A young teacher told her class of small children that she is an atheist. She asks her class if they are atheists too. Not really knowing what atheism is, but wanting the teacher to like them they all raised their hands. However, one girl name Lucy did not raise her hand. The teacher asked her why she wanted to be different.
"Because I’m not an atheist,” said Lucy.
“What are you then,” asked the teacher.
“I’m a Christian,” answered Lucy.
The teacher a little perturbed asked Lucy why she is a Christian.
“Well, I was brought up knowing and loving Jesus. My mom is a Christian, and my dad is a Christian, so I am Christian.”
The teacher now angry said, “That’s no reason. What if your mom was a moron, and you dad was a moron. What would you be then?”
Lucy answered, “I’d be an atheist.”
Lucy is an example of Determination. Lucy was determined not to be a follower or
to be made fun of. She persevered during
persecution.
What is determination?
A firm intention. A firm purpose.
It is the will to set out an achieve a goal or to persevere in time of
trouble. My favorite example of
determination is Rocky Balboa. No matter
what the odds he always fought to come through.
He never gave up.
Another good example of determination is Nehemiah. Nehemiah was the cupbearer for the Persian
King. He got permission from the king to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But
because of stiff opposition, the people had to work with weapons in one hand
and tools in the other.
First Nehemiah prayed to God. Nehemiah 1:5-O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,
Nehemiah 1:11-O Lord, let you ear be attentive to the prayer
of this your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting
him favor in the presence of this man.”
Determination first begins with prayer.
Nehemiah was ridiculed.
Nehemiah 4:1-2-When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding
the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of
his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the
stones back to life those heaps of rubble-burned as they are? As Christians it is open season in America to make fun of us. You can’t make fun of any other religion, but Christianity.
Nehemiah prays to God.
Nehemiah 4:4-Here us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own
heads. Give them over as plunder in a
land of captivity.
We must be determined to proclaim the truth of Christ even
when we are ridiculed for it. And when
ridiculed, we must rely on prayer and Christ.
The Jews were threatened and weak/Risking her life for
Jesus
Nehemiah 4:7-8, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of
Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the
gaps were being closed, they were very angry.
They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir
up trouble against it.
Nehemiah 4:10-11, Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The
strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we
cannot rebuild the wall.” Also our
enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them
and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
Nehemiah trusted the Lord.
Nehemiah 4:14-After I looked things over, I stood up and
said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people. “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,
and fights for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your
homes.”
As Christians we have nothing to fear, but to fear the
Lord. God will never give us or this
church more than it can handle. Nehemiah
was determined not to give up and we as a church must also be determined to
never give up and always search for God will.
The wall is finished.
Nehemiah 6:15-16-So the wall was completed on the
twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were
afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had
been done with the help of our God.
Pat Graham, president of the church division of Cargill
Associates says, “Christian fundraising is not an exact science, however.
Sometimes the Spirit leads in amazing ways, and a church will raise 8 to 10
times its budget or more. Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky,
raised $30 million, or 6 times its annual budget. The breakthrough came when
the church emphasized doing God's will over just raising money.”
Bill Wilson, president of Resources Services Inc said,
“First United Methodist Church in West Point, Georgia, which has an annual
budget of $285,000, raised $4 million in early 1997 with help from The Genesis
Group. And, using Cargill's program, a 188-family United Methodist Church in
East Texas with an annual income of only $240,000 raised a total of $1.5
million for its project. Members brought $232,000 in cash the first week.
"The churches that exceed expectations are the churches that take the faith
dimension of money very seriously.” 
