Have you encountered a situation where, when you are doing something, many images appear in your mind, and these images have nothing to do with what you are doing? What you want to think about, you don't think about, but what you don't want to think about, you think about everything. These images are imaginative, colourful, and when you come back to your senses, you find that half an hour has passed. Another scenario is that sometimes you are inexplicably worried, and you don't even know what you are worried about, but you are just worried and afraid. Looking back later, you find that you have done nothing. How can you get out of this state and improve yourself? Let's look forward to the sharing in this chapter!
Questions to Ponder:
Facing so many temptations, how can we concentrate?
How can we be unafraid? What are the characteristics of those who overcome fear?
How can we make our enemies fear us? What kind of person do even demons fear?
What is this chapter about? If you want to build God's church, or build the walls of Jerusalem, the qualities you must have are focus and fearlessness. Fear and distraction are fatal weaknesses that prevent us from accomplishing the work God has entrusted to us. This chapter, from the perspective of weaknesses, is about distraction and fear. From the perspective of strengths, it is about focus and fearlessness. If you want to accomplish God's work, you must have focus and fearlessness (not being afraid). These are the two basic qualities we abstract from this chapter today.
Focus
If a person does not have the quality of focus in his life, he will suffer a great loss, not only unable to do anything for God, but also unable to do anything for himself. A distracted person has problems within himself. Focus is one of the most important qualities in our life. Thank God that from a young age, the greatest advantage God has given me is focus. When I first started building the church, Pastor Zhou's words deeply moved me. When Pastor Zhou took over Taipei Lingliang Church, he focused on building the church well during his first decade there. He would not go to any lectures or meetings he was invited to; he just wanted to focus on building his own church. At that time, I made up my mind that I would do the same, and I would not do anything that distracted me.
If a person does one thing well, it is very good. If you want to do two things well at the same time, it is probably a bit difficult. The spiritual world also understands the effect of focus and distraction. When you want to focus on completing one thing, the devil will do everything possible to distract you. Nehemiah was able to be a successful cupbearer in front of the king, and I think he must have been a focused person. He would definitely focus on doing well what he wanted to do.
Since the devil understands the harm of distraction, you must also be careful whether you are a distracted person when you do things, and whether you are often distracted. I have contact with some primary school students, middle school students, college students, and so on. Many students have the most fatal problem: they like to be distracted in everything they do, except when they are playing, but in the end, even playing is distracting.
Let me give you an example to see what distraction is. When a person is studying mathematics, he thinks about English in his mind, and when he reads English, he thinks about physics, and when he reads physics, he thinks about mathematics. He can't do anything, and in the end, he accomplishes nothing. If these problems happen to you, you must be careful. Another type of distraction is daydreaming. When you should be doing things, you don't do them, and your mind is blank. In fact, your heart is scattered, you don't know what you should be doing, so you just go blank. The most important quality that allowed Nehemiah to build the city wall in fifty-two days was focus. The devil and the enemy wanted to use distraction to distract Nehemiah, inviting him to dates and constantly inviting him, but Nehemiah resolutely refused.
When we do things, we must learn to focus. I won't go to any lectures I am invited to, whether they give me two hundred dollars or five hundred dollars, I won't go to earn it. I receive almost four or five calls every month, asking me to be a witness. I have a Singapore certificate, and I can lead the new couple in vows, authorizing the marriage. The standard price in Singapore is two hundred and eighty Singapore dollars, and if you don't count the travel, the process only takes twenty-something minutes. It's easy money to make, but I don't go. Don't think I am proud, because I think building the church is trusting in God. I don't think these seminars are important, I think God's presence is more important. Without God's presence, it's like attending a meeting.
Some people don't pursue unity in their own churches, but they want all churches to be united. I don't want to be that kind of person. I want to focus on doing what I should do well. In serving my brothers and sisters, I am focused on doing it well. Think carefully about where your direction is, what exactly you want to do, and whether you want to do it well.
In the afternoon, a sister and a brother were chatting, and the sister felt that she was inferior to others in every way. What are you thinking about when you have nothing to do? Just do what you should do well. Isn't thinking about these things a distraction? Useless things should not be thought about or done. When I first started working in Singapore, my skills and English were the worst in the department, but I didn't think about these things, I just focused on improving my learning. I improved a little bit every day. In the end, my superiors became my subordinates, and those who were once better than me were no longer better than me.
So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you?” And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. (Nehemiah 6:3-4)
Be a focused and faithful person, and your future is guaranteed to be unlimited.
Fearlessness
The second most basic quality is fearlessness. If a person has a feeling of fear in his heart, fearing difficulties, he will not be able to do anything. There is an English saying: Just do it! Try it and you will always find a solution. When you have focus, coupled with a fearless heart, the key is to trust in God. Even if many people release a fearful heart to you, as long as God is in control, what is there to be afraid of? As long as you walk in God's will, what is there to be afraid of? On the road of serving God, the most important quality is not to be afraid of death, and the foundation is built on God's sovereignty. Especially in building the church, there is a lot of information released about fear.
Fearless of False Accusations
False accusations are fabricating things that are not true and giving you fabricated charges, let alone the fact that we have some shortcomings. But whether we have shortcomings or not, these are not the key. The key is whether God is in control. False accusation is the most common means used by the devil, which can paralyze all ministries. If you serve with a fearful heart, you will not accomplish anything.
Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, had a special quality. In order to realize his vision and dream for Singapore, he had gone through very difficult years. There were many people who opposed him. If he had fear in his heart, he would not have been able to build Singapore into what it is today. This whole process was quite difficult, and he often went all out. We can see that Lee Kuan Yew often appeared in public places. If he was a person full of fear, he would not dare to show his face at all.
When he took over, Singapore was actually an era rife with corruption. I admire this man for being able to build Singapore into such an incorruptible nation. He is truly a person of great courage. If there were false accusations, and these people falsely accused Nehemiah, Nehemiah would tell them that none of these things were true. In Singapore, too, there are many who falsely accuse the leaders of Singapore, releasing corrupting information. He would write to tell them that none of these things were true, and if necessary, use the law to resolve the issue. I think this is a good thing. Do not silently endure the false accusations of others without speaking up, but tell them that these things are not true. This is the first point in overcoming fear.
Not Regarding One's Life
A person who overcomes fear is certainly one who does not regard their life. If Nehemiah were a person who clung to life and feared death, he would have hidden himself when people suggested that hiding in the temple was a good idea. Furthermore, a person's understanding of the law is very important. If Nehemiah had fear in his heart, there might have been trouble because so many people were trying to deal with him in that place.
Walking on the street, someone might try to kill him, but hiding in the temple would have fallen into the enemy's trick. Moreover, it was the priest who told him to hide in the temple, so what would be the problem with going in? The most fundamental reason here is not being afraid, rather than knowing whether something is feasible or not. If there is no fear in the heart, not even fear of death! What is there to hide from? Such a person, on the contrary, will not die. Because Nehemiah said:
Should a man like me run away? (Nehemiah 6:11)
His meaning was not that hiding in the temple would be against the law. His meaning was, I cannot run away. A man like me fears nothing. If I were afraid, I would not have come from the king's side to this place of trouble. I came to this place of trouble to build the walls of Jerusalem and establish God's temple, knowing that I was risking my life. I am already a person who does not fear death. If you want to serve God, you must have the faith to die if need be, and you will live better and better. This is not regarding one's life.
Always Being with God
If you want to make the enemy afraid, the most important thing is to let them see that God is with you.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and lost their courage, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:15-16)
Therefore, the most important thing in building the church is that God is with you and me. If you have God, you have money, you have life, and you no longer fear. With God, work can proceed smoothly and progress. What is there to fear? Because you have this faith to die if need be. I have a sermon on my website called The Faith to Die If Need Be, which is what I truly believe in my heart. If you have the faith to die if need be, the devil and the enemy will certainly be afraid in their hearts.
Someone asked me, Pastor Liu, why does my daughter's headache get better after you pray for her? It is because I have the faith to die if need be. Why does the tumor start to shrink after praying for it? Because with the faith to die if need be, God is clearly with you. A person who clings to life and fears death should not expect God's presence. If you want to have the faith to die if need be, you will often not die. A person who does not regard their life, a person who learns to pray and entrust themselves to God, will say, God remembers me. If God remembers you, God is with you, will cause your work to be accomplished, and you will see increasing prosperity in what you do. There is nothing you cannot accomplish, and the devil and the enemy will be afraid.
In reality, the devil always wants you to be afraid. Whether you are afraid or he is afraid determines the outcome of a matter. Whether you win or he wins. Therefore, in a person's life, it is actually a contest of faith. Is it the devil who is afraid of you, or you who are afraid of the devil? Is it the difficulties that are afraid of you, or you who are afraid of the difficulties? In this entire process of the contest of faith, there are often many rounds. Nehemiah said this:
Also Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. (Nehemiah 6:19)
This was not just once, but he often wrote such threatening words, with the intention of making you afraid between the lines. Did Nehemiah have problems? Nehemiah would certainly allow people to find problems. Why? Because the people around him colluded with the enemy. After colluding, they would write down everything Nehemiah said and give it to them, and then the other party would attack Nehemiah according to what he said, causing him to fear. But Nehemiah did not fear. When you are not afraid, the enemy is afraid.
I encourage everyone to never fear the difficulties before you. If you fear them, they will ride on your neck. Even if you see a dog while walking and you are afraid of that dog, the dog will know it, let alone the devil? If you are afraid of the dog, the dog will definitely rush up and bite you. If you are not afraid of the dog and walk past it calmly, the dog will tremble. I encourage everyone to always walk in God's will. When you walk anywhere on the street without any fear in your heart, the devil will tremble where you walk. The dark forces around us in this environment in which we live will avoid you.
You must know that the devil is always looking for people to devour, but the question is whether you are a person who can be devoured. A fearful person is a person who can be devoured. Some brothers and sisters asked me, Pastor, when I cast out demons for him, will the demons run into me? I said, The demons have already entered you! They came the moment you said that, why are you inviting them back? Before even praying for him, his voice was trembling.
If God is with you, what are you afraid of? Even if the demons that were once in us have been cast out, are we afraid of them this time when they come? He writes to me once, I am not afraid! Twice, three times, four times I am not afraid. God will accomplish the work of your hands, and then you will see God's glorious church being built up, and God is truly clearly with us. Therefore, today, if anyone releases fearful information, no matter how reasonable that information may be, we must resolutely reject it, because it is not human information that reigns, but it is the God in whom you and I trust who reigns completely in this world. Serve with the faith to die if need be, and the devil will certainly not be able to do anything to you, Amen!