Breaking Down Barriers & Building Up The Wall (Pt. 6)
Sermon – 1 August 2004
As I have been preaching through this sermon God has been doing extraordinary things in our midst which we have spoken of.
I sincerely believe that as we seek to know, understand, share and communicate God’s heart in all things we will know the blessings of God in greater and greater ways.
This is a truth that is applicable not only in our corporate life as a body of believers but also in our personal lives.
Obviously our focus in this regard over the last six weeks or so has been on unity within the body of Christ. It is my sincere belief that as we continue to seek after God’s heart in this way we will see a sovereign and continuing move of God in our midst and in this city.
Share from article form PE.
What is happening in this article, and what is happening in this city is happening in cities all over the country.
We cannot help but see God’s hand of blessing – not because we are seeking blessing necessarily but because He will command His blessing!
Psalm 133:1-3b
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity…3bFor there the LORD commanded the blessing -- Life forevermore.
Where God commanded His blessing before He will do it again!
To that end we have discussed a lot regarding unity – specifically breaking down walls of division that are a hindrance to the work of the Lord…
1) Geographical barriers –
2) Ethnic Barriers –
3) Cultural Barriers –
4) Religious Barriers –
5) Historical Barriers –
6) Personal Barriers –
7) Spiritual Barriers –
Over the last two weeks we have looked at building up the wall…
1. Take Up Our Positions – Simply by faith taking up our position on the wall, in other words taking up our position in the Kingdom of God.
Let me be brutally honest, we cannot even take the first step toward breaking down barriers and building up the wall if we will not first stand up and be counted among God’s people.
One thing the enemy is using in a very effective way in the church is simply causing people to stay away from church for myriad reasons.
Put to death the flesh!
I understand that there are times when we are very sick or family emergencies come up and we simply cannot make it but church should be our priority of first importance.
No one grows spiritually and works effectively who is not heartily committed to a local congregation.
There are Christians TODAY who will risk their lives to get to and be in church – How about you?
2. Take Out The Past - Nehemiah 4:10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall."
We must get rid of the rubble of our past defeats and deafen our ears to the taunts of the enemy.
3. Take Down Satan’s Plot – Nehemiah 4:11
Our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."
The bible says we are not unaware of the Devil’s schemes. His greatest scheme is to cause hurt and unforgiveness within the church – to get in among us and cause us to “kill” one another.
4. Take On God’s Plan – Nehemiah 4:14,15
After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." 15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
We must make God’s plan our plan, God’s will our will, God’s desires our desires
We simply need to pray that powerful two word prayer…”yes, Lord.”
Today will be the last sermon in this series but certainly no the end of our time in focusing on the need to seek after and maintain unity within our own body and the Church at large.
Take Up Our Positions, Take Out The Past, Take Down Satan’s Plot, Take On God’s Plan….
Read Main Text: Nehemiah 6:5-16
1) Take Heed and Persevere –
Nehemiah 6:10-13
10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you." 11 And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!" 12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Notice in verse twelve of this text that Nehemiah “perceived that God had not sent him at all”.
The enemies of the work of the Lord had hired Shemaiah for the express purpose of causing Nehemiah to sin so that they would have cause for an evil report and to bring reproach on the work of God and on His people.
But Nehemiah knew his God and he knew that God would not have him to act in such a way as this false prophet would have him.
There is one thing that can never be sacrificed for the cause of unity and that is true, solid doctrine…God would not have it that way either.
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
We absolutely must guard our life and doctrine closely, for the enemy will seek in any way he can to cause us to get off into ungodly things masked as godly.
The devil will set a trap for God’s people in an effort to get them off the focus on God’s truth…
1 Tim 6:3-5
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
When it comes to people who are determined to persevere in false doctrines and foolish controversies – that is the place where we can no longer stand in fellowship.
Titus 3:9-11
9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
This is the place where unity differs from ecumenicism.
In 1989, the director of Ecumenical Affairs for the National Council of Churches wrote that the Roman Catholic Church and the major Protestant Churches—as a start—should recognize the existence of a “general church memberships.” This would hasten the unification of all churches into one super body. He said:
“This means that, if you become a Christian, other Christians will acknowledge that you are fully a Christian... anyone who belongs to one church belongs to all! Thus if you should become a member of the Methodist Church, you would become simultaneously a full member of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church.”
It has been a great pleasure to meet Pastors of like and precious faith – even sharing our Pentecostal beliefs. There are many Pastors with whom we also share our faith who may not be Pentecostal and that is fine – we share the basic tenets of Evangelical Christianity.
Although I love many Catholic people dearly, and I sincerely believe that there are many Catholics who hold and sincere, “born-again” faith in Jesus, for the most part Catholic people do not believe in the gospel we believe in, the prayer and worship habits of many are simply idolatrous – we do not share a common faith.
I had lunch with the rector of the Episcopal Church here in Holyoke. There are many evangelical Episcopal churches and truly born-again Episcopalians. However, as we know there are many who are very liberal in there theology and social thinking. The rector I met is one of them.
I will not bend my doctrine nor bow my knee to the “Ecumenical spirit”!
The purpose of the visit from this prophet to Nehemiah was “ so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”
That reproach of Nehemiah would also be a reproach on the work of the Lord in Judah.
The same holds true today, the devil always wants to distort the Word of God.
Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say...”
1 Tim 4:1-2
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
2 Tim 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
People who would bring false teaching into the Kingdom of God are to be avoided – we are to have nothing to do with them.
Remember, this is the same God who tells us to “make every effort to maintain unity” As was said earlier in Titus 3, once a person who promotes false teaching or foolish controversies to the point of division may be warned once, then we are to have nothing to do with them.
Once again…
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them…
Take Up Our Positions, Take Out The Past, Take Down Satan’s Plot, Take On God’s Plan, Take Heed and Persevere…
2) Take the Right Perception –
Nehemiah 6:15-16
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
It is interesting to note that in this passage the enemies of God who had been so violently opposed to the work of God in their midst were the ones who correctly noted that the work was done by our God.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Even the works we do for God have been prepared by Him for us to do. That is not to say that our efforts do not mean anything – they certainly do.
We must remember –
John 15:5
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
It is important that we remember that all that we have, even our talents and abilities with which we serve the Lord are a gift from him.
Share examples of how people coming to faith in the Lord and not coming to faith have served to humble me in the knowledge that it is all Him.
I have had the pleasure of leading many people to faith in the Lord Jesus – I have had the displeasure of watching many more walk away not having received Him. Both instances have served as ever present reminders that I am devoid of the power to do anything apart from the grace and power of God in my life.
As we see in the text of the book of Nehemiah and throughout scripture, there is no question that God uses people to do His will – it is ours to recognize that it is all in and through Him.
Philippians 2:12-13
…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
NKJV
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
NKJV
The will, purpose, the strength and the power are all His…the privilege is ours!
When Wycliffe translator Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil’s Fulnio Indians, he was referred to simply as “the white man.” The term was by no means complimentary, since other white men had exploited them, burned their homes, and robbed them of their lands.
But after the Melands learned the Fulnio language and began to help the people with medicine and in other ways, they began calling Doug “the respectable white man.”
When the Melands began adapting the customs of the people, the Fulnio gave them greater acceptance and spoke of Doug as “the white Indian.”
Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood caked foot of an injured Fulnio boy, he overheard a bystander say to another: “Whoever heard of a white man washing an Indian’s foot before? Certainly this man is from God!” From that day on, whenever Doug would go into an Indian home, it would be announced “Here comes the man God sent us.”
—James C. Hefley
Note how this man simply allowed God’s love and mercy to flow through him – he was recognized as the servant and rightly so but more importantly as the man God had sent.
We must have the right perception of our work for the Kingdom – one that recognizes that God is at the center of it all.
1 Peter 2:12
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Our lives and work for the Kingdom should result in praise and glory for God as we…
Take Up Our Positions,
Take Out The Past,
Take Down Satan’s Plot,
Take On God’s Plan,
Take Heed and Persevere and
Take The Right Perception
