O God stengthen my Hands

O God Strengthen my hands.

Sanballat were becoming desperate.

The wall was almost complete.

All there efforts were failing. nothing was working.

Now it was time to try something different.

They attacked him 3 things.

1 rumors verse 6

2 deceit (10-13)

3 false reports (17)

WE ALL KNOW HOW PERSONAL ATTACKES FEEL LIKE.

We get hurt, feel discouraged. we withdraw. Forget it all.

We can look at Nehemiah and follow his example.

He followed God with his heart and trusted God. He overlooked all the unjustified insults and stayed focused.

Psalm 37:1–11 “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in abundance of peace.

Don’t s

don’t fret.. don’t be afraid

God isn't a God of fear. with the holy Spirit inside us. we can do all things.

Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.”

Don’t be envious_ which is jealous or resentful.

Proverbs 14:30 “A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.”

Galatians 5:26 “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

How often does it seem like the mean people or hateful persons are the ones from the outside seem to have there life going easy. Don’t be envious of them.

here fear and envious brings a snare and is rottening to the bone. both not good.

They will be cut off !!!!

Do’s

Trust in the lord. ( not ourselves and what we feel. The heart is the most deceitful) trust that he God can care for us better than we can.

Feed on his faithfulness. ( what does God’s word say. Then you really get to know him personally and understand who he is.

commit to follow him( no matter the circumstance) commit everything every aspect of our lives.job,family,possessions.

What happens- bring your righteousness as the light. and you justice as noon day.

What an unbeliever gets on earth may last a lifetime, but what we get from following God last forever.

Nehemiah 6:1–2 “Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm.”

Ono was about 20 to 25 miles northwest. That would be like going to Questa.

his response > they thought to do me harm.

Nehemiah 6:3–5 “So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.”

open letter in his hand.

The Persians made up their letters in the form of a roll about 6 inches long, and a bit of paper is fastened with gum. and sealed with an impression of ink, which resembles our printer ink today just not so thick. Letters were, and are still, sent to persons of distinction in a bag or purse, and even to equals they are enclosed—the tie being made with a colored ribbon. But to inferiors, or persons who are to be treated contemptuously, the letters were sent open—that is, not enclosed in a bag

Nehemiah knowing the custom of open letters at once knew it was from a designed of disrespect. also being open. Sanballat wanted to make known the context of the letter was made public.

(This is the Rumor. insubstantial info. frequently not factual and leading to groundless fears.)

Nehemiah 6:6–8 “In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.””

That you may be king.

Not only was the deliverance of the letter dis respectable but the contexts in it.

The fact that Nehemiah was to busy only solidified their rumors.

This must be a revolt. Nehemiah had engaged the prophets which Malachi at this time was proclaiming a prophet.

Malachi 3:1 ““Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.”

This was Sanballat claim . Nehemiah was the king the prophets were talking about.

Nehemiah response is there is there rumors are false. The revolt and him being king were made up. he declines again. He kept focused and continued the work.

Nehemiah 6:9 “For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”

another quick prayer.

Nehemiah prayed for strength.

So when you are in a tough situation. What do we usually pray. God help me. get me out of this. make them leave or stop.

Nehemiah prayed for strength. his faith new God was with him and continued to follow God with his heart.

some verses on strength

2 Corinthians 12:9“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Paul is talking about his prayer for God to remove the thorn in his flesh . he prayed 3 times. This was response to him. God did not remove his affliction but demonstrated his power in Paul.

god’s power in our weakness should give us courage and hope.

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Though our courage may fail. we know that one day be will be raised to serve him forever.

Nehemiah 8:10“. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.””

This is a prayer that that the Israelite were doing confessing and worshipping God.

(Deceit)

Nehemiah 6:10 “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.””

Shemaiah was a son of a priest., he was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. wanted Nehemiah to go and hide in the church to prevent anyone to kill him .

how would this look like? a leader hiding out.

Nehemiah has shown nothing but leadership .

He wasn't going to start acting like a coward now.

Nehemiah came to this house.

Here he shows discernment . He tested the message.

many people come to us claiming to be Christians or have a message from God. as believer we need to test the message as well.

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

James isn't just talking about knowledge but about the ability to make wise decisions. We can pray to God and he will provide what we need.

Ephesians 5:6“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

If daily we put on the full armour of God we can with stand people that try to deceive us. to do this we have to depends on God’s strength.

Ephesians 6:14–18 “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, (Jesus said he was the truth)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ( the fulfillment of one expectation in a relationship)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”

Nehemiah 6:11–14 “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!” 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. 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. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

Tobiah and Sanballat would stop not stop. They just kept trying.

bribing someone Nehemiah knew.

sending him into the temple to hide.

This was total discernment.

being afraid isn’t of God

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Nehemiah knew going into the temple was a sin because he wasn't a priest.

Numbers 18:22 “Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.”

Only priest which were from the family of the levites could go into the temple

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament,

To enter and to shut himself within the holy place would have been a grave desecration of the house of God, which would have given occasion to his enemies to cast suspicion upon Nehemiah as a despiser of God’s commands, and so to undermine his authority with the people

If he had run and hide. he would undermine the courage he was trying to instill to the people.

what did he do. he prayed for them.

Psalm 59 :1-2. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.

We sometimes think when we pray for people it has to be a blessing or for good.

God is our protector. we can pray for those that are against us. and people that are our enemies.

This is what Daniel said in Daniel 9:25

Daniel 9:25 NKJV

“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

The walls built in troublesome times.

Nehemiah 6:15–19 “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 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. Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.”

They said it couldn’t be done. The job was to big and the problems were to great.

Remember no job is to big for God.

Fight for your Pastor.

Peter orro

I’ve had 28 Pastor friends resign this year. Almost all of them are transitioning to a new vocation. What is occurring?[1]

In my position as a lecturer in a theological college, I know hundreds of men and women who have gone through college and are now in pastoral ministry and many of those are struggling in some way or another. Some are at the point of quitting ministry all together.

There are, I suppose, reasons for why people are leaving pastoral ministry. The challenges of the COVID pandemic and increasing cultural intolerance have made the issues more acute. However, tragically, sometimes the most intense pressure on pastors is caused by “friendly fire”—i.e. from people within their churches. Some are on the verge of breakdown because of constant criticism from people within their congregation.

In this article I want to briefly think about how as Christians we might more intentionally love and support our senior pastors;[2] how we can encourage them, under God, to keep going.

I was going to write, “pray for your pastor” but that doesn’t convey the seriousness and urgency of the task. This is spiritual warfare (Eph 6:11-20). Your pastor is under more intense Satanic attack than anyone else you know. Satan wants to derail your pastor’s faith; discourage him; wreck his marriage; ensnare his children.

It is striking how often Paul—who has such a clear grasp on God’s sovereignty—asks churches to pray for him and his colleagues.

Do you pray for your pastor? Regularly? Daily? Prayer is hard work

Paul can describe Epaphras “working hard” and “struggling” in prayer for the Colossian church (Col 4:12-13). Do you “work hard” and “struggle” for your pastor? Do you pray specific prayers for your pastor along the lines above or do you simply pray that God would “bless” him? Of course, we aren’t just limited to the requests that Paul asks his churches to pray for him. We can pray for his spiritual growth, for his marriage, for his leadership, for his children, for his encouragement.

Encourage!

And all too often encouragement is reduced to a quick “Nice sermon, vicar/pastor” at the door on the way out of church. we should especially encourage a pastor who is under pressure.

Peter Oro..

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.”

Paul is urging us to recognize those who labor among us.Lets Express our appreciation for our pastor and leaders in the church. Thank them for the ministry in your life. Esteem is respect, admire.

if you say nothing how will they know where you stand.

Lets not be the ones that just says good message. and be out the door.

They carry a heavy burden like Nehemiah. outside Sanballots and Tobiahs. Lets pray that God will stengthen him.