Nehemiah 6:1-14 - Building the Church -- How Satan’s snares work!
Nehemiah 6:1-14 - Building the Church -- How Satan’s snares work!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 12, 2011 AM
When you’re ten years old, there is nothing better than trapping and catching your own wild animals! Now I am not advocating hurting God’s little creatures for fun, but when you’re 10 being a “big” game hunter is an adventure! My brother and I went after the wily chipmunk. Actually, it was my father’s fault. He was the one who showed us how to make the traps! We caught and released dozens of chipmunks that summer. The little guys never figured out the traps we prepared for them!
In our spiritual lives there are snares set for the unsuspecting as well and those that have no relationship with Christ fall easily into them. Sometimes, the strongest believer can be snared. Satan sets his snares well. In Nehemiah, we see several different types of these snares that were used to discourage God’s man and make him ineffective. The same snares are used on us today. When we know how Satan’s snares work we can avoid being trapped.
READ: Nehemiah 6:1-14
It is popular today to have an “open mind.” When someone wants you to compromise your faith, often he or she will usually say, “We need to be opened minded.” My father used to say that “Some people are so open minded that they left their brains on the sidewalk!” This false notion of being open-minded is the same satanic snare used on Eve when the snake coyly asks her “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) Those who wanted to ensnare Nehemiah used this argument as well. One of Satan’s snares is…
I. Manipulation of Our Mind! (Vv. 1-4)
1. Silly Putty is more than a toy--it can represent our willingness to be too open-minded!
1) When Nehemiah’s enemies could not discourage him through ridicule or physical threats, they resorted to manipulation. Nehemiah saw through their plans immediately. He writes, “When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: ‘Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.’ But they were scheming to harm me…” (Nehemiah 6:1-2) Nehemiah understood they were playing mind games with him and responded boldly to what was occurring!
2) Like Nehemiah, Paul understood Satan’s snare of manipulating our minds. He wrote that knowing about it was important “in order that Satan might not outwit (the Christian). For (he Paul) was not unaware of (Satan’s) schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) Paul also boldly responded to Satan’s manipulation like Nehemiah did! He would not let Satan gain a foothold! The same should be true for our lives in Christ. Paul reminds us that, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6) Why, because, “we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16) Believers should not allow Satan to manipulate their minds.
EXAMPLE: Someone once said, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” How correct they are when it is wasted playing senseless mind games! I remember one gentleman who was a devout man of God, but he thrived on worrying. If he didn’t have something to worry about, he was concerned that there was nothing happening! I’ve known others who always try to “second guess” another person’s motives. My Aunt wouldn’t use a certain serving tray a neighbor gave them because she was just “sure they did it in spite!” In spite of what, I never could figure out. Satan is always ready to exploit our psyches. He loves to mess with our minds! Nehemiah understood it and met it boldly!
I never realized that I was an extremist or a radical, did you? Yet we discover that anyone who is against abortion has been labeled such by certain politicians and the news media. How do you feel when you believe something is right, but others refuse to see it when they know that your motives are good? They not only refuse to see it, but they lead others into believing your motives are wrong! Just when God desires to do something great in the life of an individual or the Church Satan loves to exploit our intentions. Satan exploited God’s purposes when he told Eve, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4a) Another one of his favorite snares is the…
II. Misrepresentation of Our Motives! (Vv. 5-9)
1. Satan, like a corrupt lawyer, will always misinterpret the facts to fit their verdict!
1) When Nehemiah’s enemies realized that he would not leave Jerusalem (v. 5) and meet with them, they tried a different tactic. “Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written: ‘It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together.” (Nehemiah 6:5-7) When the truth did not work, they used lies and innuendoes! Notice the transition of their arguments:
1. First, they tried to suggest that they were trying to protect Nehemiah!
2. Then, they tried to get him to respond to fear!
3. Finally, some of the letter contained a partial truth. (Half a lie is still a lie!) Some zealous person may have announced that Nehemiah was like a king to Jerusalem and his adversaries used it as a threat! However, they knew Nehemiah would not do such a thing and risk the anger of the Babylonian king! It was a complete misrepresentation of Nehemiah’s motives!
2) Nehemiah would have none of it and he knew immediately where this came from, “I sent him this reply: ‘Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.’” (Nehemiah 6:8) In fact, he realized, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’ But I prayed, ‘Now strengthen my hands.’” (Nehemiah 6:9) Nehemiah confronts the issue and goes to God in prayer!
1. Jesus dealt with misrepresentation of His motives all throughout His ministry. He rebuked the Pharisees by telling them, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) and we will as well when we take a stand for our faith! People will misrepresent our motives!
EXAMPLE: My brother and I had been teasing one another all day long. (When you are bored, you do those kinds of things.) My Mom had had enough and she convinced Dad to send us to bed early. Being magnanimous, I decided to make peace with Ed. I took him a glass of water. Carrying the water to his bedside, I tripped and drenched him! Needless to say, we begin to have a rather dynamic and concerted discussion as to my real motives. Dad wasn’t interested. After cleaning up the water, and making Ed’s bed, I got a couple of swats. Talk about misrepresentation! Have you been misunderstood for doing what is right? That can happen in our lives as we try to live them for Christ. It can happen when a Church steps out and begins to strive for the Lord. Satan loves to misrepresent a believer’s motives. If that doesn’t work then he will try the last snare in his arsenal.
One of the best ways to keep a Christian from doing what they are supposed to do for the Lord is to sidetrack them. For some of us, that is an easy thing to do! I can be all ready to do one thing, go into the next room, and begin to do something entirely different! If I were a train, there would be a lot of derailments in my house! My boxcar gets switched easily. When mind games and misrepresentation doesn’t work, then Satan will try a more subtle tactic. He told Eve, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” (Genesis 3:4) We see the same snare being used against Nehemiah. Satan will try a…
III. Modification of Your Mission! (Vv. 10-14)
1. People who compromise in life will end up with a mutated faith!
1) Nehemiah could not be swayed to stop his rebuilding so his enemies decided to destroy his credibility by luring him into a compromising situation, “One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, ‘Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.’” (Nehemiah 6:10) They hired an “inside” man (v. 13). Claiming to be a prophet, he invited him into the temple area--a clear violation of God’s law (v. 12)! Nehemiah would not go inside (v. 11). Nehemiah refused to be manipulated by Shemaiah for Satan’s purposes!
2) Once, when Jesus was walking with his disciples he asked them who the people thought that he was. Peter answered that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). Just a short time later, however, when Jesus told them that he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die as the Messiah, Peter tried to tell that him that he didn’t have to die! Jesus realized that Satan was using Peter to try and modify his mission. He immediately rebuked Peter harshly by saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) This is what Nehemiah’s adversaries were guilty of as well! They wanted to modify Nehemiah’s mission! When Christians begin to live for the Lord, there will be all kinds of things or folks who will try to modify your mission!
EXAMPLE: As a new pastor, a young man had invited me to lunch. He wanted to know what my views on tithing were. I explained that God desires all of us. That the issue isn’t 10% or 30%, it is where our hearts are in Christ. He then asked me what I thought about a person who tithed regularly but put aside part their tithe on their own into “a separate bank account to do the Lord’s work.” It dawned on me that he had been putting aside part of his tithe into a savings account and collecting the interest for himself and then giving the money for what he wanted it used for instead of tithing! Satan had not only modified the mission, he had mutated the method! Satan loves to do this. He loves to use a half-truth in order to get God’s folks off track from the mission he has for them to do. Nehemiah not only refused the offer of sanctuary! Nehemiah then prayed for God’s protection.
Conclusion:
She knew eating the fruit was wrong. She knew it was wrong to get Adam involved as well. It seemed so innocent. God wouldn’t mind if they just ate one! After eating it she understood her mistake. She was ashamed of herself, of her nakedness, and now of her sin. She wanted to run and hide as far away as possible. Then God walked in the Garden. He looked for her, forgave her, and He took control of Satan’s snares. She would suffer the consequences, but God had a plan. As we build for the future, as we step out and follow Christ, we will become the target of his snares: Satan’s snare of manipulating our minds; the snare of misrepresenting our motives and the snare of modifying our mission. Nehemiah responded boldly, he refused his motives to be hampered, and he would not be a part of modifying the mission God had for his life! He prayed all the more for God’s guidance and help. How about you?
----
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
June 12, 2011 AM
When you’re ten years old, there is nothing better than trapping and catching your own wild animals! Now I am not advocating hurting God’s little creatures for fun, but when you’re 10 being a “big” game hunter is an adventure! My brother and I went after the wily chipmunk. Actually, it was my father’s fault. He was the one who showed us how to make the traps! We caught and released dozens of chipmunks that summer. The little guys never figured out the traps we prepared for them!
In our spiritual lives there are snares set for the unsuspecting as well and those that have no relationship with Christ fall easily into them. Sometimes, the strongest believer can be snared. Satan sets his snares well. In Nehemiah, we see several different types of these snares that were used to discourage God’s man and make him ineffective. The same snares are used on us today. When we know how Satan’s snares work we can avoid being trapped.
READ: Nehemiah 6:1-14
It is popular today to have an “open mind.” When someone wants you to compromise your faith, often he or she will usually say, “We need to be opened minded.” My father used to say that “Some people are so open minded that they left their brains on the sidewalk!” This false notion of being open-minded is the same satanic snare used on Eve when the snake coyly asks her “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) Those who wanted to ensnare Nehemiah used this argument as well. One of Satan’s snares is…
I. Manipulation of Our Mind! (Vv. 1-4)
1. Silly Putty is more than a toy--it can represent our willingness to be too open-minded!
1) When Nehemiah’s enemies could not discourage him through ridicule or physical threats, they resorted to manipulation. Nehemiah saw through their plans immediately. He writes, “When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: ‘Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.’ But they were scheming to harm me…” (Nehemiah 6:1-2) Nehemiah understood they were playing mind games with him and responded boldly to what was occurring!
2) Like Nehemiah, Paul understood Satan’s snare of manipulating our minds. He wrote that knowing about it was important “in order that Satan might not outwit (the Christian). For (he Paul) was not unaware of (Satan’s) schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) Paul also boldly responded to Satan’s manipulation like Nehemiah did! He would not let Satan gain a foothold! The same should be true for our lives in Christ. Paul reminds us that, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6) Why, because, “we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16) Believers should not allow Satan to manipulate their minds.
EXAMPLE: Someone once said, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” How correct they are when it is wasted playing senseless mind games! I remember one gentleman who was a devout man of God, but he thrived on worrying. If he didn’t have something to worry about, he was concerned that there was nothing happening! I’ve known others who always try to “second guess” another person’s motives. My Aunt wouldn’t use a certain serving tray a neighbor gave them because she was just “sure they did it in spite!” In spite of what, I never could figure out. Satan is always ready to exploit our psyches. He loves to mess with our minds! Nehemiah understood it and met it boldly!
I never realized that I was an extremist or a radical, did you? Yet we discover that anyone who is against abortion has been labeled such by certain politicians and the news media. How do you feel when you believe something is right, but others refuse to see it when they know that your motives are good? They not only refuse to see it, but they lead others into believing your motives are wrong! Just when God desires to do something great in the life of an individual or the Church Satan loves to exploit our intentions. Satan exploited God’s purposes when he told Eve, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4a) Another one of his favorite snares is the…
II. Misrepresentation of Our Motives! (Vv. 5-9)
1. Satan, like a corrupt lawyer, will always misinterpret the facts to fit their verdict!
1) When Nehemiah’s enemies realized that he would not leave Jerusalem (v. 5) and meet with them, they tried a different tactic. “Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written: ‘It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together.” (Nehemiah 6:5-7) When the truth did not work, they used lies and innuendoes! Notice the transition of their arguments:
1. First, they tried to suggest that they were trying to protect Nehemiah!
2. Then, they tried to get him to respond to fear!
3. Finally, some of the letter contained a partial truth. (Half a lie is still a lie!) Some zealous person may have announced that Nehemiah was like a king to Jerusalem and his adversaries used it as a threat! However, they knew Nehemiah would not do such a thing and risk the anger of the Babylonian king! It was a complete misrepresentation of Nehemiah’s motives!
2) Nehemiah would have none of it and he knew immediately where this came from, “I sent him this reply: ‘Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.’” (Nehemiah 6:8) In fact, he realized, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’ But I prayed, ‘Now strengthen my hands.’” (Nehemiah 6:9) Nehemiah confronts the issue and goes to God in prayer!
1. Jesus dealt with misrepresentation of His motives all throughout His ministry. He rebuked the Pharisees by telling them, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) and we will as well when we take a stand for our faith! People will misrepresent our motives!
EXAMPLE: My brother and I had been teasing one another all day long. (When you are bored, you do those kinds of things.) My Mom had had enough and she convinced Dad to send us to bed early. Being magnanimous, I decided to make peace with Ed. I took him a glass of water. Carrying the water to his bedside, I tripped and drenched him! Needless to say, we begin to have a rather dynamic and concerted discussion as to my real motives. Dad wasn’t interested. After cleaning up the water, and making Ed’s bed, I got a couple of swats. Talk about misrepresentation! Have you been misunderstood for doing what is right? That can happen in our lives as we try to live them for Christ. It can happen when a Church steps out and begins to strive for the Lord. Satan loves to misrepresent a believer’s motives. If that doesn’t work then he will try the last snare in his arsenal.
One of the best ways to keep a Christian from doing what they are supposed to do for the Lord is to sidetrack them. For some of us, that is an easy thing to do! I can be all ready to do one thing, go into the next room, and begin to do something entirely different! If I were a train, there would be a lot of derailments in my house! My boxcar gets switched easily. When mind games and misrepresentation doesn’t work, then Satan will try a more subtle tactic. He told Eve, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” (Genesis 3:4) We see the same snare being used against Nehemiah. Satan will try a…
III. Modification of Your Mission! (Vv. 10-14)
1. People who compromise in life will end up with a mutated faith!
1) Nehemiah could not be swayed to stop his rebuilding so his enemies decided to destroy his credibility by luring him into a compromising situation, “One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, ‘Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.’” (Nehemiah 6:10) They hired an “inside” man (v. 13). Claiming to be a prophet, he invited him into the temple area--a clear violation of God’s law (v. 12)! Nehemiah would not go inside (v. 11). Nehemiah refused to be manipulated by Shemaiah for Satan’s purposes!
2) Once, when Jesus was walking with his disciples he asked them who the people thought that he was. Peter answered that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). Just a short time later, however, when Jesus told them that he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die as the Messiah, Peter tried to tell that him that he didn’t have to die! Jesus realized that Satan was using Peter to try and modify his mission. He immediately rebuked Peter harshly by saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) This is what Nehemiah’s adversaries were guilty of as well! They wanted to modify Nehemiah’s mission! When Christians begin to live for the Lord, there will be all kinds of things or folks who will try to modify your mission!
EXAMPLE: As a new pastor, a young man had invited me to lunch. He wanted to know what my views on tithing were. I explained that God desires all of us. That the issue isn’t 10% or 30%, it is where our hearts are in Christ. He then asked me what I thought about a person who tithed regularly but put aside part their tithe on their own into “a separate bank account to do the Lord’s work.” It dawned on me that he had been putting aside part of his tithe into a savings account and collecting the interest for himself and then giving the money for what he wanted it used for instead of tithing! Satan had not only modified the mission, he had mutated the method! Satan loves to do this. He loves to use a half-truth in order to get God’s folks off track from the mission he has for them to do. Nehemiah not only refused the offer of sanctuary! Nehemiah then prayed for God’s protection.
Conclusion:
She knew eating the fruit was wrong. She knew it was wrong to get Adam involved as well. It seemed so innocent. God wouldn’t mind if they just ate one! After eating it she understood her mistake. She was ashamed of herself, of her nakedness, and now of her sin. She wanted to run and hide as far away as possible. Then God walked in the Garden. He looked for her, forgave her, and He took control of Satan’s snares. She would suffer the consequences, but God had a plan. As we build for the future, as we step out and follow Christ, we will become the target of his snares: Satan’s snare of manipulating our minds; the snare of misrepresenting our motives and the snare of modifying our mission. Nehemiah responded boldly, he refused his motives to be hampered, and he would not be a part of modifying the mission God had for his life! He prayed all the more for God’s guidance and help. How about you?
----
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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