Session Three: Believing God’s Faithfulness
Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 4
A Word to Session Leaders
This third session is all about the faithfulness of God. At the same time, I want to take an opportunity to speak from one teacher/pastor to another as I express my gratitude for your own commitment and faithfulness to teaching the Word of God. I have often shared that it’s easy to write sermons/messages, but it is very difficult to write good sermons/messages. Thank you for your commitment to studying and preparing weekly for leading this in your own small group. I pray that these sessions have been a blessing in your own journey of faith.
Introduction to Session Three
In the third session, we are moving into Nehemiah 4. As you move through the book of Nehemiah, you will notice that chapter 3 covers all of the workers that were involved in the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. So for the sake of moving ahead in this journey, this week will go beyond that chapter to the point where Nehemiah is speaking once again with the people on the ground. As we study together this week, I believe you will see again and again the faithfulness of God no matter the obstacle.
Referring the Group to the “Rebuilding Faith” Diagram
Diagram available at http://www.michaelrhodge.com
Take a moment at the beginning of this third session to once again familiarize your group members with the “Rebuilding Faith” Diagram. By the end of this series, group members should be able to fairly well recite the key words for each step. Being able to do this will increase the likelihood that this material will come to mind again as your group members face struggles of faith in the future.
Quick Review
In our last session, you’ll remember that Nehemiah faced a decision. Would he remain in the comfort of the palace or would he step out by faith in order to be God’s tool for restoring the focus of His people? And the parallel application that I hope you gathered last week is that we all face that same decision. Will we remain where it’s comfortable in our faith…or will we step out? Will we ask God what is that NEXT step in our faith, or will we be content to stay right where we are?
And so this week, we’re moving beyond where we are personally falling short in our faith to that pivotal point where we decide if we are going to trust in God’s faithfulness. And the reason that this is such an important part of our journey is because our belief in God’s faithfulness determines EVERYTHING about how we move forward in these 7 steps.
• If I believe that God is faithful no matter the obstacle/challenge I face, then I’ll lean on Him daily.
• If I believe that God is faithful in using folks just like each of us, then I’ll open my eyes to those opportunities that come my way on a daily basis!
So everything in our study today is supporting that ONE key truth – Believing God’s Faithfulness.
And the first thing that I want us to see in this session is this…
I. God is Faithful to Meet us Right Where we Are
Key Scripture: Nehemiah 4:1-3
After your group reads Nehemiah 4:1-3, take a moment to discuss the question below.
Discussion Starter: As we consider our first point – “God meets us right where we are” – what clues do you find in verses 1-3 to tell you how would you describe the situation in Jerusalem still?
Possible Answers: The walls were still not rebuilt. They weren’t very impressive yet (a fox could break them).
Well as we move through our 3rd session, we’re going to definitely see progress, but we begin by noticing that all was not well so far in the world of Nehemiah!
Surveying the Characters
As our group looks at these first few verses, our attention is drawn back to the first session. You may remember from our first session that Sanballat was one of the Persian officials residing in Judea and he served in a “governor” type role. And so while the king may have been alright with this rebuilding project, the local leaders weren’t. And with good reason – it threatened their grip on the people! And that fear is demonstrated in the response of Sanballat. Vs. 1 says, “he was furious and very indignant”.
(Insert your own illustration here along the same idea and point)…
Imagine this scene. Imagine my son (who is 8) is going around telling everyone that he was going to destroy me in a game of basketball. I mean he’s going to embarrass me big time! But then I get word of his big talk. Now am I going to be furious that he’s saying this about our future game? Of course not! Why? Well, it’s because at least for right now…there’s no chance that he’s actually going to beat me. Now that will change very quickly in the years to come…but for now his words would be empty.
Well as word has traveled that the Jews are about to begin their rebuilding project, we have to ask ourselves, “Why was this a threatening proposition to Sanballat and Tobiah?”
You see, as he meets with his military leaders, he tries to paint the Jews as the underdogs. He says that they were (1) feeble, (2) the task was too big, (3) the materials were inadequate (4) and then Tobiah added…it will never last. In other words…there was nothing to worry about! And yet Sanballat WAS worried.
We might conclude from those 4 key points that even Sanballat apparently didn’t believe his own words!
• Instead of considering them feeble, he feared their possible strength.
• Instead of a task too big, he feared that they might rise to the challenge.
And on and on Sanballat dismissed the Jews, but his fear shone through anyway. Even Sanballat could see that there was something about this group. They were capable of great things! And because of that fact…I believe he was worried! And so that’s the setting of the leaders in the region…but where we need to focus our attention is on God’s followers! As we consider this idea that “God meets us right where we are”…how does that apply to Nehemiah and the Jews that had returned to the land?
a. God meets us where we are when we feel inadequate for the task.
One word that captures well the whole of what was taking place in our story is the word “Inadequate”.
The word inadequate is defined as, “insufficient or lacking”. We might argue that the Jews felt as if they were lacking what was necessary to complete the task (this will show up as we get to vs. 10).
Their inadequacy was a personal battle, their materials were inadequate, and the long-term success of their work seemed inadequate as Tobiah accused them of building a substandard wall!
Key Thought: But as we consider their situation, their inadequacy for the task can be seen in a good way. In many ways, that’s a good place to start to be used by God. You see, it’s when we feel inadequate that God is most able to do His work.
Group Discussion Time
Invite your group members to share some examples that come to their minds when they consider examples of inadequate characters in the Bible. Who comes to mind when we speak of someone that felt inadequate for the task?
Possible Responses: Abraham (he brought along Lot and all the family).
Moses (he had Aaron join him for the journey as the spokesperson).
Esther (she tried 3 different times to get a meeting with the king).
Disciples (I think we see examples where most of the disciples went through this emotion).
Paul (I have not attained all these things…but I press on).
Purpose of Discussion
There are lots of examples in God’s Word of folks that felt inadequate for the task, but what we need to clearly see is the fact that God used them mightily for His glory! And so as inadequate as we may feel at times – God meets us right where we are.
Here in the story of Nehemiah, they are about to begin the good work of rebuilding, but as they set their hands to the work…the opposition was clear. And what the encountered was this truth…
b. God meets us where we are when the stones of our past discourage us.
Depending upon which version of the Bible your group is using, vs. 2 may convey a little different message. In our own study we were using the New King James Version. But one of the versions that I used in preparing this lesson (NASB) rendered vs. 2 in this way…
“What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?”
That’s a powerful image. “Can they revive the stones?”
Considering the Meaning of the Stones
As we consider the scenery there in Jerusalem, there lying around them were stones which conveyed a story from all of their pasts. These weren’t just ANY stones. These stones would have reminded them of the judgment of God, of their own rebellion, and their own unfaithfulness.
Let’s face it, the reason they are having to REBUILD this wall is because God’s people had not yielded to His warnings of the captivity judgment. And so the walls are down because of their own choices (or those of their ancestors). And yet when the stones might have pointed to their past…God was about to use those same stones to turn them towards their future!
Focal Truth: And aren’t we glad GOD can do just that…using what were stones of brokenness and turning that into new opportunities to serve Him and bring honor to His Name!
Stones from the Past
Spend a moment allowing your group to share their own insights regarding this image of “Stones from the Past”. It is very likely that each of your group members have some stones from their past that they would rather pulverize than think about again! But at the same time, it may very well be that God has used some of those broken stones to rebuild faith.
Open the discussion by asking if there is anything from a group members’ past that might have been painful, but God has used that painful experience to minister to someone else.
Closing the Discussion: Close the discussion and return to the study with this statement: God can use the broken stones of our own lives to BUILD US into the servants of God that HE can use! Paul said this in Romans 8…
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28
Observation: Paul doesn’t say that the SITUATION was good. What He says is that He can bring good OUT OF that situation! And so out of the rubble…the broken stones…out of THAT…God is about to build a wall!
c. God meets us where we are when it seems that the enemy has won.
Looking at vs. 3, we get this picture that the people are building a rather sorry looking wall. But archaeologists tell us that the wall built around Jerusalem in this period was as thick as 9 FEET! So this was no second-rate project! They were building a wall that would defend against ANY army!
And so while the leaders are lobbing their attacks…all the while God is empowering His people to the task.
New Testament Example
There is a fascinating picture of this in the New Testament Gospel of Luke. It’s the story of the disciples following the death of Jesus Christ. They are walking along recounting all that had happened – distraught and confused…and someone comes alongside them.
And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”[a] 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
And then skip down to vs. 30…
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
How does that New Testament story connect with what we’re talking about here in Nehemiah? Well, just as the disciples were at a place of great discouragement and hopelessness and Christ appeared, so here in the story of Nehemiah God’s children were facing huge challenges and opposition as well. When they were at their most INADEQUATE moment, God empowered them for the task!
Focal Statement: God can take our rubble and He can bring about revival! He is meeting us right where we are for a purpose - in order to take us to where He wants us to go!
And because God meets us where we are in order to take us to where He wants us to go…I want us to look at the second point there on your outline…
II. God is Faithful to Call us to Full Obedience
Key Scripture: Nehemiah 4:4-6
Leader Notes
In this second point, the emphasis is our obedience to God without exceptions. At one point in chapter 4, the wall is halfway constructed. It’s an interesting point to stop and help the group to notice that this wasn’t the final product. In the same way, halfway obedience is not the objective of our journey of “Rebuilding Faith” either. Partial obedience is full disobedience.
Introducing Second Point
What sets the stage for the answer of God to Nehemiah’s leadership is in his repeated decision demonstrated in vs. 4. Once again, I appreciate the response of Nehemiah as he anticipated a move of God. He stopped and he prayed. And I think that HAS to be the starting point for a NEW work of God in our lives. On your outline, I put…
a. Full Obedience begins in seeking the face of God.
At this turning point in our “Rebuilding Faith” diagram, we’re talking about “Believing God’s Faithfulness”. And what better way to demonstrate my belief in God’s faithfulness than to seek His face in prayer.
For Nehemiah, before EVERY move of God so far in this book he’s paused to seek God in prayer.
• When he recognized the failure of the people to fully obey God, he prayed and fasted to God.
• When he was about to make known his request before the king, he prayed to God as his first step!
And now as the troops are gathering to counter this MOVE OF GOD…Nehemiah paused in prayer.
But this is NO REVIVAL prayer at this point in the story. Let’s be honest – Nehemiah basically sends God out to get them! But even though this is a prayer against his enemies, I think Nehemiah’s prayer illustrates a key truth…
b. Full Obedience continues as we allow God to be on the throne of our lives.
God is faithful and we demonstrate our belief in His faithfulness when we’re willing to seek Him even in those times when things aren’t going our way.
Nehemiah didn’t take it on himself to attack the leaders. He left that to God. He allowed God to remain on the throne.
And as Nehemiah had a heart that was right before God…it set the stage for the work to press forward. And yet…
c. Full Obedience requires that we never settle for halfway. Read vs. 6 again.
This was celebration time! The powerful leaders had set out to stop the work…and look…it was halfway there!
There was reason in the camp to be proud of what they had done. And at the same time…there might have been a real temptation to once again sit back and relax! I mean…if they had already made it to halfway…what was the rush. It would get done!
Focal Point: But this is crucial to recognize… “full obedience requires that we never settle for halfway”.
New Testament Example
In the book of Revelation, there is an example that connects well with where we find ourselves here in Nehemiah. Unlike the Israelites in the story of Nehemiah, these individuals in Revelation made no attempts to hide their halfway status! Read Revelation 3:14-22
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[a] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[b] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Focal Observation: The church at Laodicea…they thought lukewarm…halfway was good enough! They didn’t realize their poverty or their need. Instead, they were content with halfway…and God said it literally nauseated him.
Josh McDowell Quote
Josh McDowell is the father of Sean McDowell (that we’ve been watching on Sunday evenings). And Josh McDowell made this statement about obedience in his book “Right from Wrong”. He said, “Obedience to God’s commands not only protects us from harm; it also allows God to provide for us, sometimes in breathtaking ways.”
Relation to Series: If I believe God’s faithfulness, then I’m going to obey His commands, and in the process we’ll see exactly what Josh McDowell just stated…He’s going to reveal Himself in “breathtaking ways” as He rebuilds my faith. And yet that is only discovered when I am willing to follow the Lord in full obedience.
Half-Cooked Chicken Illustration
(You may choose to insert your own story that would illustrate this point). The author of this series shares a story in the leader guide of a time when he and his wife went to a friends’ house for a meal. But as they sat down to eat, they started noticing that their chicken wasn’t completely cooked! Well rather than make a big scene at the meal (they had just met this couple), they tried to just push it aside and eat the other items that were a little more cooked! It was a rather uncomfortable situation!
Illustration Follow-up: Now why did that matter – isn’t halfway cooked chicken as good as fully cooked chicken??? Of course not. It can literally make you sick!
Well in the same way, halfway obedience is FAR FROM the same thing as FULL obedience. And so Nehemiah continued his challenge before the people to “Rise up and Build!”
And as they were willing to move beyond that halfway point…what they were able to experience is this…
III. God is Faithful to Continue His Good Work in our Lives
Key Scripture: Nehemiah 4:7-10
God was faithful to continue His work among His children as their work resumed…and the fact that they were progressing well…it was enraging the local leaders! And what we notice is that their anger has gone from just ridicule to now being the makings of war!
Key: And yet…no matter the opposition…God was going to finish His good work in them!
Paul said in Philippians 1 this declaration…
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
Personal Note from the Author: For all of you that are going through this series, that’s my prayer as you walk through this journey. I have prayed that God would bring to completion your journey of “Rebuilding Faith” and that at the culmination of the journey…that each of you will have experienced a RENEWAL of faith!
And the ways in which God renews and rebuilds our faith…based on the story of Nehemiah…is that he first…
a. He gives us hope.
Vs. 7 says that “the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed…”
Within a relatively short period of time, the people have gone from begin distraught and discouraged. God has energized them to get busy with the task of rebuilding, and they HAD TO BE encouraged by the process!
Group Discussion Opportunity
What would you have say have been some encouraging events/moments in your own faith? Just like they were likely encouraged by the wall coming together, what has encouraged you in your own journey of faith?
- Possible Answers: A loved one getting saved, healed, or other clear answer to prayer.
Well in the same way that God gives us answers to needs in our own lives that encourage us in our faith… that’s what we discover in the story of Nehemiah. God gave them victory in their progress.
But what certainly still remained were enemies that were going to stop this new work! And so God demonstrated the fact that He would complete the good work as…
b. He hears our prayers. Read Nehemiah 4:9
Nehemiah did what Nehemiah has proven faithful to do – he went to the Lord in prayer!
One particular four-year old was praying one evening and for some reason his parents believed he had missed the point. As he was attempting to pray the Lord’s Prayer, he said, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
Well Nehemiah knew JUST WHAT to ask from God. And along those lines, there were two brothers who were praying for God to answer their requests…
Two boys were staying overnight with their Grandma. They were about to go to bed but before they slept they prayed. The older son started to pray. He prayed about the day he had and about everything he had done. The younger son then started to pray, he prayed much louder than his elder brother, he prayed for bikes and toys, and when he finished the older brother asked him "Why are you praying so loud? God is not deaf" and the younger son responded and said " Yea but Grandma is"
Nehemiah knew who was going to be the answer to his prayer. It wasn’t the king; it wasn’t in alliances or treaties; it was in God doing what only God can do!
Application to Us: And as we continue in this journey of “Rebuilding Faith”…we demonstrate our belief in God’s faithfulness as we KNOW that God hears our prayers.
And as the prayer of Nehemiah and the people was answered…we see…
c. He will continue his work. Read Nehemiah 4:14-15
A powerful enemy…intimidating odds…and yet God turned the discouragement of His own people onto their enemies. And the army never even attempted an attack!
This session has been all about understanding and believing God’s faithfulness. And as the story in chapter 4 comes to a close, we see God’s faithfulness ALL OVER the story. When it appeared that their world was about to be rocked by an attack from a powerful foe, God stepped in and ordained the events so that not even one conflict resulted. God is truly faithful.
He meets us right where we are.
He calls us to full obedience.
He promises to complete the good work He’s started within each of us!
This is a journey of rebuilding faith. And as we turn this corner towards the weeks that follow, what we believe about God’s faithfulness will determine just how far we go in this step by step process. You see, in our next session we are going to be discussing our singular focus on God’s work in our lives. But unless we believe that God will be faithful no matter the challenge/obstacle, our united focus will be in vain.
But if we DO believe God is faithful and that He is doing a good work in our lives, then it’s worth giving Him our everything…our United Focus!
We look forward to getting together in our next session!
