Nehemiah 4:1-23 - Building the Church -- Learning how to trust God!
Nehemiah 4:1-23 - Building the Church -- Learning how to trust God!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 29, 2011 AM
Why is it that some of us seem to face more opposition in life than others? Perhaps it is because of our circumstances, the results of our choices, or could there be another dynamic at work in our lives that we have not understood before? When children are little, they often love to be thrown high into the air and caught by their father. However, as they get older the rules for the game became different. As the child is tossed into the air, as has happened so many times before, they now become frightened. Why? (No, it is not because they have been dropped so many times before!) They began to trust their head more than their faith in their father to catch them!
When trying to build our lives in Christ we can go through the same kind of fears. We start out trusting Jesus, but as we face physical and spiritual obstacles, we begin to trust our head more than we trust Christ. A Church that wants to build and grow will face physical and spiritual obstacles to trusting God as well. When tough times came, Nehemiah learned to trust God. How did he do that? We can learn from Nehemiah how to trust God.
READ: Nehemiah 4:1-23
The real test of a person’s or a Church’s faith in Christ is how they face a crisis and how they react to opposition. Many of us will look at individuals in the Bible and secretly think, “Sheesh, if I could only be like him or her in the face of opposition.” What we may
fail to understand is the spiritual dynamic at work in these people’s lives. Nehemiah teaches us that…
I. Opposition is to be expected! (Vv. 1-3, 7-9, 12)
1. Faith is like tea--its full strength is not drawn out until it is put into hot water!
1) Wherever we look in the Bible, we see there is a dynamic in learning to trust God! The writer of Hebrews wrote that people, who faced all kinds of opposition “...were commended for their faith.” (Hebrews 11:39) Why was this true? Because they persevered in their faith even during opposition!
2) Jesus reminded his followers that opposition was to be expected when he told them, “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.” (John 15:18-20) Jesus knew that, “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:21) Opposition comes because of our faith in Jesus!
3) Many have wondered in life why this has to occur but James reminds us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds!” Then, James gives us the reason why when he concludes, “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) Opposition produces a stronger faith in Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever tried to do something, only to have another criticize your work? You know knock your wall down before you get it built, so-to-speak. How did it make you feel? When Nehemiah decided to pick up and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, he immediately set himself against the prevailing worldview. Conquered people should not try to restore what was taken from them. We also discover that Satan loves to oppose anything God tries to accomplish. He used the Boo Birds of Jerusalem to oppose Nehemiah. We see spiritual and physical opposition taking place. Whom did Nehemiah listen too? Where did he place his faith? In the Lord! In our world, there will always be those who will try to tell you that your faith in Christ is worthless. There are those who may say that our church cannot build or grow. They will try to knock our wall down. Whom will we listen too? When we try and build our lives or church for Christ, opposition is to be expected.
When we place our trust in God, and try to live by faith, the opposition will come. It is to be expected. Nehemiah found this out. It is a dynamic of a spiritual walk with God. As Grace enters into growing both physically and spiritually, there will be those who try to knock the walls down. Our faith can remain strong however. Nehemiah teaches us that in learning to trust God, there will be…
II. Obstacles to be eliminated! (Vv. 10-13)
1. Progress begins with getting a clear view of the obstacles!
1) There is an old warrior’s adage that states, “Know your enemy.” When we “know our enemy” (the sin obstacles in our life), we will know their weaknesses so that they can be defeated. How many of us know our enemy? Nehemiah knew his enemies. He knew they would come and attack his workers when they were at their weakest. It reminds me of what Peter wrote about Satan when he attacks believers’ faith, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” However, notice that Peter first told them to “Be self-controlled and alert.” (1 Peter 5:8)
2) Nehemiah also did not listen to the popular propaganda (Vv. 11-12) and acted instead to eliminate any obstacles that existed, “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their
swords, spears and bows. (Nehemiah 4:13) In our learning to trust God, we must decide not to listen to all the propaganda! We need to “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!”(Ephesians 6:13)
3) Jesus’ brother James would put it this way: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) James understood “that friendship with the world is hatred toward God.” In fact, he would boldly write, “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) We must remove any obstacles from our lives that keep us from trusting God! Nehemiah armed himself and others, and we should do the same spiritually in order to withstand the opposition that comes our way!
EXAMPLE: One of the best things ever invented was the drinking straw. Now some of you may disagree and that is okay, but for simple pure enjoyment, the drinking straw serves well. I still get childlike enjoyment from shooting the wrapper at some unsuspecting person and then there is the fun of pinching the straw while someone is trying to drink out of it. Now you may be wondering why I brought this rather odd example up, let me explain. If our lives in God are not what they should be, we may have pinched off our spiritual resource, the Holy Spirit! We do that by allowing ungodly things into our lives. Paul writes, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:3-5) Ask yourself this morning, “Have I removed the spiritual and physical obstacles in my life that keep me from a trusting faith?” Nehemiah did as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The sinful rubble in our lives cannot be simply jumped over it must be cleared away and completely eliminated from our lives.
There’s a children’s song that talks about going on a lion hunt. Some of the stanzas tell us about obstacles to go around, over, or through. As much as we would like to think so, we cannot go around the spiritual obstacles in our lives! They must be removed. Weak faith comes from an unwillingness to remove those things in our lives that keep us from a close relationship with the Lord. Nehemiah learned that in order for him or his people to trust God, he had an…
III. Offense to execute! (Vv. 14-23)
1. Think less of the power of things over you and more of the power of Christ in you!
1) John reminded the early church as it was facing extreme spiritual opposition, that Jesus who lived in them was “...greater than the one who is in the world,” namely, Satan. (1 John 4:4) John knew that Christians not only faced opposition, but they could succumb easily to spiritual attack if they were not reminded of the power that existed in them! Remember that “roaring lion looking for someone to devour” I mentioned before? Paul wrote the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) Nehemiah could have listened to those around him. Instead, Nehemiah listened to God. I believe Nehemiah did the most basic offense of all--he focused the people’s attention where it needed to be, on God! “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
2) Paul taught how to be on the offense when he wrote, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3-5) We have to use spiritual weapons to wage a spiritual war! A spiritual offense! Nehemiah reminded his fellow Israelites of this and we can take comfort in his words as well. Why? We discover from Nehemiah that, “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.”
3) Nehemiah realized he had a spiritual and psychological offense to run, as well as rebuilding some walls. Nehemiah encouraged the people to remember (v. 14) whom they followed and to not listen to the world’s advice. Then he took the physical offensive by placing guards and a security system, “From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah” to help protect the people! His plan followed God’s desire and frustrated the enemy (v. 15)! In fact, they ate, slept, and worked with their weapons ready for the battle if it came (v. 23)!
EXAMPLE: Football coaches will tell you that a good offense is a great defense. Why? Well I believe it establishes what we trust in. The same is true for our faith walk. Christians should not continually be on the defensive in their walk with Christ. If they are, it shows that they are spiritually weak in certain basic spiritual areas. Let me ask you some personal questions. Are you struggling with sin in your life? Do you struggle with worldly habits and attitudes? Is there a Christian consistency in your life that is seen by your family, friends, classmates or coworkers as well as fellow Christians? What kind of friends do you hang around? Do they influence you more than you influence them? If your family, friends, co-workers, classmates or church members were asked if you were a Christian, what would they say? We could do well in establishing a good spiritual offense in our lives by thinking less of the things that have power over us, and more on the One who
has placed power in us! A good offense is a great defense!
Conclusion:
Nehemiah recognized a spiritual and psychological dynamics at work. He realized that in order for his people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem they would need each of them in their lives as well. He expected opposition, eliminated the obstacles, and executed a good offense. Are you struggling with your spirituality? Learn how to trust God like Nehemiah did. Do it today for building a great life, for a building a great Church.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 29, 2011 AM
Why is it that some of us seem to face more opposition in life than others? Perhaps it is because of our circumstances, the results of our choices, or could there be another dynamic at work in our lives that we have not understood before? When children are little, they often love to be thrown high into the air and caught by their father. However, as they get older the rules for the game became different. As the child is tossed into the air, as has happened so many times before, they now become frightened. Why? (No, it is not because they have been dropped so many times before!) They began to trust their head more than their faith in their father to catch them!
When trying to build our lives in Christ we can go through the same kind of fears. We start out trusting Jesus, but as we face physical and spiritual obstacles, we begin to trust our head more than we trust Christ. A Church that wants to build and grow will face physical and spiritual obstacles to trusting God as well. When tough times came, Nehemiah learned to trust God. How did he do that? We can learn from Nehemiah how to trust God.
READ: Nehemiah 4:1-23
The real test of a person’s or a Church’s faith in Christ is how they face a crisis and how they react to opposition. Many of us will look at individuals in the Bible and secretly think, “Sheesh, if I could only be like him or her in the face of opposition.” What we may
fail to understand is the spiritual dynamic at work in these people’s lives. Nehemiah teaches us that…
I. Opposition is to be expected! (Vv. 1-3, 7-9, 12)
1. Faith is like tea--its full strength is not drawn out until it is put into hot water!
1) Wherever we look in the Bible, we see there is a dynamic in learning to trust God! The writer of Hebrews wrote that people, who faced all kinds of opposition “...were commended for their faith.” (Hebrews 11:39) Why was this true? Because they persevered in their faith even during opposition!
2) Jesus reminded his followers that opposition was to be expected when he told them, “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.” (John 15:18-20) Jesus knew that, “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:21) Opposition comes because of our faith in Jesus!
3) Many have wondered in life why this has to occur but James reminds us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds!” Then, James gives us the reason why when he concludes, “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) Opposition produces a stronger faith in Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever tried to do something, only to have another criticize your work? You know knock your wall down before you get it built, so-to-speak. How did it make you feel? When Nehemiah decided to pick up and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, he immediately set himself against the prevailing worldview. Conquered people should not try to restore what was taken from them. We also discover that Satan loves to oppose anything God tries to accomplish. He used the Boo Birds of Jerusalem to oppose Nehemiah. We see spiritual and physical opposition taking place. Whom did Nehemiah listen too? Where did he place his faith? In the Lord! In our world, there will always be those who will try to tell you that your faith in Christ is worthless. There are those who may say that our church cannot build or grow. They will try to knock our wall down. Whom will we listen too? When we try and build our lives or church for Christ, opposition is to be expected.
When we place our trust in God, and try to live by faith, the opposition will come. It is to be expected. Nehemiah found this out. It is a dynamic of a spiritual walk with God. As Grace enters into growing both physically and spiritually, there will be those who try to knock the walls down. Our faith can remain strong however. Nehemiah teaches us that in learning to trust God, there will be…
II. Obstacles to be eliminated! (Vv. 10-13)
1. Progress begins with getting a clear view of the obstacles!
1) There is an old warrior’s adage that states, “Know your enemy.” When we “know our enemy” (the sin obstacles in our life), we will know their weaknesses so that they can be defeated. How many of us know our enemy? Nehemiah knew his enemies. He knew they would come and attack his workers when they were at their weakest. It reminds me of what Peter wrote about Satan when he attacks believers’ faith, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” However, notice that Peter first told them to “Be self-controlled and alert.” (1 Peter 5:8)
2) Nehemiah also did not listen to the popular propaganda (Vv. 11-12) and acted instead to eliminate any obstacles that existed, “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their
swords, spears and bows. (Nehemiah 4:13) In our learning to trust God, we must decide not to listen to all the propaganda! We need to “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!”(Ephesians 6:13)
3) Jesus’ brother James would put it this way: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) James understood “that friendship with the world is hatred toward God.” In fact, he would boldly write, “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) We must remove any obstacles from our lives that keep us from trusting God! Nehemiah armed himself and others, and we should do the same spiritually in order to withstand the opposition that comes our way!
EXAMPLE: One of the best things ever invented was the drinking straw. Now some of you may disagree and that is okay, but for simple pure enjoyment, the drinking straw serves well. I still get childlike enjoyment from shooting the wrapper at some unsuspecting person and then there is the fun of pinching the straw while someone is trying to drink out of it. Now you may be wondering why I brought this rather odd example up, let me explain. If our lives in God are not what they should be, we may have pinched off our spiritual resource, the Holy Spirit! We do that by allowing ungodly things into our lives. Paul writes, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:3-5) Ask yourself this morning, “Have I removed the spiritual and physical obstacles in my life that keep me from a trusting faith?” Nehemiah did as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The sinful rubble in our lives cannot be simply jumped over it must be cleared away and completely eliminated from our lives.
There’s a children’s song that talks about going on a lion hunt. Some of the stanzas tell us about obstacles to go around, over, or through. As much as we would like to think so, we cannot go around the spiritual obstacles in our lives! They must be removed. Weak faith comes from an unwillingness to remove those things in our lives that keep us from a close relationship with the Lord. Nehemiah learned that in order for him or his people to trust God, he had an…
III. Offense to execute! (Vv. 14-23)
1. Think less of the power of things over you and more of the power of Christ in you!
1) John reminded the early church as it was facing extreme spiritual opposition, that Jesus who lived in them was “...greater than the one who is in the world,” namely, Satan. (1 John 4:4) John knew that Christians not only faced opposition, but they could succumb easily to spiritual attack if they were not reminded of the power that existed in them! Remember that “roaring lion looking for someone to devour” I mentioned before? Paul wrote the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) Nehemiah could have listened to those around him. Instead, Nehemiah listened to God. I believe Nehemiah did the most basic offense of all--he focused the people’s attention where it needed to be, on God! “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
2) Paul taught how to be on the offense when he wrote, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3-5) We have to use spiritual weapons to wage a spiritual war! A spiritual offense! Nehemiah reminded his fellow Israelites of this and we can take comfort in his words as well. Why? We discover from Nehemiah that, “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.”
3) Nehemiah realized he had a spiritual and psychological offense to run, as well as rebuilding some walls. Nehemiah encouraged the people to remember (v. 14) whom they followed and to not listen to the world’s advice. Then he took the physical offensive by placing guards and a security system, “From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah” to help protect the people! His plan followed God’s desire and frustrated the enemy (v. 15)! In fact, they ate, slept, and worked with their weapons ready for the battle if it came (v. 23)!
EXAMPLE: Football coaches will tell you that a good offense is a great defense. Why? Well I believe it establishes what we trust in. The same is true for our faith walk. Christians should not continually be on the defensive in their walk with Christ. If they are, it shows that they are spiritually weak in certain basic spiritual areas. Let me ask you some personal questions. Are you struggling with sin in your life? Do you struggle with worldly habits and attitudes? Is there a Christian consistency in your life that is seen by your family, friends, classmates or coworkers as well as fellow Christians? What kind of friends do you hang around? Do they influence you more than you influence them? If your family, friends, co-workers, classmates or church members were asked if you were a Christian, what would they say? We could do well in establishing a good spiritual offense in our lives by thinking less of the things that have power over us, and more on the One who
has placed power in us! A good offense is a great defense!
Conclusion:
Nehemiah recognized a spiritual and psychological dynamics at work. He realized that in order for his people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem they would need each of them in their lives as well. He expected opposition, eliminated the obstacles, and executed a good offense. Are you struggling with your spirituality? Learn how to trust God like Nehemiah did. Do it today for building a great life, for a building a great Church.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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