"keys To Stopping Strife"

Title: Steps to Stopping Strife Script: Neh. 5

Type: Series Where: GNBC 2-15-15

Intro: So far, as we have worked our way through the book of Nehemiah, we have seen how he has had to work his way through a different challenge in each chapter. In chap. 1 he faced a personal challenge, hearing the situation Jerusalem was faced with..wept and prayed. In chap. 2 his challenge was political, the king asked him what he needed and once again, Nehemiah prayed for direction. In chapter 3, he confronted an administrative challenge and needed to post the right workers with the right skills in the right positions. In chap. 4 Nehemiah was challenged by discouragement. Nehemiah had to rally the workers to do what they were sure could not. As we come to chap. 5 we see a community that is starting to self-destruct due to festering grievances between members of the community. As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers in a sea of strife around us.

Prop: Let’s look to Nehemiah’s example to see steps to take to stop strife.

BG: 1.In today’s passage, Neh. Is facing several matters causing strife. Takes a special man or woman to squarely face strife and attempt to reconcile individuals and right wrongs.

2. Sometimes need to determine what is culturally allowable and what are God’s eternal standards not to be violated.

3. Most organizations and nations fall apart because of opposition and deterioration from within rather than from without. An idea is conceived, gains adherence and grows to fruition. Then after it has served its purpose for a period of time, the work it took to get to that point is taken for granted and often personal aggrandizement corrupts the intended purpose.

Prop: In Neh. 5 we’ll notice 3 steps to take in order to stop strife.

I. 1st Step: Identify the Cause(s) of the Strife. Vv. 1-5

A. Nehemiah’s first priority was to identify the cause(s) of stress in his community.

1. Immediately several individuals consumed by strife come forth.

a. There is a word in v. 1 that sets the tone for the entire chapter. It is the word, “against”. “Against” is one of the words that you can feel the tension mounting, the tempers boiling, the pressure mounting, the horns locking. Is there someone here today that has something “against” someone or an individual who someone has something “against”? YES! Strife is on the way. Then you had better stay awake and take notes, because Nehemiah was where you are and by God’s grace he took the right steps and resolved the matter God’s way.

b. That great old preacher J.Vernon McGee writes, “I had an uncle who never came to know the Lord. My aunt used to weep and say, “Oh, he won’t listen” Do you know why? With her lived a sister, another aunt, and I used to go there sometimes on Sundays for dinner. Do you know what we had for dinner? Roast preacher One of my aunts went to the Methodist church, the other went to the Presbyterian church, and oh, boy, did they try to outdo each other, talking about the preacher and the fights that were going on. I used to watch my uncle. He would just sit there and eat. Then he’d get up to leave and go down to his club for the afternoon. When he would come home in the evening, he wasn’t drunk, but he sure had had several drinks. They never won him to Christ. There are a lot of people not being won today, my friend, because of the strife that is inside the church.

2. Nehemiah realizes there are different factions in this community of strife.

a. Nehemiah tells us that there were essentially 4 different factions that involved in this community crisis: 1. People who owned no land and needed food (v.2). The pop. was growing, food supply was shrinking and was a famine. Working so hard could not even plant. 2. There were landowners who had mortgaged their property so as to purchase food. Inflation was on the rise , people were getting their homes repossessed by moneylenders. 3. Another group complained that the taxes were too high. Folks were having to borrow money simply to be able to pay their taxes! (We know the feeling!) 4. There was the group of wealthy individuals who were exploiting others. These wealthy individuals were making loans at exorbitant rates of interest and taking the poor’s land and even CHILDREN as collateral. Families were being forced to choose between starvation and servitude. When the crops failed due to the famine, the creditors took away their property and sold their children into slavery.

b. Illust: This is a free-bee for anyone here today. Watch out for the present day money lenders causing strife in American families., not the banks or credit unions, but the Pay Day Loans and Check Cashing facilities. The dangers of ‘PAYDAY LOANS’ and ‘CHECK CASHING’ The ads are everywhere, TV, radio, internet, they even come in the mail...they claim fast and easy money...at a VERY HIGH COST. Lenders prey on low-income borrowers with bad credit. There is NO cap to how high your fees may go you may pay up to $20 for every $100 you borrow. If paid weekly your loan “rolls-over” 4 times a month, if paid every two weeks your loan “rolls-over” twice in a month. A $500 loan could cost you $900 after 30 days! After 21 days the company may charge an extra $100 per paycheck until the loan is repaid in full. Loans against your car require that you sign your title over to the lender until your loan is repaid. Car title loans can result in the loss of your car. Annual Interest rates (APR) for these loans can be as high as 500% Hills Bank, 2-3%. Like the money lenders the people of Nehemiah’s time were facing, no friend of yours! Need to repent.