So, who do you like for our next President?
It’s a pretty important decision, isn’t it?
We have problems with the economy, the Muslims, oil prices, corruption, roads, utilities.......even the weather!
The problems facing the next president of the Philippines are complex —
more than any one man or woman can handle with their own wisdom.
We find a similar situation in the case of Nehemiah, who was given the challenge of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem about 2,500 years ago.
That’s a long time, but in this ancient story, we can also find help for the modern problems of our next president.
And not only that, each of us here can find help for our own personal problems:
all of us have (or will have) damaged areas of our lives;
weak areas where we are easily attacked by Satan.
Now, maybe you haven’t yet experienced this sort of thing in your Christian life, but you will!
The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12,
"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms..."
And the spiritual forces of evil that were attacking Christians in Paul’s time,
Were the same spiritual forces that attacked God’s people in Nehemiah’s time,
And they are the very same spiritual forces of evil that are attacking Christians today — in our time.
And the strategies those spiritual forces used against God’s people back then are still being used against Christians today.
And the principles that God’s people used back then to overcome the attacks of Satan
we can also use in our lives today to overcome the attacks of Satan.
In the book of Nehemiah, we learn that Satan attacks God’s people in two main ways:
The first way he attacks us is described in 1 Peter 5:8 — the devil attacks us "like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Now, a lion is a very powerful, very dangerous animal.
One bite from a lion’s jaws can snap your thigh bone like a pencil.
If a lion hit you with his paw, your head would be crushed like an egg!
I remember a joke from grade school: Q: Where does a lion sit when he watches TV?
A: Anywhere he wants!
If a lion could talk, you’d do whatever he said!
Because you’d be too afraid not to.
And this is how Satan attacks us:
He frightens us into doing what he wants.
We’re too afraid not to.
Satan uses threats from people, loss of income, loneliness, and many other things to fill our hearts with fear.
We get too afraid to do God’s will;
Too afraid to live our Christian lives;
Too afraid to defend our faith —
And we end up doing what Satan wants us to do,
because he used our own fear to bully and threaten and intimidate and harass us into it.
But Satan attacks us in another way too:
The second way he attacks us is described in 2 Corinthians 11:14 — Satan "masquerades as an angel of light."
Or, as the Message puts it: "Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn’t surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God."
In chapter 4, we saw these guys, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem attacking Nehemiah and the workers.
First, they mocked and ridiculed and laughed at the workers,
But, when the work continued, they threatened them with physical violence,
But the work still continued, so, in chapter 6, they try to stop the work by using friendliness and persuasion.
Nehemiah 6:1-4 — When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it — though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates — Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
They couldn’t stop the work of God with their threats and attacks, so they changed their strategy:
All of a sudden, these guys are acting like Nehemiah’s friends:
"Labas tayo." "Jamming tayo."
"Hey, Nehemiah, come on down to our place — let’s talk..."
You will also experience this when you try to correct things that are wrong in your life.
It’s very possible that when you try to change your life for the better that your friends will become your biggest adversaries.
Many people today are failing in their Christian journey because they listen to the advice of their friends.
Many people today are stunted in their spiritual growth because their friends discourage them from changing.
And it sounds like good advice because so many people follow it, but it’s totally wrong — advice from Satan.
So, they invite Nehemiah down for a little meeting but Nehemiah senses danger: "they were scheming to harm me," he says.
These enemies Jerusalem had a lot to lose if that city’s walls were rebuilt;
Nehemiah knows this, so he sends his reply: "Sorry, guys! I’m right in the middle of something."
If he was a Filipino, he would have said, "Next time, na lang!"
Actually, what Nehemiah says is, "I’m doing something for God and if I leave, it might not get done."
Four times they ask him to come and four times he says, "Sorry, I’m doing something for God and if I leave, it might not get done."
One of the most effective ways to resist temptation is to remember that God has called each of us to do something for Him.
This is true of every believer in Christ —
— No matter how young or old, educated or uneducated, rich or poor,
God has a job for you to do in the work of his Church.
And there will be temptations for you to do something that interferes with or threatens your work for the Kingdom of God:
Someone wants you to do something for them.
Someone wants you to join them in a new business idea.
Someone wants you to lie for them.
Someone wants you to go somewhere with them.
And if you do, your work for God will be threatened.
At those times, your response should be the same as Nehemiah’s:
"Sorry, I’m doing something for God and if I do what you’re asking, it might not get done."
Years ago, there was a missionary in China, a very intelligent young man who learned the language and the culture while doing his work for the Lord.
His abilities were so good that one of the American companies in China tried to hire him as their interpreter. They offered him an very good job with a very large salary, but he said no. He explained to them that God had sent him to China as a missionary and that’s what he was going to do.
Well, that wasn’t the end of it: They came back with a better offer and an even higher salary. He turned that down too, but they came back again, doubling the salary they had originally offered.
Finally he said to them, "Look, it’s not your salary that’s too small. Its the job that’s too small!"
And that’s pretty much what Nehemiah is saying here:
He has a job to do for the Lord — anything else is too small!
No matter how many times they ask, he’s not going to leave the Lord’s work.
Now, it’s not like they were saying, "Hey, Nehemiah! Come down here to the plain of Ono so we can kill you."
Quite the opposite, their offer seems to promise peace and support.
And in the same way, the Devil is not going to tempt you by saying,
"Hey, do this so your faith will be destroyed and you’ll go to Hell when you die."
No! He is much more clever than that!
Instead, the temptation will sometimes sound good and look good — or at least it’ll look harmless.
And remember that they asked Nehemiah four times!
This is hard for Filipinos, I think.
I especially found this to be true with college students when I was a campus minister:
If someone asked them over and over and over and over again to do something, eventually they would say,
"Oh, sige. Tayo na."
But if you will always remember that the most important thing in your life is your work for the Lord,
then, when any distracting offer comes along, just say:
"Sorry, I’m doing something for God and if I do what you’re asking, it might not get done."
And if you can’t think of your specific job in the Kingdom of God, then remember that all Christians have at least two jobs:
1) To grow in your faith and 2) To tell others what Jesus has done for you.
Well, back in the book of Nehemiah, when the work of God still continued, even after this clever attack by Satan,
He switches back to his original strategy of threats and slander and violence:
Nehemiah 6:5-7 — Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written:
"It is reported among the nations — and Geshem [the Arab] says it is true — that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together."
When Marcos was president of the Philippines,
what if he had heard that the governor of Cebu was calling himself "president" and had rejected Marcos’ authority?
What would Marcos have done? He would have gotten rid of that guy!
That’s exactly the kind of rumor that Sanballat was spreading about Nehemiah!
That Nehemiah was claiming to be the new king (which would also mean that he rejected the authority of king Artaxerxes).
And, the fact that this letter was unsealed meant that it could be (and probably was) easily read by anyone;
And so this rumor was already spreading.
Now, one thing cracks me up about this whole thing:
Look who Sanballat names as his confirming witness: His buddy, Geshem the Arab!
This would be like if I said, "PCM is the best Bible college in the Philippines — Right, Arnold?"
Or: "California is the best state in the U.S. — Right, Dave?"
Or: "Sister Emily said she’s going to buy pork barbecue for everyone after church — right, Bryan?"
Here’s Sanballat, saying,
"Hey, Nehemiah, we heard you’re making yourself king and you’re rejecting king Artaxerxes — Right Geshem?"
1 John 4:5 — They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world.........and the world listens to them.
This is so true: The world listens to itself.
The world confirms its own false beliefs.
When the world wants verification for something, it asks itself —
Just like Sanballat saying, "Right, Geshem?"
Let’s see how Nehemiah responds to this:
Nehemiah 6:8-9 — I sent him this reply: "nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head." They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."
You see, Sanballat’s idea was to make the people believe that Nehemiah had some hidden motivation for rebuilding the wall —
— like becoming king of Judah.
They hoped that the workers would then get discouraged and quit.
The First response of Nehemiah is to simply deny it.
And that’s the great thing about being a man or woman of integrity: you have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.
If I told you that Vice President Estrada hires prostitutes to come to his hotel room, you’d say, "So?"
Because everyone knows that Erap does things like this.
But if I told you that Billy Graham hires prostitutes to come to his hotel room, you’d say, "No he doesn’t!"
Because everyone knows that Billy Graham is a man of integrity.
Only a man of integrity could respond like Nehemiah: "You’re just making it up!"
Like this new accusation of President Clinton: He can’t just say, "No, she’s just making it up."
No one will believe him because he has shown himself, time after time, to be a man with very little integrity.
The Second response of Nehemiah is to pray: "Lord, don’t let our hands get weak. Help us to continue the work."
What a simple prayer.
What a practical prayer.
When you’re being attacked by Satan, you don’t need to pray a long, eloquent prayer:
"Oh my God, I beseech thee to pour forth thy faithful protection, oh my shield and bulwark...."
No! You don’t need to go any special place — God is everywhere.
And you don’t need to say any special words — God already knows what you need.
When Satan attacks you, try praying like Nehemiah: Simply and practically.
Just tell God what you need: "Lord, don’t let my hands get weak. Help me to continue the work."
Well, this strategy also doesn’t work, so once again the enemy tries something else: Trickery
Verses 10-13 — One day I went to the house of Shema-iah son of Dela-iah, the son of Mehe-tabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "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." But I said, "Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 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 word comes in the form of a prophecy, but this man, Shema-iah is a false prophet.
What he says sounds logical. "Some people are out to get you. They are going to kill you," he says.
He didn’t have to convince Nehemiah of this!
So Shema-iah says, "Let’s go up and hide in the Temple. They won’t dare attack you there."
But Nehemiah refuses Shema-iah’s invitation on two grounds:
First, it would be wrong for him, the governor, to run away!
What if China attacked the Philippines today and President Ramos said,
"It’s every man for himself," and took the next plane to Hawaii.
He can’t do that!
And Nehemiah couldn’t just run and hide when the work in Jerusalem was being attacked.
Second, Nehemiah refuses Shema-iah’s invitation because he knows the Law of God about the Temple.
The Temple building itself was reserved for the priests
because the inner part of the Temple building was the Most Holy Place, where the presence of God was.
Imagine that this college is the Temple area:
The rest of the college is the Temple grounds.
The chapel is the Temple building itself.
And the stage is the Most Holy Place.
As a Jew, Nehemiah could go into the Temple grounds:
He could come in the gate, go into the kitchen or upstairs to the Library,
But he could not come into the chapel, because this is where the Most Holy Place is.
Only the priests could come into Temple itself,
And only the High Priest could come into the Most Holy Place (once a year).
In Numbers 18:7, God is speaking to Aaron and he says: "But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death."
So Nehemiah realizes that a prophet from the Lord would never say anything that contradicted God’s Word.
God’s Word said that if you weren’t a priest that you could not go into the Temple.
And Nehemiah was not a priest, but here is this man telling him, "Let’s to go into the Temple and shut the doors behind us!"
So Nehemiah said, "No way!"
Again, Sanballat and the others had hired Shema-iah to trick him into sinning against the Lord.
If Nehemiah had gone into the Temple, Sanballat would have said to the people of Jerusalem:
"Look at your leader — hiding in the Temple, breaking your own laws.
He doesn’t care about you, he just cares about himself.
If you break the law, see what’ll happen to you, but he breaks it whenever he wants..."
We must also be aware of this kind of attack in our lives today.
Just because someone is your friend doesn’t mean that his or her advice is good for you.
But, as we’re told in 1 John chapter 4: "Test the spirits."
Test the advice that others give you.
And what’s the test?
Hold it up next to the Word of God.
If it matches; if it fits, then it’s good advice.
But if the advice you are receiving does not fit within the guidelines given in God’s word, then it’s not good advice.
In fact, it’s very possibly Satanic advice.
Philippians 1:27 — Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
We are called to walk with God.
You are a Christian. A child of God. You belong to him.
People who are not Christians are not children of God.
You are therefore living at a different level than those around you.
Henry David Thoreau once wrote: "If a person does not keep in step with others, it may be because he is listening to a different drum beat."
A Christian listens to a different drum beat than the world listens to.
Christians follow their Lord, not the advice of non-Christians.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are not saved.
They don’t understand our actions.
They don’t understand our motives.
They don’t understand our basic assumptions about this life and the life to come.
One last verse: verse 14 — Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also that prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.
Once again, Nehemiah responds to the attack of Satan with prayer.
I wish that we would all learn this lesson:
God has given every Christian two resources to guide us on our Christian journey:
The Bible
Prayer
Are you making use of these resources?
Or are they unused ornaments?
They are available to us just as they were to Nehemiah.
We can be just as successful as he was if we make use of them.
