Let’s read Neh 6:1-16
The devil is relentless when it comes to the destroying God’s work.
• Remember this, he never gives up. After one great event or a successful ministry, don’t let your guard down. It is not the end.
• We need to be as watchful after the victory as before the battle. For after one hurdle, we can expect to see another. After solving one problem, we will find another coming up. The fight goes on.
First it was ridicule, then come threats of violence, and then internal strife and now in Chapter 6, the enemy moved up a notch.
• At first they were coming against the work, and then against the people. Next the evil One caused strife within the wall, between the rich and poor.
• And now he is going to come at Nehemiah personally. You hit the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. You destroy the leader and the ministry collapse.
The Christian life is a battle from beginning to end. We need to be on our guard all the time, to watch and pray so that we do not fall into temptation.
• The devil tempted Jesus right at the beginning of His ministry. Luke 4:13 says “when the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” It is not the end; he is just waiting to strike again, another time.
The enemies did not give up. (1) They tried to DISTRACT him.
• …And lure him away from the work, which was almost completed, except for the doors in the gates.
• They say, “Let’s talk and work something out. Let’s meet at the plain of Ono” which is 30-40km away from Jerusalem.
• Four times they dangled the bait before his eyes, but each time Nehemiah refused to give in. He knew it was a scheme to harm him.
Nehemiah chose to keep to God’s agenda for him.
• He says in verse 3: “I am carrying on a great project, and I cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” I am doing a great work that should not be stopped!
• If we have such a conviction, we would be able stick with what God wants us to do, no matter what.
It’s a challenge to keep to God’s agenda; we are confronted by many distractions.
Distractions will come, disguised as harmless options or even good things.
• We will be tempted to go along with what everyone else is doing, rather than what God wants us to do.
• Even a simple thing like turning the computer on and checking emails can become a distraction. Even reading Facebook can become an addiction. Or playing with the iPhone.
In her book, “A Practical Guide to Prayer,” Dorothy Haskins shares a tip that she learnt, from a noted concert violinist, about the secret of her mastery of the instrument.
This is what she said, “There are many things that used to demand my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted, and did whatever seemed necessary. When I finished my work, I turned to my violin practice. That system prevented me from accomplishing what I should on the violin. So I reversed things. I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was complete. And that program of planned neglect is the secret to my success.”
Haskins says we need to prioritize and do what is important. We need ‘planned neglect’. Learn to drop that which is not important. To know where our priorities are and stick with them.
• Nehemiah ignored what these people were suggesting. It was deliberate.
• If we don’t practice some “planned neglect” of some things, even good things, we will be distracted from God’s best.
Remember, God has called us to a great task! It is worth all our time and energy!
There was a missionary in China whose talents and abilities were so outstanding that one of the American companies tried to hire him. They offered him an attractive job with a salary to match, but he turned it down. He told them that God had sent him to China as a missionary.
He thought that would end the matter, but instead they came back with a better offer and an increase in salary. He turned that down too, but again they came back, doubling the financial package.
Finally he said to them, “It’s not your salary that’s too little. It’s the job that’s too small!”
We have all been called to a great task – one that we want to prioritize.
• God can make a difference in our world THROUGH us IF we stick to God’s calling and His purpose for our lives.
• This is what makes life really significant.
• As a church, we are committed to P.O.W.E.R – seeking God in prayer, touching lives through outreach, encountering God in worship, equipping everyone to serve, building warm relationship with one another.
Nehemiah knew what was important. Am I going to leave this great work and go down to you?
• So he planned this neglect – he ignored their invitation - four times. He is not going to forsake a great work for anything less.
• What has been distracting you from God, from doing His will?
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The enemy failed to move Nehemiah, so on the 5th time Sanballat sent an unsealed letter (open letter, designed for everyone to read), basically telling the world that Nehemiah was plotting a revolt and planning to make himself King of Judah.
(2) They tried to DEFAME him.
• And Geshem says it is true – one of their own gang putting a rubber stamp to it!
• Outrageous, but that’s what defamation does right? You don’t need any proof.
• You don’t need them to be true. Rumours, gossips or slander needs no proof. You just need to say it and spread it. It can be simply something “you just make it up out of your head.” (v.8)
The intention was clear – accusing Nehemiah of treason would cause the King of Persia to clamp down on him. He would have to talk terms with the enemies.
• But he did not buckle even under such pressure. He knew the false accusations were there to intimidate him and weaken his resolve.
• Verse 9: “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”
• The people will start to think that their leader had some hidden motive, lose their trust in him and quit the work.
But Nehemiah knew that his character was transparent before the people, and no honest person would believe the false reports.
• Nehemiah: But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”
• If we take care of our character, we can trust God to take care of our reputation.
• The thing that truly destroys us will not be gossips or rumours, but our character. Watch that and get back to doing God’s work.
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(3) They tried to DISCREDIT him.
Once again the enemy switches his game plan in verse 10.
• Nehemiah went to the house of Shemaiah who was shut in at his home (probably because of pretended fear on his part).
• The prophet: “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.”
• This false prophet claims to have hidden knowledge. What he says sounds possible: “Some people are out to get you. They are going to kill you.”
Let’s hide in the temple (meaning the Holy Place) – sounds good but it would be a violation of the Temple Law, which permits only the priests to enter the Holy Place.
• Nehemiah would have sinned if he enters the Holy Place.
• He would be seen as abandoning God’s work for his own safety, and leaving the people to fend for themselves.
Nehemiah detected something was wrong.
• He realized that this man was not a prophet of God, but a false prophet hired by Tobiah and Sanballat.
• Verse 13: “He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.”
This is the principle we must hold on to - any thoughts or suggestions that are contrary to God’s Word can never be from God.
• If Nehemiah falls for his trap, he would lose all credibility before God and before men. He would have lost his leadership and authority before the people.
Nehemiah prayed (6:14), “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.”
• There was a conspiracy against him even among the prophets. This created a great deal of pressure for Nehemiah (people had great respect for their prophets).
• He was outnumbered, yet he stood his ground. He as a layman opposed by a body of “professionals”, yet he refused to give in.
• He wasn’t frightened. He prayed and left the matter with God. We FEAR GOD, not men.
Nehemiah showed courage in doing what was right, despite the very difficult circumstances.
• Someone says this is courage – it is not the absence of fear, but the tenacity to do that which is right, to do God’s will, no matter what.
• If this is courage, then a coward will be one who succumbs to doing the wrong things, because they are afraid people do not like them or will not accept them, they want to flow with the crowd, and please everybody, because they are ashamed to do the godly thing and be known as Christians.
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This brings us to the end of this first phase of Nehemiah’s work in verses 15-16: “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in 52 days. When all our enemies heard about this and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”
• Even their enemies had to admit that God was at work! This entire project was finished in just 52 days!
• What a testimony! The work itself testifies for God.
PRAYER
As we close this morning, let’s ask God to apply this passage to our lives.
1. Practice saying YES to God’s priorities.
The best way to not be distracted is by being attracted to those things that are close to God’s heart. It is not a one-time thing; we need to do it often. What do you think are God’s priorities for your life? What are you hearing today? Don’t let anything derail us from God’s agenda.
2. Practice saying NO to the devil’s distractions.
I don’t know what distractions you’re faced with – TV, internet, facebook, iPhone, iPad, or is it your friend, money? Nehemiah says, “I will not go down to you”, “I will not go!” What are some things you really need to say NO to?
Rev Christian Cheong
Kim Tian Christian Church
6 March 2011
