Text: Nehemiah 4:1-23, Title: Battling Opposition in Life, Date/Place: NRBC, 9/30/07, AM
A. Opening illustration: see bottom of page, Someone said that you can only tell what a leader is made of when he faces opposition,
B. Background to passage: After the rebuilding of the walls commences in chapter three, and the word gets around, those with a vested interest in Nehemiah’s and Israel’s failure began to organize the opposition. And you know in life, any kind of rebuilding, whether in business, or in a marriage, or in a church will bring out those that oppose. In fact, I might even say that if there is no opposition, either your not rebuilding enough, or people just don’t care one way or the other. So this is the first of several instances where Nehemiah demonstrates for us how do deal with opposition in life.
C. Main thought: The opposition that Nehemiah will show us how to face will primarily be from without today.
A. Fighting Ridicule (v. 1-6)
1. This is about the third time that we have seen ol’ Sanballat. And it is clear that he doesn’t want Jerusalem to be rebuilt. And in his anger and jealousy, he began to mock God’s people and incite others to do so as well. Mocking and ridicule is a fairly effective tool, because it hits at the insecurities that really underlie much of our lives. The Jews were a feeble people, the task was overwhelming, was God really going to help them, if not, they would fail. He questioned their ability, their faith, and their motivation. But notice what Nehemiah did, and what he didn’t do. He didn’t fire back a barrage of harsh words. He went to prayer and kept working.
2. Pro 18:21, Eph 4:29, Matt 5:10-12, 44, Ps 35:4-8, 59:5-13, 58:6-8, 69:22-28, 140:10, 139:19
3. Illustration: “I followed your advice for three nights, but my conscience began to bother me because I was betraying my Lord. So I began to kneel down as I did before.” “And what happened?” “I was really amazed. Not a single fellow ridiculed me. Now the fifteen men in my tent kneel down with me, and I pray aloud for all of them.”
4. Let this be a lesson to us not to act under the influence of anger and jealousy. Take some time, think things through, and don’t say things that God may make you regret. Be careful who you recruit to join you in your sin. Be careful with the words you say. We all face ridicule from time to time. Young people, if you are living radically for Jesus, you may face it the most. How do we handle it? Refuse to retaliate. Vengeance is the Lord’s, He will repay. Go to God in prayer, acknowledge their words, your pain, and refocus on the glory of Christ. And remember there is a place for imprecatory psalms in prayer. But make sure your motivation is right, the glory of God and the furtherance of His work should be at stake, and not just your wounded pride. Then after prayer, we must move along. Do the mental labor of dispersing recurring thoughts of those hurtful words in our memory. Words do hurt, but our confidence is not to be found in the approval of others, but in Christ Jesus our Lord.
B. Fighting Threats (v. 7-9)
1. When Sanballat realized that demoralization wasn’t working, he decided to crank up the heat. And at this point the Jews were about half-way through the project. A potentially discouraging time. He recruited a surrounding force, and began to plan an attack. Usually those who really oppose the work of God have no problem turning to violence to thwart the plan of God. And so from every side they began to launch terrorist style attacks against the workers. And so Nehemiah trained a sniper force to kill them—NOPE. He prayed. Then he took some practical steps, they posted guards to help watch for sneak attacks.
2. Psa 27:1-3, 46:1-2, 56:2-4, 118:6, Rom 8:31-37, Heb 10:34
3. Illustration: the teaching of karate for defense in the Karate Kid, Jim Cymbala’s story about the attacks from all sides upon the early days of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, tell about the missionary in Bangladesh whose daughter’s life was threatened for the conversions of muslims, and our prayer, tell about the inner city pastor who was tired of potential staff asking about the safety of their family first,
4. Prayer is probably the most underused defense and support with opposition comes. However, it is the most significant weapon, because it implores the greatest of all Defenders to come to our aid. And it should be our first option upon the threat of violence. We must take practical steps to protect ourselves and our people. But remember there are no guarantees of protection for Christians. And then, much like with ridicule, you forgive, and move on with the work. And if violence comes, our foundation for joy in the Christian life is God Himself, and suffering cannot harm that. So plant your joy firmly in salvation and be willing to part with goods and kindred for the joy in Christ. Carry on now!
C. Fighting Fatigue (v. 10-15)
1. The next opposition that came was from a combination of factors. The people became weary and worried. And the concern came from those who dealt too close to the enemy. So Nehemiah reorganized the people into family fighting groups, which was the traditional way to do things in Israel. He moved the people away from the enemy. Then he reminded them of their motivation—the glory of the Lord in this generation and in the next. He exhorted this to stop being afraid. He turned their attention back to the Lord strong and mighty who fights for them. He reminded them of their priorities.
2. Neh 8:10, Heb 12:2, 10:35-39, Mark 14:38, Ps 73:26, Rom 8:11, Ps 78, 5-8
3. Illustration: As the great coach Vince Lombardi once said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." The aging Castro knows that in order to keep his regime alive, he must pass the torch of communism to the next generation. He knows that if he fails to teach Cuba’s children the communist worldview, his revolution
will eventually die out. So Castro has been training his country’s children to pick up the torch of communism and carry it into the future “One who receives this Word, and by it salvation, receives along with it the duty of passing this Word on…Where there is no mission there is no Church, and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith.”
4. When we have need of endurance, we must look to Christ, and let Him minister through us. Our flesh and heart may fail us but never our Redeemer. Let God be your sustenance! Let Him be your Rock! Minister in the power of His Spirit. If your strength is failing you may be dwelling too close to the enemy. When we get too close to the influence of the world, it will weaken our resolve over time. You may have subtle worldly influences that are slowly chipping away at your faith—hobbies, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, coworkers, possessions, occupations, etc. Sometimes you have to get the rubbish out of the way before you can really continue the work of rebuilding. When you get fatigued as a parent, as a worker, as a teacher, or as a coach, or as a friend, remember the Lord. Meditate upon the glory of God; rely upon His strength and power. And remember that the goal of your life is to leave and eternal mark. The purpose of family and marriage is not simply to have a good environment to rear children, but to pass on the faith to the next generations. Parents, grandparents, church, neighbors, if you fail at the passing of the faith, it doesn’t matter how much money we leave or what plaque we have our name on. Fight for your family and the passing of the faith within it! Fathers, you have a special responsibility in this matter.
D. Fighting Spiritual Stupor (v. 16-23)
1. After dealing with fatigue in the ranks, Nehemiah had to adjust their strategy for the long-term completion of the project somewhat. Now everyone would have to do double duty. Half the time you work and half the time you guard. The protection detail was vital to the survival of the wall project. And since there were half the man hours now going into the wall, everyone was going to have to work twice as hard to complete the wall. And whenever you hear the trumpet everyone gather to it and see God fight for us.
2. Rom 12:1-2, 13:11, Jam 1:25, 1 Thess 5:8,
3. Illustration: our famous Tifton philosopher Mr. Benny says, “a little hard work never hurt nobody,” “a lot of times the difference in whether a church grows or not is simply whether people work hard at it,” MacArthur, the Crown Road Map, talking to Dewayne the other night about what his goals and plans need to include,
4. Peace in your life can lead to losing your alertness spiritually if you don’t have benchmarks. Do you have indicators in your life that give boundaries to spiritual growth and progress? Things like your daily time in the word, or scriptures that you memorize, or books that you read, or sermons that you hear. Are there things that indicate a drift or laziness in your walk? Do you have friends that will ask you the difficult questions spiritually? This is all part of renewing your mind so that it doesn’t conform to the world. And the second best way to stay spiritually alert is to work hard at it. Are there areas of service in your life, not necessarily just at the church? Do you ever have to put forth effort in your Christian life, or it is a life of the Christian Disney World, and you only go when its convenient, and you feel like it costs you. Living the Christian life is hard work if you are going to do it well. And finally do you have a plan to accomplish your goal? Goal-setting is a part of the ministry process.
A. Closing illustration: Young William Wilberforce was discouraged one night in the early 1790s after another defeat in his 10 year battle against the slave trade in England. Tired and frustrated, he opened his Bible and began to leaf through it. A small piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. It was a letter written by John Wesley shortly before his death. Wilberforce read it again:
"Unless the divine power has raised you up... I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that (abominable practice of slavery), which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Oh, be not weary of well-doing. Go on in the name of God, and in the power of His might."
B. Recap
C. Opening ill-When I think of risk, I think of the story of Lucinda Williams who was a Missouri woman who moved to Dallas back in the mid-1800’s. When she moved to Dallas, she asked her landlady if there was a Baptist church in town. The landlady said there was no Baptist church in town and she hoped there never would be. That day, Williams decided that if she were going to live there, she would attend a Baptist church. She learned that on three other occasions, people had tried to start a Baptist church. All three times, they had failed. She continued to run into opposition. But she was determined to take a risk.
Finally, On July 20, 1868, she and her husband, seven other women, and two other men organized a Baptist church. During the first few years, it looked as if they wouldn’t survive. They had no building; they had no money, they had little support. But Lucinda continued. She formed the church’s Sunday School. She began a mission society through the church. Five years after they began, she convinced the women of the church to personally collect over $600. Now you can imagine how much $600 was worth 125 years ago. Because of her dedication to the mission; because of her willingness to risk, she was able to plant the seeds that began The First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. That church later would become one of the largest church in the world.
"You have established a new relationship with the powers of darkness. Whatever you were before you were a Christian- straight, horoscope reader, witch, warlock, or satanist- you are now a sworn foe of the legions of hell. Have no delusions about their reality or their hostility, but do not fear them. The God inside you terrifies them. They cannot hurt you, let alone hurt you, but they can still seduce, and they will try. They will also oppose you as you obey Christ. If you play it cool and decide not to be a fanatic about Christianity, you will have no trouble from them. But if you are serious about Christ being your Lord and God, you can expect opposition." Quote from John White
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
