cures of Discouragement
Nehemiah 4:6
At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm
Discouragement usually comes at the halfway point.
The Halfway Point: It's where the excitement and the newness of a project have worn off and passed. It’s the land of great starters and horrible finishers.
Nehemiah 4:8-11
8 They (Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, the enemies of God’s people) 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.” - NLT
Fatigue - Overworked
Nehemiah 4:10a
Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, You’re worn out, tired, weary, worn down, worn out in your mind, in your body, and your spirit. When people are tired, it is almost impossible to be physically down and spiritually and emotionally up.
Frustration - Overwhelmed
Nehemiah 4:10b
…and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves..
Fear - Opposition
Nehemiah 4:11-13
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!”[e] 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.
Three Cures to Discouragement
Rest
Matthew 11:28
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Prayer
Nehemiah 4:4
Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked...
Fight
Nehemiah 4:14
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!
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(00:02) led to extend this series two more weeks and so we are in the fourth work fourth week of the series God at work so if you need the notes you could go to the YouVersion app what we call the Bible app around here go to events you'll see Real Life Church Sacramento click on that and you'll find all the notes there on the YouVersion app if you want to follow a law one of the things that has shifted over the last three years is people's perspective about work would you agree
(01:07) whether you're an employee an entrepreneur or a business owner you may have experienced that many people see work as a curse rather than an Avenue of blessing one of the things that I felt like the Holy Spirit wants us really wants to accomplish did you hear the Holy Spirit uh encouraging us through worship today didn't Melinda watts do an incredible job we are blessed to have her I'm just telling you we called her she's actually leading worship for Darius Daniels some of you know who Darius Daniels is a great Pastor has a
(01:44) church in New York Atlanta and La how you know come on he's doing some great things but he she is one of his worship leaders and so she was open this weekend but if she hit that prophetic flow I really believe God is trying to encourage his people this morning so I want you to be encouraged turning your neighbor left and right say be encouraged work is not a curse even though you may think it is work is not a curse It's actually an avenue that God uses to bless his people we've talked about if you don't
(02:28) work you don't eat right if you don't work you don't give yourself an opportunity for God to open up a new door to get that promotion or maybe he closes a door because he wants you to step out and start something on your own work is the Avenue God uses to bless us not to curse us and as Believers I know only four or five people believe that but as Believers when we grab a hold of this we will see God's people raise up as influencers in the marketplace in the workplace on the school campus wherever
(03:06) God has placed you the thing that I want you to get in your heart is that he wants to use you that you're not spending 13 years in two months of your entire life to just be grinding away just hoping to make it to the weekend living weekend by Weekend know your work is worship your work is worship but one of the things that has shifted is people's perspective about work we've seen this in 2021 uh during the pandemic when we heard about the great resignation employees across multiple sectors came to the realization that they weren't
(03:52) happy with their jobs during the pandemic so they quit in fact I've been doing some research on this and I came across I didn't know that this was happening but people were actually recording themselves like as they told their bosses I quit they actually told them a few more things but I couldn't play it at church and and they would upload these to tick tock and they'd go viral and people were repeating this over and over again they call them quit talks I was so thankful I didn't see any of
(04:25) you on there anyway of workers who quit a job in 2021 at least a third say each of these following were major reasons why they quit the first one was low pay how do you wish you could get an increase come on at your job no opportunities for advancement you would hit the ceiling where you were at you felt disrespected at work in fact in August 2021 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported just in August of 2020 alone 706 000 people walked away from their jobs they quit other reasons why professional and business employees resign included the
(05:17) lack of work life balance a desire for more fulfillment or just you know what I just want to work in a better environment I want to work in a healthy culture I'm tired of the toxicity I quit and in 2020 one alone how many know crisis is an accelerator and in 2021 alone a staggering 47 million American workers resigned at the close of 2022 the figures Rose to over 50 million employee departures in a labor force of about a hundred and sixty five million that's 30 percent of the American Workforce walked away quit I'm
(06:05) done well that leads me to conclude that people are discouraged about work and with all my heart before you leave this place today I want you to be encouraged about where God has you I want you to be encouraged about what God is about to do in the marketplace I want you to have an expectation that God is about to move in the workplace now experts say that there's another movement that's about to happen it's called the Great regret a recent survey this is no lie says that 80 percent of those who resigned in 2021 now in 2023 wish they'd
(06:52) never quit their jobs 78 of those people actually have the audacity to ask for their job back 89 of gen Zer say they regret quitting and as a result their mental health is on the decline maybe they should get off quit talk I don't know people are discouraged because they quit their jobs which they shouldn't have quit in the first place and prophetically and this is what I want you to hear from me today I believe that there is a movement awaiting God's people in the Public Square and in the marketplace in the workplace on the
(07:38) campus wherever God has you God's done it before with the Full Gospel business Network in the 70s and in the 80s we've seen God move mightily in the marketplace and I believe that there's a move of God coming to the marketplace once again and I'm going to step out and say that this movement is going to be called the Great reward where everybody has resigned and quit where everybody now is regretting that they quit I believe that there is a people there is a people come on they peculiar people a prophetic people that
(08:13) will say you know what I didn't quit I stayed and I God has raised me up to give him glory at my job or whatever he's called you to do prophetically I believe there's a movement awaiting God's people in the marketplace called the Great reward I believe that the greatest opportunities await those who will fight to stay encouraged come on tap your neighbor say stay encouraged who will fight to stay encouraged about their work you see Christians who understand it is God's will to use our work to bring him glory I believe in the
(08:53) day that we are living are going to be highlighted with rewards because of your resiliency and consistency if you need a scripture for that look at Colossians 3 23-24 it's on the screen whatever you do do it with all your heart do it for the Lord and not for men that's where I stopped a few weeks ago verse 24 remember everybody say remember that you will get your reward from the Lord he will give you what you should receive you are working for the Lord Christ listen it doesn't matter if you have a
(09:30) bad boss it doesn't matter listen if you have an employee that's giving you fits or a circumstance with your business listen that that is causing a lot of ruckus listen it doesn't matter remember listen that your reward is coming from the Lord he's not overlooking you he's not forgetting about you again remember he's developing you for greater meaning and purpose where he has you at you see I believe when others are resigning when others are regretting their decisions the Lord will be rewarding those who
(10:03) understood the greater meaning and purpose listen to the spirit of the Lord this morning the greater meaning and purpose behind their work behind their layoff behind their transition and behind the shift in fact as I Was preparing I heard the Holy Spirit saying what you thought was a setback was actually a set up to get you positioned to pursue your greater passion and purpose in life you see there's a greater work that God wants to do in your life than just going to work hoping to make it to the weekend
(10:40) and putting in our time and making and just hoping to make it through another week and today I want to talk to you about the great work of encouragement and how to stay encouraged come on when everybody else is discouraged how to stay encouraged about work we're going to look at the life of Nehemiah who God used to encourage people about their work in Nehemiah chapter 1 Nehemiah gets wind that the people of God it says they were in trouble and in shame he heard this from his brothers and he immediately goes to prayer and
(11:28) says God what can I do about this we pick up the story in Nehemiah chapter 2 and Nehemiah is now who is the cup bearer of of the king feels led to go and asked the king for a leave of absence so he can go and help rebuild the walls and restore the gates of a city now that has been utterly destroyed he was a cub bear what's that mean when someone was designated to cut bear to the king it was an honorable position which involved tasting Wine and Food for the king to ensure that it was not poison now how many would want that job
(12:13) we could compare this today as a modern day bodyguard I don't know about you that sounds like a lot of stress and anxiety but so but supposedly it came with a lot of risk and reward it was a high paying job in that day and it came with a lot of authority the holder of the office of cup bear actually because they put their life on the line every day Not only was it a well-paying job they were actually always in the room behind the scenes and in the confidential conversations of the king you ever heard that term the fly on the
(12:51) wall the cup bearer was the fly on the wall many cup bears were able to exert political influence in the Royal Court because where God had positioned them in nehemiah's case he was held in high esteem by King Ardex xerxley see some of you are wondering God why have you put me here why am I here I don't even like the people here but listen if you just ask God what's the greater meaning and purpose listen he'll show you people that he's connecting you with for something that's coming into your life
(13:24) way down the road you see Nehemiah enjoyed a position close enough to the king that he was able to communicate freely with him and as a result of his relationship with the King he was able to rebuild and reform Jerusalem you see what I want us to see is that Nehemiah steps away from a Kush job and he steps into God's passion and purpose because he's not afraid to work a god promotion and this is what I want want you to get a god promotion is about passion and purpose not position and popularity Nehemiah steps away from what seemed to
(14:08) be a great job and the Comforts of the palace to step into a greater work of comforting and encouraging God's people to build the runes for God's greater purpose and listen some of you listen you're asking yourself why and listen you're confused and God sees a comforter on the inside of you listen you're exhausted and God sees an encourage encourage her inside of you that he wants to release he wants to use your life prophetically in the life of other people but you have to be encouraged about work
(14:44) you can't go into the office with your head down just hoping to make it through another week and expect to make a difference how do you know we're the light of the world and God has put you on display in the office listen on the construction site listen to bring glory to him through your life you see your purpose is bigger than a paycheck now what's a great thing is to get paid for your purpose your purpose though is bigger than your paycheck because when you follow God's will having God's favor is better than
(15:19) having anything money can buy now you heard me a few weeks ago say I believe that God wants to give you both money and meaning help please do Hallelujah money and meaning money and how we Steward it is important but meaning and purpose I believe is underestimated when it comes to our work listen some of us listen you have to you have to learn how to Value yourself you were created for more God did not call you to live a life of misery when it comes to your work he's called you to a life of meaning and purpose and favor while you work
(16:07) Nehemiah chapter 2 Nehemiah again in chapter one he hears about the shame and trouble and the first thing he does I love it his first response is prayer and he feels led to ask his boss for a leave of absence to go to Judah and for the authority and all the supplies he needed to go and do the work required to rebuild up the walls and re restore the gates look at Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 8 it's on the screen if you don't have your Bible and I believe some of you need to underline this and you really need to get it into your spirit because
(16:43) I felt like the Holy Spirit was highlighting it for somebody some of you think God is mad at you I just believe that with all my heart some of you think God is mad at you and that's why he's not answering your prayers look at Nehemiah 2 8 and the King gave me what I asked for everybody say favor the king gave me what I asked for because the good hand of my God was upon me you see God's good hand of favor was behind the great work of Nehemiah how many know we can't do nothing without God anyways
(17:22) in fact when you get to chapter six which we're not going to try to get to today listen we see that the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in only 52 days and you know what's so amazing about that there were no Angelic visits the Angels didn't swoop down on Jerusalem and start building building the walls with the workers in Jerusalem none of that happened there was no Supernatural intervention you know what it was it was just God's favor on the faithfulness and Obedience of good old-fashioned hard
(17:56) work having to know sometimes God just tells us to raid come on roll up our sleeves come on and go to work with his favor behind us you see I believe God's favor can do the same for you how you know God's favor is free we talked about this in the Galatians Series right we are God's favorite right it's a part of the Salvation package he doesn't have favorite kids we're all his favorite kids do you guys agree with me you can go watch the series if you didn't see the series but we're all
(18:26) God's favorites and a part of the Plan of Salvation is God's favor we all have favor we all have favor you've just gotta be come on looking for the favor expecting the favor come on you have to have the attitude I'm highly favored I believe God's favor can do the same for you when you say yes to God's work I'm telling you God will go to work for you friends you don't have to wait until you're 52 years old to start living your best life I believe the favor of God can accelerate whatever you have your hand
(19:10) on just like he did for Nehemiah in 52 short days and just like he did for Nehemiah when Nehemiah chose to be a comforter and encourager of God's people instead of being a consumer in the king's Palace he got promoted to his purpose how many like promotion he didn't have to worry about drinking poison anymore because he was being led to pursue his passion for God's people and I believe that God will do the same for you in the last few weeks I've been able to talk to a few people who are actually they've just gotten saved
(19:46) um the couple of them I've invited the church and they've came they've gotten their life right with Jesus and now they're making it a priority to come to church and I've had two or three two or three of these conversations in the last two weeks and these people have said this ever since I made God a priority in my life it's like everything is falling into place this is what God does this is what God does I told one of them to say that's god's showing himself to you one gentleman I was talking to a friend of
(20:19) mine he said you know what he said I've been applying for this job this promotion that would give me an incredible increase of pay I've been I've been for for a year I've been applying for this job and it's closed door after closed door after closed door after closed door he said but ever since I started coming to church he said you know what happened last week he said I got a call from that same uh job app uh that employer that same job that I've been wanting you know what happened he said they gave me that job
(20:49) he said he's a new believer he said I think there's some extra Glory at your church Hallelujah how many could use some extra glory in your life you see putting God first and making God a priority listen causes him to show up in our lives come on on our job and the King of Kings I Believe come on is ready to give you whatever you ask for some of you don't know that that's a Biblical come on Jesus said it come on ask come on seek knock and the door will be open to you Nehemiah 2 18 it says I told them the
(21:31) hand of my God had brought good to me are you guys still with me this morning and the words that the king had spoken to me and then they said let us get up and build so they put their hands to the good work come on how you know people just need to know what God is saying through you did you notice in the verse what happened when Nehemiah came on the job site he didn't come saying I'm in charge he didn't come and saying I'm the boss now now you have to listen to me no he came as a comforter and an encourager
(22:05) informing the people that he was hand-picked by God and had the favor of God to complete the job requirements and it motivated God's people to rise up and build listen and I believe this applies to everybody in the room being a great employee being a great leader being a great manager being a great supervisor is not the privilege of getting to tell people what to do somebody got it did you guys hear what I said are you guys still awake are you guys hungry right now or something right I need some love being a great leader a manager a
(22:44) supervisor is not the privilege of getting to tell people what to do it's the opportunity as Believers to motivate and encourage your people to what they can accomplish you see one of the things that you have to understand as a Christian in the marketplace listen as God releases you as a comforter as God releases you as an encourager guess what the enemy raises up the hater everybody say oh it's coming say tell your neighbor it's coming you guys know what I'm talking about who's this guy think he is
(23:22) who's this woman coming in here acting like she owns the place what did they do to deserve the promotion I've been here 30 years they only been here 90 days so I'm going to give them a piece of my mind listen the enemy come on we'll race raise up haters come on because the enemy recognized the hand of Heaven on your life listen don't get upset here's the key as God's people don't get upset and rattled by people who can't recognize Divine favor because they're blinded to it they
(24:00) don't see it they don't understand it listen don't try to explain it it comes across as prideful listen you don't have to tell everybody I'm highly favored you know rub it in your face hey you know they'll never understand it and they will cry that's not fair but one of the things that you have to know as a believer in the marketplace is come on favor is not fair God's favor is not fair this is why you have to secondly focus on what's going well for you rather than what others are saying will go wrong for
(24:39) you Nehemiah 2 19. again the enemy gets word about what's about to happen in Jerusalem the rebuilding of the walls which we see in chapter 3 and the enemy releases come on some haters it says when sand ballot the horror night how many know that just sounds evil right there the ammonite and gesham the Arab heard about it they made fun of us and they hated us they said what's this thing you're doing are you turning against the king I answered them the god of Heaven some of you need to highlight this as
(25:18) well the god of heaven will make it go well for us some of you that needs to be your response this week the god of heaven will make it go well for me it doesn't matter what you say it doesn't matter about your criticism all you've got to say the god of heaven will make it well for me so we as servants will get up and build but you have no share or right or anything to be remembered in Jerusalem you know what Nehemiah is doing here he's saying in the name of Jesus saying you have no Authority come on you have
(25:54) no place in my purpose come on you have no right to interfere with my work and what God wants to do in my life through it you see one of the ploys of the enemy at work is to discourage you by getting you to only focus on what is wrong or what could go wrong and some of you are worried about things listen that are not even going to happen some of you are tied up in knots about things the enemy is saying about you instead of being focused on what's going to go well with you you're worried about you're and consumed about what might go
(26:36) wrong instead of what God says is going to go right you see the great work of encouragement that we all need to experience come on starting tomorrow come on when you walk on that workplace when you get into that office come on whether maybe you're traveling for work and you get on that plane listen you got to have this mindset the great work of encouragement is understanding that heaven's hand is greater than hell's haters it's understanding that problems exist so the Holy Spirit can show you the
(27:10) possibilities listen when everybody's up in arms and yelling each other and fussing at each other and no one's coming up with Solutions you know what you do you yourself take a time out as a Believer you take a time out and you just say you know what I'm gonna take a break and instead of just taking a break go on a little prayer work prayer walk outside your office and just begin to ask God I'm just asking you for one idea God give me a strategy Lord give me a an answer to the solution how we know God
(27:40) will answer you he'll answer you with that prayer and then when you come back listen to your colleagues you can say you know what I have an idea let me present this can we come together and can I just give you this idea that I have you see it's knowing that every obstacle you face is an opportunity to give God glory who gave you that how did you come up with that idea come on God gave you that idea and then you see right there in the middle of the problem God builds a platform to give him glory today some of you you have to remind the
(28:16) enemy like Nehemiah reminded Sam ballot tobiah and guess him that they have no part in your purpose listen that they have no part in the work that God has you doing listen pray a hedge of protection around yourself come on pray against the ACT you say the false accusation pray against the gossip in the office listen you don't have to be a receiver of that you don't have to just sit there and receive that you can pray against it in Jesus name I challenge you today to rise up in the face of negativity the naysayer and the
(28:51) hater on the job and just be God's conduit to release encouragement come on when everybody's down come on when everybody's ready to quit come on you could be the encourager come on we're going to finish come on what we started we're going to finish the project God's going to give us the solution we're going to get that bonus that they said they weren't going to get because Productions down no we're going to come up with a solution listen where we've increased productivity and we're going
(29:17) to see that end of the year bonus listen don't be re don't remain silent in your discouragement don't internalize what God has called you to vocalize when encouragers remain silent and this is the fact that they become encouraged discouraged discontent and disappointed how you know we're a prophetic people come on we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us we are a prophetic people and listen when prophetic people are quiet come on we get discouraged because we are born to encourage other people we're we're called to call the
(29:58) gold not the dirt out of people we're called to see people the way God sees them if we're going to be image bearers in the marketplace restoring the image of God we've got to see God's restoration plan for their lives God called you better than this come on God's called you something better than this he's got a better plan for you you've got to be that voice how many know the voice of the holy spirit is an encouraging voice and so many times listen we even come to church and we we when we leave we feel
(30:28) more beaten down than when we came in listen don't internalize what God called you to vocalize I don't have listen I don't want you to be annoying I'm not saying every time you open your mouth at work you're quoting scriptures and preaching the gospel I'm not telling you that that can be annoying sometimes what I want you to do is be effective at work what I'm saying is give volume to the voice that God's given you right where you're at and I sense some of you listen your gift
(31:00) is being frustrated at work and you're discouraged about work and the Holy Spirit wants you to be encouraged about work anybody ever felt discouraged about work listen don't allow the things that might go wrong or are actually wrong at work to contaminate what's going well in your life can I just say that again don't allow the things that might go wrong or are actually going wrong at work to contaminate what's going well in your life some of you are internalizing your frustration on the job and you're
(31:43) bringing it home and you're directing it towards your spouse and your kids and you're turning Holy Ground into a Battleground some of you are bringing your work frustration home from the job and you're yelling at your family because you're avoiding having a hard conversation at work listen don't allow the things that might go wrong or are actually going wrong contaminate what's going well for you amen and then lastly we've got to familiarize ourself with the causes of cures and discouragement
(32:20) a couple of weeks ago the staff went to Lake Tahoe on a Stafford tree we were with several hundred pastors with other pastors from our fellowship and our district and our pastor Brett Allen our superintendent who oversees 400 plus churches he actually spoke on encouragement and it's so ministered to me I wanted to take a little bit of what he said put my little twist on it and apply it to this story in Nehemiah chapter 4 so we see the haters raised up in Nehemiah chapter 2 and chapter three things are going great they're
(32:56) rebuilding and in chapter four we see the effect and cause and cure of discouragement Nehemiah has done a lot of things right however even with all of his success and momentum we see discouragement constantly trying to enter the work environment how you know listen the enemy knows if he can discourage you he can defeat you this is why listen this is why we've gotta we've got to pray that God releases this gift of encouragement in us and through us we've got to stay encouraged when everybody else is
(33:32) discouraged and the Nehemiah 4 6 it says this at last the wall was completed to half its height everybody say half its height in other words they were at a halfway point they weren't all the way done they were just halfway it says for the people had worked with enthusiasm but how you know enthusiasm is only going to take you so far you see your enthusiasm at work will always infuriate the enemy and he will do whatever he can to kill it and discourage you and to stop you from finishing what you started and I just
(34:07) sense by the power of the holy spirit this morning there are some starters in here there are some entrepreneurs in here that God listen you have started something and the enemy is trying to discourage you and to defeat you to get you to stop and can I just tell you the enemy is a liar he's a liar he's a thief he wants to take that idea he wants to take that entrepreneurial uh intuition from you he wants to quench it because he doesn't want you to see you walk in breakthrough he'll do whatever he can to kill it
(34:44) you see the people of God what I want you to see they're halfway done with the job how many of you ever been there before halfway done you're almost done with that come on DYI project at home and now come on you're almost done and before you know it it's 15 years later and it's still not done sounds like my house when I was growing up my dad was a great starter not a great finisher you see discouragement this is what I want us to hear come on hear this discouragement usually comes at the halfway point
(35:22) discouragement is a common Human Experience characterized by feeling of loss of Hope enthusiasm or motivation it often occurs when individuals face challenges setbacks or obstacles that make them doubt listen to this their ability to achieve their goals or succeed in their in their Endeavors and can I just tell you this I want to just I want to encourage you listen whatever you have your hand on right now God says is going to prosper whatever project you have your hand on now God says listen don't worry I'm going to take care of it
(35:57) I'm going to provide for it you're going to prosper in Jesus name you see discouragement is the great killer of momentum it's the great killer of Dreams the effects of discouragement are commonplace in people's lives the people we work with it's commonplace in boardrooms and staff meetings and sales meetings discouragement is universal and God is calling for a come on he is calling for a people of encouragers come on to be released in the marketplace that'll be God's voice that will give
(36:32) volume to God's voice where he's placed them this is why the great work of encouragement is a key concept when leading managing supervising and influencing others on your job in your business and at your workplace because people listen they are dying of discouragement think about it millions of people quit their job because of discouragement and now in 2023 millions of people are regretting and discouraged because they can't get their job back how many things in life do we not make it out of the halfway
(37:16) point because of discouragement there's people on your job they're halfway and they just need a comforter and an encourager to come alongside and said you can make it just had somebody come to me two weeks ago at church and said there's a guy at my at my work and he came up and he just started pouring out to me about his marriage it's in trouble they're talking about a divorce and he said I just encouraged him to stay with it people willing to give up right in the middle of it how many things in life do we not make
(37:55) it out of the halfway point a discontinued college education I joke about this but it's actually a fact I was a senior in college for 15 years I called myself a senior citizen Hallelujah 15 years I finally finished my degree in 2006 and I just completed my Master's Degree this summer listen don't give up there were times that I just wanted to quit and stop a marriage that ends at the halfway point a mid-like crisis that can happen as young as when you're 33 years old when your expectation when
(38:34) your fresh your expectation is overcome by frustration you're not where you thought you'd be in life a midlife crisis comes in at the halfway point halfway through you stopped attending the small group you signed up for discouragement stopped a commitment to do a project at work you see the halfway point it's where the excitement and the newness of a project have worn off and passed and it's the land where you have to decide am I going to finish come on what God told me to start and I just came come on I just came to
(39:15) encourage somebody today you see some of you you're tired you're overworked some of you are overwhelmed and some are you are overly concerned about the enemy the opposition you're tired Nehemiah 4 10 says then the people of Judah began to complain the workers are getting tired you're worn out you're worn down in your mind your body your spirit and when people are tired it's almost impossible to be physically down and spiritually and emotionally up and listen discouragement shows up when you're
(40:00) tired and when you're tired guess what happens you stop praying and you start complaining complaining is an indication that you're refusing to receive come on what God wants to reward you with on the job purpose satisfaction peace Joy don't allow listen fatigue come on to rob you of God's favor on your life the second thing is frustration Nehemiah 4 10 B it says that the people said there's so much Rubble to be moved we'll never be able to build the wall you see some of you are frustrated and you're
(40:42) overwhelmed frustration and feelings of being overwhelmed are a result of prayerlessness can I just show you a verse real quick look at verses 8 and 9 it says this the enemies of God's people all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us in to confusion two things the enemy uses that's external and internal he'll use confusion come on and he'll use complaints he'll use how many know confusion is of the devil come on complaints come on it's something that we have control of
(41:19) and it says this listen all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion listen to this verse 9 but we pray to our God the enemy came to confuse us but we prayed to our God God wants to bring Clarity to your situation he wants to speak life over your situation you don't have to be overwhelmed and frustrated you just need to get on your knees and cry out to God and ask him to remove the debris of discouragement from your life and then lastly you're overly concerned with opposition you are fearful
(42:01) we see this in Nehemiah 4 11 to 13. and it says this the Jew it says meanwhile our enemies were saying before they know what's happening we will swoop down on them and kill them and in their work and the Jews who live near near the enemy came and told us again and again come on and again and again and again they will come from all directions and attack us you see worry consume their thoughts it might be consuming your thoughts today it's strained and drained their enemy it skewed their perspective and this is
(42:39) what I want to leave you with today as Christians we must be carriers of the Cure of discouragement and not be consumed by the causes of fatigue come on frustration and fear and I just felt like this morning that God wanted to give us real rest you see some of you you've been on vacation and you came back from vacation and you need a vacation from your vacation because you don't know how to rest you don't know how to put the phone down you don't know how to detach yourself from the laptop and you're looking for rest
(43:17) in places that you'll never find it and this morning listen how many know Jesus is our rest and he wants to give you rest while you work Matthew 11 28 come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will what give you rest God wants to show you the power of prayer Nehemiah 4 4 says then I prayed hear us Our God can I just encourage you God hears you he wants to hear listen I want to just challenge you to vocalize your prayer to God today and then lastly and I leave you this fight for what matters
(44:01) stop fighting with your family and start fighting for your family Nehemiah 4 14 says 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 start fighting with stop fighting with and start fighting for thank you again for joining us we pray that message ministered to your heart and lifted your spirit today hey to find out more about joining the RLC online family you can find us on the church Center app you can also subscribe to the
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