Nehemiah 3-19-2023
Rebuilding • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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“Snare of False Religion”
“Snare of False Religion”
Every grace can be counterfeited, even as jewels can be imitated.
According To Promise, Page 3
Charles Spurgeon
Our theme for this year is “The Church and me in 2023”. We will be focusing on Church outreach and our involvement in God’s Church.
The Church and Me in 2023
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We are in a series simply titled “Rebuilding”
Through this series we study Nehemiah and his mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
With this we will see how to apply the techniques and lessons learned in Nehemiah to our lives today.
How to rebuild, restore, and renew our lives, our ministry, our church, and our relationship with Christ.
We are in chapter 6 and we will be continuing where we left off, starting in verse 1.
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
*open prayer*
Last week we looked at two methods the enemy attacked Nehemiah.
1. Tricks from phony friends.
2. Slander
Both can be major obstacles for Christians today.
This week we see a modification of the phony friend, but this time it is mixed with religion….
There are things we need to know and understand to really appreciate what is happening here.
Today, we live in the age of grace in the “church age”, so there are things that had to take place in the old testament times that may seem foreign to us.
So let’s break this down a little bit.
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
Who is Shemaiah?
What is the deal with this temple thing?
Shemaiah was said to be a prophet, yet he was clearly not.
We call those people “false prophets”.
There are entire chapters in the Bible warning us about false prophets. Both to look out for them and also the consequences of being one….
The idea here is that this particular false prophet wants to offer “protection”.
Or at least that is the bill he is trying to sell.
People of the world love and need to feel protected.
Nobody likes to constantly feel like they are in danger, and in fact mental health institutions are built around this idea.
We see it manifests, although in an extreme sense, in Colleges that offer “safe places” today.
People naturally want to feel safe….
Nehemiah’s enemies goal is to make him live in fear.
Btw, “Fear not” is mentioned 365 times in the Bible.
That is one “fear not” for every day of the year.....
So the scheme here is to destroy Nehemiah’s testimony, credibility, and life.
First they spread rumors and set traps to make Nehemiah live in fear.
Then along comes a “hero” with a solution to the fear, but in reality the solution will end with the destruction of Nehemiah’s testimony, credibility, and life.
Sounds kind of confusing, but we are going to look at why that is the clearly intended result.
First off, Nehemiah is not a priest…
Nehemiah would be sinning against God if he entered the temple, as only priests were allowed to do so.
God takes this seriously. Lets look at King Uzziah.
16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men: 18 And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. 19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. 21 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
The first half of this chapter speaks about all the great things King Uzziah had accomplished in his life.
How he was used of the Lord in mighty ways, but yet as we read just now his pride got the best of him.
He wrongly entered the temple and was cursed with leprosy until the day of his death.
He was fortunate God even allowed him to live after that.
Getting back into Nehemiah, that was the trick.
If Nehemiah’s enemies could get him to sin and enter the temple were he was not supposed to be, they win.
Shemaiah knew how to sound religious…. It sounded good what he was offering, yet Nehemiah did not fall for it.
Bering able to identify what is true and what is false is a huge part of the Christian walk.
11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
As we mature in Christ, we learn how to better tell the difference.
The enemy loves to present himself as truth, yet we know he only offers lies.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
There is no compromise of what is right.
Nehemiah easily identified the false sense of security, and he stood his ground.
How many people today though do fall for that trap?
Religion offers false sense of security.
In works based religion people hide in the idea of good works covering their bad.
In atheistic type of religion, people hide in the idea that there is no god and therefor they are not accountable to anyone other than themselves.
Deist do something similar except they believe there is no accountability because the god that created us in no longer available or interested in our lives.
Agnostics hide in the idea there must be a god out there, but I’m not accountable because I don’t know who he is and what he wants.
We can go on and on with this…
How do we know the truth?
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
If you are truly a follower of Jesus, you will know what His voice sounds like.
What His words tells you….
BTW…. It is hard to know what His Word is telling you when your not in His word…
Notice the temple is real, the people are real, you may even say the threats are real.... but it is still a snare of false religion that Nehemiah is faced with....
Why is that?
Because false religion can manifest its presence anywhere around us…
Even in the fundamental, chicken eating, Bible believing, Baptist churches.
People can be in a state of pure apostasy regardless of there physical location.
Apostasy-the act of open rebellion or abandonment of Jesus Christ or Biblical Doctrine.
Apostasy-the act of open rebellion or abandonment of Jesus Christ or Biblical Doctrine.
Even Satan in heaven when he accuses us.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Salvation is not based on location.
People believe if they can only “make it to Heaven”.
Satan and his fallen angels fell from Heaven.
Salvation is not in a place, it is in a person....
The person of Jesus Christ.
Let turn to the book of Acts for a moment.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
I love how bold Peter and John were proclaiming this fundamental truth.
At first the people thought they were ignorant.
Do we preach the Gospel in like manner?
How many times today would people say you are just being ignorant to believe in the God of the Bible.
They should be able to see that you are not ignorant, but as students of the Word you are ready to give an answer to any man who asks the reason of the hope found in you.
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
… be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you...
Nowhere in scripture does it say salvation comes from being in Heaven.
It comes from Jesus Christ!
Nehemiah was attacked in 3 different ways....
Notice that's how our enemy usually attacks.... more than once.
Lets look at how his example is also seen in the new testament.
“come down to the pain of Ono” in verse 2...
They told Jesus to come down from the cross....
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
They slandered Nehemiah in verse 6.... his response was truth and trust in God.
They slandered Jesus...
55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,
58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
59 But neither so did their witness agree together.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
A false prophet offered Nehemiah an easy way out by hiding in the temple (verse 10).
Satan offered Jesus the world without having to go to the cross if only he worshipped Satan.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Christ not only told us how to live rightly, he came and did it....
All because he loves you and wants a relationship with you.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If you don't know Jesus Christ can i encourage you to come know Him today as your personal savior?
Christian brothers and sisters, you may have noticed we have one more verse to go over, this is for you today....
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
What did Nehemiah do with this trouble?
He gave it to God!
Why is it today as Christians we try to take matters into our own hands?
If there is a burden, concern, or even something you just need to thank God for...
Take a note from Nehemiah and give it to God today.
*Close Prayer*