This is the fifth installment of the Faith in Challenging Times series.
Neh 4:1-23 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, (2) and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?" (3) Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building--if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!" (4) 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. (5) 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. (6) So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. (7) 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. (8) They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. (9) But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. (10) 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." (11) 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." (12) Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us." (13) Therefore I tationed 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. (14) 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." (15) 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. (16) 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 (17) who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, (18) and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. (19) Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. (20) Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!" (21) So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. (22) At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day." (23)
Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.
We are living in exciting and challenging times.
At the age of 12, Igor Sarkovsky was told flight is impossible. He made the first helicopter. According to recognized aero technical tests, the bumble bee cannot fly. The bumble bee doesn’t know that and it goes on the fly.
In our marketplace, we face opposition. We are told things cannot be done. We have opposition even before we start. Aristotle said we can avoid opposition by saying nothing and doing nothing.
As long as we live with one foot in the world, the enemy doesn’t bother with us. The minute we commit ourselves with commitment to do God’s work, the enemy will oppose us. Satan doesn’t mind when the church just gather for worship and perhaps a soothing sermon
When the church tries to be true to Jesus Christ, it can expect opposition. When the church reaches out to the unreached group, watch out.
The Kinds of Oppositions
- The Anger of others against you (v1a, 7) – Sanbalat was an official in Samaria. He probably was threatened by a possible independent Israel. He threatened to stop the rebuilding the wall with violence if necessarily.
- Ridicule and sarcasm (v2) – they called the Jews feeble. Sanbalat might have spoken some half-truths. Tobiah’s mockery. He criticized Gods’s war.
- Threats and intimidation.
- Discouragement and fatigues
- Negativism
- Fear
The apostles were warned not to preach.
The Response to Opposition
The options:- run from it
- dodge it
- work out a compromise
- work through it
“You can do more the pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” John Bunyan.
Nehemiah’s response
He prays
- This is not a prayer for personal vengeance
- There is a place for righteous anger. “When God is mocked, it ought to make us angry. There should be things that make us hot and bothered!” ~C. S. Lewis. Prayer should be our first response to oppositions
They put their hearts into the work
- Refuse to be distracted (tv show that must be watched, emails that must be replied, tweets and blog / FB posts that must be read.) These may not necessarily be bad but they may not be the best for us.
- Don’t spend time with critics. The Panama Canal is one of the most complex engineering project undertaken in human history. It connects the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. 20 to 30 thousands died of malaria. The engineer was resolute and work on. He was asked whether he was going to answer his critics. He said in time, with the canal. Since it was ready, more than 1 million vessels have passed through the canal. Albert Einstein’s doctorate dissertation was turned down by the University of Burn as irrelevant.
They kept their eyes on the enemies in vigilance
Pastor Kee called this sanctified common sense. He was alert and vigilant. He armed the workers. He didn’t just pray and let it be. He knew that God would protect them but he set up watch anyway. Not only that, he also set up a monitoring system.When there is an area of concerned in our Christian walk, we need to post guards and watch it until we can walk in victory in that area consistently. The guards kept their clothes on so they are always prepared. This is the level of vigilance we need to have. Set up a defense mechanism. Block opportunities for unhealthy activities. Have an accountability group. To be oblivious to the enemies is to be vulnerable and to ask for trouble.
They kept their mind focused on the Lord
When opposition hits, it’s easier for us to get our focus of God and on to our problems.When our problems seem big, we need to remember our God is great. Our God is greater than any challenges we can face in our lives. Our God is bigger than our problems. He is bigger than our critics. He is bigger than our enemies.
What seems to be an impossible task in the beginning became very possible when the people depended on God.
No comments:
Post a Comment