Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

Nehemiah 4

Introduction: Opposition

Why is there opposition?

Why is their life a struggle? All they are trying to do is live for God and do His will. Don’t you get tired of fighting? We came to Christ looking for peace. Why can’t we just have peace?

2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” NIV

How could they end the struggle? All they would have to do to end the struggle is to stop living for the will of God. That’s all they are trying to do. A log floating with the current has no struggle. Only boats traveling against the current have to fight!

“Sometimes I use the phrase “wartime lifestyle” or “wartime mind-set.” The phrase is helpful – also lopsided. For me it is mainly helpful. It tells me that there is a war going on in the world between Christ and Satan, truth and falsehood, belief and unbelief. It tells me that there are weapons to be funded and used, but that these weapons are not swords or guns or bombs but the Gospel and prayer and self-sacrificing love. And it tells me that the stakes of this conflict are higher than any other war in history; they are eternal and infinite; heaven or hell, eternal joy or eternal torment.

I need to hear this message again and again, because I drift into a peacetime mind-set as certainly as rain falls down and flames go up. I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth “home.” Before you know it, I am calling luxuries “needs” and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don’t think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set.” Don’t Waste Your Life, pp 111-112

The moment you decide to live for the will of God you are going to experience opposition. It may be subtle and almost unnoticeable. People will merely share their genuine concerns for you. What they say may seem reasonable and might even be reasonable from a human point of view.

But that is the catch. You and I have to decide over and over again, who we are living for. Are we living to please ourselves and for the will of those around us? Or are we living for the will of God?

So, what is it going to be today? This day? Do you want to live for the will of God?

C.S. Lewis on why not live half-heartedly for God:

Here is that quote from CS Lewis’ “Weight Of Glory” address…”If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what it meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

“One answer to the question Why follow Jesus whole-heartedly vs half-heartedly? is offered here…Because when we follow Jesus hardcore we get infinite joy and when we follow him half way we get “mud pies in a slum.” The question is can people see that the approval of others and financial security are merely “mud pies” in comparison to the adventure of following Christ.”

1 Peter 4:1-5 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans (secular pagans or the religious self-righteous) choose to do…”

You must prepare yourself mentally!

You must know that if you decide to live for God others will

try to talk you out of it.

Isaiah 55:8-11 ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. ““As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” NIV

Round #1, Nehemiah 4:1-6

A. Their Weapons of Opposition: Ridicule and Sarcasm

Words or actions intended to evoke contemptuous laughter: to mock

To make fun of: deride, jeer, jest, laugh, mock, scoff,

Idioms: poke fun at.

Irony or bitterness, as of tone

A form of irony in which apparent praise conceals another, scornful meaning. For example, a sarcastic remark directed at a person who consistently arrives fifteen minutes late for appointments might be, “Oh, you’ve arrived exactly on time!”

Irony: an expression of thought in a form that naturally conveys its opposite.

Sarcasm – Greek: sarkasmos from sarkazw or flesh!

To tear flesh as dogs do = wounding with cutting words

Why do they care what the Jews do?

Here it is about power and who’s in charge.

But not always the case.

1 Peter 4:4 “living as pagans to—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. “But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” NIV

Some are unwilling to do God’s will because they fear their friends will laugh at them or mock them. Thousands of young adults get involved in what they know is wrong because of what their friends will think.

We don’t want to feel stupid. We care too much about what people think of and say about us.

If you are merely trying to live for God and do his will and are not even calling into question their lifestyle, why do they verbally make fun of you? Because there is an inherent, subtle rejection of their lifestyle for yourself and they perceive this in their own minds as condemnation!

John 15:18-21 ““If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” NIV

John 16:1-4 ““All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. “They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. “I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.” NIV

Your personal relationship with Christ will bring you persecution!

Who walks away form a contract with the San Fran 49ers?

Who gives up a lucrative career as a commercial artist to make

drawings in African children’s Bible stories?

Who leaves the security of a corporate accountant to spend a

lifetime as an accountant for a Christian camp?

Who leaves the security of the head of the secret service to be

the governor of a city without walls and take the guff of the

surrounding tin gods?

Those who respond to the call and will of God!

B. Nehemiah’s Response

Apostrophe – literary term for what he really did!

He did not argue or debate or get into a verbal sparing match with those opposing God’s will for Nehemiah! He did not retaliate.

He did not in any way talk about the issue with those opposing him.

He simply turned aside from the direct subject to address someone else!

He didn’t just turn and walk away.

He turned to God!

Do not, again I say do not sink into a conversation with those who are not focused on the will of God for your life! Never, never, never engage in debate with them. You will lose every time!

Remember Eve! – She lost for us all!

If you want to live for Christ and follow God’s will for your life

If you want the adventure of walking on water and riding on the back of Aslym the Lion there are times when you will have to deliberately turn your back on the voice of those who are once thought to be friends and even family!

Acts 19:18-19 “Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. “A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.” NIV

Cover your ears to the siren song

An enticing plea or appeal, especially one that is deceptively alluring.

George Chapman (1559?–1634) “I will neither yield to the song of the siren nor the voice of the hyena, the tears of the crocodile nor the howling of the wolf.”

In classical mythology, evil creatures who lived on a rocky island, singing in beautiful voices in an effort to lure sailors to shipwreck and death. Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears to escape the Sirens’ fatal song.

(oh-DIS-yoohs, oh-DIS-ee-uhs) [Roman name Ulysses]A Greek hero in the Trojan War. Odysseus helped bring about the fall of Troy by conceiving the ruse of the Trojan horse. After Troy was ruined, Odysseus wandered for ten years trying to return home, having many adventures along the way. (See Circe, Cyclops, Penelope, Scylla and Charybdis, and Sirens.) 1 ‡ The story of Odysseus’ journey home is told in the Odyssey of Homer. By extension, an “odyssey” is any long or difficult journey or transformation.

Move away

Cut off all contact with

Change your email address and your cell phone number

Do not slide back into relationships that draw you away from God.

Fight for fellowship!

Force yourself into new relationships that at first seem difficult!

You are not an island.

You can not live the radical life of a disciple by yourself.

You must move in close to other pilgrims struggling to

follow the will of God. And you must allow others “in”

Prayed

Nehemiah 4:4-6 “Hear 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. “Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.” NIV

Matthew 6:12-13 “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” NIV

What did Jesus do before his greatest hour of testing? He prayed

Matthew 26:40-41 “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ““Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”” NIV

We are always vulnerable.

But we increase our vulnerability by going to sleep at least spiritually.

Don’t skip for any reason!

Daily QT. Daily practice of the presence of God sending up breath prayers. Weekly worship and discipling relationships.

Look back over the times when you’ve fallen away. Look back at the times when you’ve succumbed to doubting and debating the will of God for your life.

Is it not when you went to sleep so to speak?

Round #2

A. The enemy escalates the attack

Nehemiah 4:7-8 “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, 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.” NIV

You and I must decide! And you must know that if you decide to live for the will of God that decision is going to be opposed. And it will be opposed repeatedly, consistently, persistently, tenaciously to wear you down and tempt you to go back on your decision!

Those opposed to the will of God mobilize their forces.

They escalate the attack. Deliberate or not it is at least planned by our enemy. They will not give up. They will not give in!

B. Nehemiah’s Response

Nehemiah 4:9 “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” NIV

Prayer Plus a plan of action!

The PP approach: Prayer plus prepared!

Round #3, Nehemiah 4:10-23

A. The propaganda trick

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.”” NIV

Methodical, organized planned message attack!

Often not organized by human individuals.

But believe me, it is organized by our enemy!

Designed to discourage us! Why is life such a struggle?

The movie Steel Magnolias tells the stories of six women in a small Louisiana town. Most of the plot centers around an over protective mother, M’Lynn Eatenten (Sally Field), and her daughter, Shelby

Shelby dies soon after giving birth to her first child, and M’Lynn’s life is shattered. Leaving the funeral with her friends, M’Lynn tries to hold herself together, but is unable to hold back her tears. As she walks down a wooded lane in the cemetery, she weeps and grieves.

I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m FINE! I can jog all the way to Texas and back, but my daughter can’t. She never could. O God, I’m so mad I don’t know what to do. I want to know why. I want to know why Shelby’s life is over. I want to know how that baby will ever know how wonderful his mother was. O God, I want to know why! Why? Lord, I wish I could understand!

Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” NIV

B. Nehemiah’s Response: He listened, he encouraged and made huge personal sacrifices.

~ He carefully assesses the situation. Battle fatigue

~ He combines the work with action and alertness

~ And he encourages them by turning their focus back to our awesome God!

Nehemiah 4:14 “And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.””

Exodus 15:11 ““Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” ESV

Encourage: come alongside to help; replenish depleted resources

Psalm 68:35 “Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” ESV

Daniel 9:4 “I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,” ESV

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”” NIV

Timid Timothy – felt alone, discouraged and ready to throw in the towel. Paul said to him,

2 Timothy 2:8 “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,” NIV You are not alone!

Winston Churchhill was delivered on October 29, 1941.

This familiar speech was two pages. The famous quote was hidden away in a long paragraph recounting Great Britain’s progress during the first 10 months of World War II. The full speech reads:

Almost a year has passed since I came down here at your Head Master’s kind invitation in order to cheer myself and cheer the hearts of a few of my friends by singing some of our own songs. The 10 months that have passed have seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world—ups and downs, misfortunes—but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed and for the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home?

Why, when I was here last time we were quite alone, desperately alone, and we had been so for five or six months. We were poorly armed. We are not so poorly armed today; but then we were very poorly armed. We had the unmeasured menace of the enemy and their air attack still beating upon us, and you yourselves had had experience of this attack; and I expect you are beginning to feel impatient that there has been this long lull with nothing particular turning up!

But we must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough. It is generally said that the British are often better at the last. They do not expect to move from crisis to crisis; they do not always expect that each day will bring up some noble chance of war; but when they very slowly make up their minds that the thing has to be done and the job put through and finished, then, even if it takes months—if it takes years—they do it.

Another lesson I think we may take, just throwing our minds back to our meeting here 10 months ago and now, is that appearances are often very deceptive, and as Kipling well says, we must “…meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same.”

You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination. But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period—I am addressing myself to the School—surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated.

Prayer: Our father, strengthen us to act like Nehemiah to stand against the pressures to try to push us away from following your will for our lives. Help us to be encourages and give us courage to lead by example and make personal sacrifice as these people did.