Overcoming Opposition - Part 2
Nehemiah 4:10-23
Introduction
Nehemiah was facing opposition and obstacles. He had heard the news of the destroyed wall of Jerusalem. He had immediately prayed seeking God’s will and strength. When Artexerxes asked what he could do, Nehemiah was faced with doubt and fear. But our God is faithful and the king gave Nehemiah all he asked for and more when he took that step of faith.
Each time Nehemiah took a step or leap of faith he was met with some form of opposition. He had experienced fear, ridicule, mocking, and physical threats. Each time he met the opposition with prayer. The threats continued from the opposition. Like a bad cold, they wouldn’t go away.
Nehemiah has taught us that anytime we begin to do God’s will in our life or the life of the church (1) we will encounter opposition. We have also seen that (2) Nehemiah and the builders by prayer and faith had not stopped their work on the wall when they did encounter trouble. Thus far, they have overcome each of the obstacles from the opposition.
The California coast was shrouded in fog the morning of July 4, 1952. Twenty-one miles to the west, on Catalina Island, a thirty-four year old woman waded into the water and began swimming toward California. She was determined to be the first woman to ever swim the twenty-one mile strait. Her name was Florence Chadwick. She had already finished an accomplished swim in the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that morning and the fog was so thick that Chadwick could hardly see the boats in her own party. They were there to scare away the sharks. As the hours ticked off, she swam on. Fatigue had never been a serious problem; it was only the bone chilling cold of the water that was threatening.
More than fifteen hours later, numbed with the cold, the swimmer asked to be taken out. She couldn’t go on any longer. Her mother and her trainer, in a boat alongside her, urged Florence to go on, as they were getting closer to the shore. Yet all she could see was the dense fog.
A few minutes later, the swimmer was taken out of the water, and later, realizing she had been within a half-mile of the shore, she blurted out, "I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the shore, I might have made it."
Florence Chadwick had been licked, not by the cold or even by the fatigue, but by the fog! The fog had obscured her goal; it had blinded her reason and her eyes. (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael P. Green, p. 165-166).
Fatigue
Nehemiah was about to face one of the most prevalent dangers a church or individual will encounter while accomplishing God’s will. Like Florence Chadwick, Nehemiah and the builders were coming to that point of any task where hearts begin to grow weary and doubt begins to creep in.
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.” v.10
Our most notorious industrial accidents in recent years—Exxon Valdez, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, the fatal navigational error of Korean Air Lines 007—all occurred in the middle of the night. When the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian A300 airbus killing all 290 people aboard, fatigue-stressed operators in the high-tech Combat Information Center on the carrier misinterpreted radar data and repeatedly told their captain the jet was descending as if to attack when in fact the airliner remained on a normal flight path.
In the Challenger space shuttle disaster, key NASA officials made the ill-fated decision to go ahead with the launch after working twenty hours straight and getting only two to three hours of sleep the night before. Their error in judgment cost the lives of seven astronauts and nearly killed the U.S. space program. We ignore our need for rest and renewal at the peril of others and ourselves. (Martin Moore-Ede. In The Twenty Four Hour Society.)
Some one started a false belief long ago about our living life in Jesus. It says that you don’t need to be concerned with rest, rely on the Lord and just keep going.
As believers we’ve read Ecclesiastes 9:10 that said, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." A "strong" believer should be like the energizer bunny. You keep going and going and going........
Wrong! The Lord Jesus left the needy masses to take time to be refreshed. He constantly left everything and everyone to seek rest and refreshment before the Father. How much more do we need to be rested and refreshed? Far too many falter because of this misunderstanding of God’s Word.
Fatigue always comes with its’ partner, fear. When you get tired even the smallest obstacle seems large. We are more susceptible to fear when we are tired. As the great coach Vince Lombardi once said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." The combination of the two can be most devastating. We will burn out like a bottle rocket and come crashing to the earth. How do we overcome the problems of fatigue and fear?
Pray and Post
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
Again, the process of protection and recovery begins with prayer. It seems this is a theme in all of scripture. My favorite verse to remind me of this truth is found in Isaiah. Verse 40:31 says,
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
This passage doesn’t mean that you can run all day and night, or for that matter walk all day and night and not get tired or fatigued, nor will you take off and soar like Superman. One commentary explained it perfectly.
Here it (strength) is evidently used in the sense of renewing, or causing to revive; to increase, and to restore that which is decayed. It means that the people of God who trust in him shall become strong in faith; able to contend with their spiritual foes, to gain the victory over their sins, and to discharge aright the duties, and to meet aright the trials of life. God gives them strength, if they seek him in the way of his appointment—a promise which has been verified in the experience of his people in every age. (Barnes Notes on the Old Testament)
Our hope is where it’s always been, in the Lord. He is where we are to turn when we grow weary and anxious. It is at His altar we come to be refreshed. The Living Water and the Bread of Life are ours for the asking. All we need to do is come to the table in prayer and thanksgiving recognizing Him as our source for all our needs.
We go forth not in our own power but the Lord’s. Trust in Him every step of the way knowing that He will provide the power, protection, and provisions to do His will against insurmountable odds. Nehemiah and the builders trusted and hoped in the Lord and they kept working but they also rested in shifts.
Internal Turmoil
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.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” v. 11
The message that was told ten times over was they are coming to kill you while you sleep, when you least expect it. Nehemiah and the builders received the news from the Jews living in the outlying areas near the opponents camp.
The Arabs, Ammonites, and the Philistines of Ashdod were planning to attack Jerusalem before the wall was completed. They would be able to take the city by surprise, before the completion and the wall was strengthened, and destroy Jerusalem again.
I was in the north of England in 1881, when a fearful storm swept over that part of the country. A friend of mine, who was a minister at Evemouth, had a great many of the fishermen of the place in his congregation. It had been very stormy weather, and the fishermen had been detained in the harbor for a week.
One day, however, the sun shone out in a clear blue sky; it seemed as if the storm had passed away, and the boats started out for the fishing ground. Forty-one boats left the harbor that day.
Before they started, the harbor-master hoisted the storm signal, and warned them of the coming tempest. He begged of them not to go; but they disregarded his warning, and away they went. They saw no sign of the coming storm. In a few hours, however, it swept down on that coast and very few of those fishermen returned. There were five or six men in each boat, and nearly all were lost in that dreadful gale. In the church of which my friend was pastor, I believe there were three male members left. Those men were ushered into eternity because they did not give heed to the warning. (Moody’s Anecdotes, Page 115-116.)
Nehemiah received the warning, "You’re surrounded!" For anyone, those are frightful words. They are enough to cause fear and trembling to the most trained of soldiers. Nehemiah and the builders had to deal with essentially those words. Fortunately Nehemiah heeded the warning as he had before.
Review and Renewal
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 fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” V. 14
Nehemiah took steps to ensure that the enemy would not triumph at this important juncture. First, he took a walk and reviewed their plan and work. He saw who was stationed where, he made sure each section had the proper armaments, and he made sure that the men were aware of what might happen. He went out like a good leader and walked among the soldiers.
Secondly, he reviewed their source of purpose and strength. It was not his task they were doing it was God’s. He is the one who would give them strength and assurance and it is He who will never fail. It is He who is great and awesome and He would ultimately protect them. It is about God, not us.
Finally, they renewed their efforts to build the wall. They had taken their break time, been revived, and now it was time to get back into the work.
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. v. 15
Two years ago the Commandant of the Marine Corps stood before the graduating class of officers from Quantico. He reminded them of the proud traditions of the Marine Corps. He reminded them of their loyalty to God, country, and Corps. He also reminded them of the great sacrifices made by the men who wore the uniform of a United States Marine and the sacrifice they might ultimately be called on to make.
To each one of the graduates he gave advice derived from countless experiences and situations. All of it was essential to winning in battle. Their life, and the lives of those who were about to serve with them counted on whether or not they remembered the pearls of wisdom they had learned.
Out of all the things he said I only remember one statement absolutely without flaw. I had not intended to memorize it but it made perfect sense. "Never go into an hour long battle with 10 minutes worth of ammunition."
How many believers do you know that go into battle with little or no ammunition? Too many people walk into the world without any ammunition. They do not walk with the "sword of the spirit", and they go in their own strength. Many do not come to worship to be reminded it’s not about them but God.
I trust that we are all about God this morning. It is our purpose to do His purpose and will. And we do it trusting and relying on Him all the way. Without Him we walk into the world defenseless, without ammunition. Are you ready to take on the Lord’s work here at WGBC in His power and protection?
Time of Decision
