Wise as Serpents
In our messages so far in the book of Nehemiah we have been talking about the building of walls to keep the enemy out. Today we are going to switch places with the enemy and talk about how to take down walls or overcome them. I think we can learn some things from the enemy of our souls about attacking a cities walls.
PPT 1
Ne 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
There are 2 repeating actions in the book of Nehemiah:
1. The enemy did not want the walls to be built and took every imaginable step to prevent that.
Insults
Intimidation (Captain of the Army of Samaria)
Rumors
Whispers and plots 10x's the Jews by the wall, 5 x's with a threat of legal action.
Unholy alliances
Bad spiritual advice
Distractions
The enemies attacks were varied, persistent, and continual. Something to remind yourself of.
Illus: I almost got away with it. A man who broke out of prison 4 times. The last time he dyed a white prison jersey green to look like medical personnel and simply walked out. It took a 113 green markers to do it. He was constantly looking for a way out. In like manner Israel's enemies were constantly looking for a way in.
PPT 2
Lu 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
We should be diligent for ways to speak to and influence lost people.
2. The second constant of Nehemiah, was Nehemiah's continued resistance to the enemy. A good theme verse for Nehemiah's life would be:
Neh: 6:3 I am doing a great work and can't come down.
Today I want to combine the story of Nehemiah with one of Jesus' teaching in Mt. 10:16 ..."Be ye therefore wise as serpents."
The great lesson the serpents teach us in the book of Nehemiah is don't let walls get built that will make it difficult for you to have influence in people.
The serpents or enemies of God were obsessive about this in the book of Nehemiah, from start to finish: Ne 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
In the end of the book, after the walls were built, we read of one of the priests emptying a room in the temple and giving it to Tobiah to live in. The enemy was finding sneaky ways to get around the walls.
There you have the two lessons we learn to be as wise as serpents.
1. Don't let walls go up.
2. If walls get built, find a way around them.
1. Don't let walls go up.
PPT 3
There are 3 major types of spiritual walls in scripture
A. Stumbling blocks
B. Fortified walls.
C. Walls up to heaven.
PPT 4
A. Stumbling blocks
Mt 18:6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mt 18:7 "Woe to the world because of [its] stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
The Greek word translated stumbling block (offense KJV) is scandalon, which is the word scandal in English.
What is interesting is the definition of the word is:
1. The trigger of a trap, that which sets a trap in motion.
2. An impediment placed in the way that causes one to stumble.
The idea of the text is something that happens that makes a child turn from faith in God. A stumbling block is the beginning of a wall, it is the smallest of walls and yet it can have lifelong consequences.
If we are going to be as wise as serpents, we need to be serious about stumbling blocks. Do you know how many stumbling blocks are placed in front of Christian children in the public school. Everything we believe is mocked and ridiculed.
We need to fight this little walls from going up, because experience has taught us they can have lifelong consequences.
PPT 5
B. Fortified walls
Pr 18:19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel. (NIV)
A fortified wall is a wall that has been added to, it has been strengthened, reinforced, and built higher. That is what memory does to hurts if you are not careful, it enlarges them.
Mt 18:7 ΒΆ "Woe to the world because of [its] stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
Jesus teaches that offenses are inevitable the problem with too many people is that they don't know how to deal with them.
Instead of tearing them down, they turn them into monuments and reinforce them by continually reminding themselves of the hurt.
Consider this lesson from snakes: Do not try to kill a snake - ANY snake, and if you see what appears to be a dead snake, do not touch it.
A snake can strike up to one hour after death.
(Info found web page: South Texas poison center, UT Health Science Center texaspoison.com)
Dead snakes are incapable of regulating the amount of venom they inject!!!
Fortified walls are built by people who are being bitten by dead snakes, by that I mean what happened to them is no longer happeneing, the person may even be dead, but they attack themselves through memory, so they are being bitten by a dead snake.
Do you remember last week when we said, "everyday you let discouragement stay for free is a day you lose?"
Everyday you let offenses stay for free is a day you lose.
Watch this:
PPT 6
Mt 18:8 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
If something has caused you to stumble get rid of it. How could something someone did to me, cause me to end in hell fire?
Mt 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
John the Baptist almost fell into the trap of an offense becoming a fortified city.
To be wise as serpents we need to be diligent we don't give anyone a reason to build a wall against Christ, and if we see a wall going up, we don't hand them another brick, we try to tear the thing down.
PPT 7
C. The third type of wall, is a wall up to heaven.
De 1:28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people [is] greater and taller than we; the cities [are] great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. (AV)
De 1:28 'Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there."' (NIV)
To me this speaks of wall that have been built to withstand anything. In our passage it is descriptive of the Palestinian people. It speaks of religious walls. False religions that attempt to keep people held. Evangelism is punishable by death in some countries. Guess what? Greece has laws on the books that will put you in jail for sharing the gospel.
To be as wise as serpents we need to realize that using the influence of government and organizations like the UN can be helpful to tearing down some of these walls.
2. Ways to get around walls
1. Almost all walls have gates, we can use these gates to our advantage.
The gate of need. Food, shelter, water, comfort.
The gate of association. Be salt and light.
The gate of knowledge. (Afghanistan is so walled up to heaven they don't want they have locked this gate for their women) Christian teachers.
2. All cities have secret access points.
Miracles. Indian Muslim who got pregnant through prayer which led to the salvation of many.
David and the water tunnel. (Internet, radio, TV)
Babylonians diverted the river. Go under - reach the children.
3. In order to take a city walled to heaven you have to win the air war.
Nehemiah prayed and fasted for 4 months.
We bombed Iraq ceaselessly until its air defenses were nonexistent then we took over.
Close: If we want to be wiser than serpents we need to:
1. Let's be on the lookout for where the enemy is building walls.
2. Never hand a person another brick.
3. Get rid of your own stumbling blocks.
4. Let's aggressively pursue the lost.
