Overcoming Opposition - Part 1
Nehemiah 4:1-9
Introduction
About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.
In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?
Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries. (Lynn Anderson)
When God’s people begin doing God’s will, in God’s way, there will be opposition. All you need do is read the great stories of victory in scripture and you will notice how many encountered opposition. The Lord Jesus Christ was constantly harassed and threatened by the people He came to deliver. If He experienced opposition then we surely will when we begin His work.
We are beginning the year with great victories, people are coming to receive the Lord, lives are being changed, the church is beginning to move on the vision God has given us, and yes, there has been opposition.
We have had our beloved church members in the hospital each week and others have been very ill. Since the beginning of the year we have had twenty of our members encounter major health issues. Most were hospitalized for at least a day. We have encountered fatigue. We even have some who have ridiculed our endeavors. We’ve had opposition.
We have the promise from our Lord telling us that not even the gates of hell shall prevail against His church. So, how do we overcome the obstacles and opposition we are sure to encounter?
The Israelites were building the wall. God had given Nehemiah a burden and mission. God had delivered everything to them so they could accomplish the task before them, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. He had enlisted the workers and they were all ready to begin. It was going to be smooth sailing, NOT. As soon as we finish the "role call" of workers in chapter 3, the obstacles and opposition began all over again.
Mocking & Ridicule
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 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?” v. 1-2
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!” v.4
The opposition was immediate. Sanballat and Tobiah out of anger began mocking and ridiculing the workers on the wall. They just would not go away. They definitely didn’t want to see them succeed. Whatever they could to prevent the wall from being built they were going to do.
Nehemiah had recognized God’s mighty hand upon him and the king fearing for his safety had sent soldiers to escort him to Jerusalem. The king knew there would be problems and did what he could to protect Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s faith in God and God’s miraculous workings are evident in the events of chapter two, but the last verse of the chapter says,
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
There wasn’t even time to shout hallelujah and the opposition began. One of the great truths of doing God’s will in our personal life and in our church life is (1) we can expect opposition. Whenever we begin to do His will our life will come under attack either physically, spiritually, or mentally.
Amazingly, the same individuals who knew the decision of the king to help Nehemiah are the same ones causing problems in Jerusalem. I would imagine that no matter where Nehemiah went these two detractors would have followed him.
One of my friends who pastored in the Phoenix area left to go do new work in another state. God had laid on his heart the desire to start new churches. The plans were laid for him to begin with the cooperation of two established churches. Funds and families were in place to further the kingdom.
As soon as he arrived to start the new work the associational mission director told him of opposition. One of his detractors in the Phoenix area had taken his vacation in the area where he was to start the work. The detractor met with each pastor of the cooperating churches. The man told all kinds of lies about him and eventually destroyed the beginning of new work. Satan had won.
Pray & Keep On Working
How do we overcome this type of opposition? What did they do? They prayed and continued working on the wall. It says,
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. 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. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. v. 4-6
They didn’t get worked up and begin to throw insults back. Nor did they throw rocks down to silence them permanently, (2) they prayed and kept on working even harder. They didn’t waste the emotional and physical energy on retaliation. If we would remember this simple rule we would last longer in our service to our Lord and save ourselves a lot of misery.
One of the reasons I think we are on the right track at WGBC is that we have already encountered obstacles and opposition. Sickness, exhaustion, frustration, and other tell tale signs indicate to me that we’re right where we should be, doing God’s will, in God’s time, in God’s way. I have learned as you may have over the years to expect it.
I like what the workers did, they worked even harder. They used that emotional energy on the wall. When you personally come under attack take the time to pray. Give the problem, insult, or whatever it is to the Lord in prayer and let Him deal with it. When Jesus encountered His greatest trail, the cross, He spent time before and during praying to the Father. How much more do we need to pray?
"Out of a very intimate acquaintance with D. L. Moody, I wish to testify that he was a far greater pray-er than he was preacher. Time and time again, he was confronted by obstacles that seemed insurmountable, but he always knew the way to overcome all difficulties. He knew the way to bring to pass anything that needed to be brought to pass. He knew and believed in the deepest depths of his soul that nothing was too hard for the Lord, and that prayer could do anything that God could do. " Torrey, R.A.
Threats and Plans
Did the opposition stop once they prayed and worked harder? No, unfortunately it didn’t stop for Nehemiah and the builders and many times it won’t stop for us either. As a matter of record, the opposition got angrier and more determined. It says,
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. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. v. 7-8
The opposition grew to an even greater strength to meet the builders renewed efforts to rebuild the wall. Not only was the opposition angry, they were very angry and added more to their ranks. They even plotted and drew up plans to destroy the wall. They began to threaten them physically if they continued working.
Hopefully none of us will be threatened with violence but there are great dangers to our faith and to this church. John Ortberg pinpoints this in his article, Taking Care of Busyness. He says, "For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them."
Pray and Post a Guard
What did the builders do? The builders prayed more and posted a guard. They didn’t ignore the threat, they took it seriously. The wall was going up stone by stone. It wasn’t finished. It wasn’t "strong" yet. It was vulnerable to attack and destruction. They needed to put watchmen at intervals to ensure protection for every section.
Our church is not building a physical wall so do we need to post guards? Yes, we too need to post a guard around our heart, mind and especially our tongue. The New Testament says that we are to allow the Lord to guard our hearts. Listen to the following verses.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians. 3:3
I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Timothy1:12
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 24
Did you notice the pattern? Pray and trust in the Lord to guard your heart and mind. We are to abide in Him. Be still and know He is God. As long as we are focused on Him, His will, His way, we will not be moved from the task at hand. He is our guard, our watchman.
As long as we allow Him to be our guard, our focus, our source of strength, we will be able to face and overcome all our obstacles. There will be all kinds of distractions. We can overcome by abiding in Him and His word and living and doing it in our lives. Will you join us in doing His will, His way, in this church?
Time of Decision
