Nehemiah 6

In the mid 1900’s, there was a man named Dashrath Manjhi that lived in a small village in India.

This village was outside of an established city and there was a 300ft mountain in between them.

Manjhi and the others would have to climb the dangerously treacherous mountain in order to go to work, receive medical assistance, and attend school.

There were often injuries from traveling over the mountain because of how steep the incline was.

Manjhi was a farmer, a lower class citizen of this village.

One day, a friend came running to Manjhi, frantically calling upon him to follow him to the base of the mountain.

As he followed his friend, there lie his wife with no pulse. On her trek back to the village, she slipped and fell off the cliff and died on impact.

That day, Manjhi made a decision. In his grief and burning desire to see change, he picked up three tools.

He picked up a chisel, shovel, and a hammer.

In 1959, Manjhi began to tend the fields by day, and at night he would take his three tools to the mountain to begin breaking stone and carving what he would hope to be a road one day that would alleviate potential danger and provide direct access to what people needed in the village.

Manjhi worked by night. His efforts were predominantly unseen.

As villagers began to see the progress, they became attracted to the purpose.

They began helping Manjhi with the same tools.

Finally, in 1982, the road was complete. Manjhi’s pursuit of the work required dedication, discipline, passion, and commitment.

He was actively being criticized for prioritizing his work over what was culturally acceptable or cultural priorities… even arrested for it!

Because of Manjhi’s dedication to the work, the village was transformed.

For Manjhi, his work was worth it.

We all are working on something. Our jobs, relationships, hobbies, or ourselves.

Most of you here this morning are desiring to work on yourselves at some rate… at the least, open seeing to what you could work on.

Our purpose to gather together this morning is to worship God not only for the work He has done, but the work He is doing in us AND through us…

The christian life takes work! It takes discipline, commitment, and dedication as we live to follow God’s design for our lives…

A reality for us that is only because of the work God has done for us!

So let me ask you this question this morning…

What makes your work worth it?

Why do you continue to invest in coming to church? Why do you strive to read more of God’s word?

What makes you keep seeking advice and guidance?

What makes the work you’re currently or desiring to put into your faith journey worth it?

Nehemiah’s job not only was a big one, but was a difficult one. He faced conflict in our last chapter that was dividing the people.

Now that matters are settled internally, we will see that the opposition he has faced isn’t quite over.

Nehemiah’s response will tell us if he believes the work he is putting in is worth it.

But we all know that any great work is worth it.

Nehemiah 6:1 ESV

1 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),

Nehemiah has accomplished a lot up to this point. However, this did not keep him from seeing the necessary work that remained.

Opposition is is still present.

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are still seeking to stop Nehemiah’s efforts.

Nehemiah 6:2–4 ESV

2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.

The enemy’s tactic to stop Nehemiah’s efforts are through the means of distractions…

We are easily one of the most distracted generations to exist.

Everything seems to be attempting to steal our focus!

A study found that the average person checks their phone 96 times per day, about once every ten minutes.

We touch our phones 2,600 times a day.

Could you imagine if I stopped to check my phone 4 or 5 times while I was preaching to you?!

The bad guys, Sanballat and Geshem, are attempting to distract Nehemiah by enticing him to stop what he was doing and meet with them.

If discipline produces progress, then distractions delay discipline.

When we are going about our work that God has set before us,

to be the mom or dad he’s called us to be, to use our influence in our jobs and among our relationships, to walk faithfully as Christians

the enemy will use the method of distractions to attempt to take our eyes off of our work.

For Nehemiah, the distraction was when his enemies were trying to take him down to address something that was going to take his attention off his primary purpose.

How do we know when our work is being done for God’s glory?

1. We are trusting God

2. We are walking with God

3. We are talking to God

Essentially, when our work revolves around our relationship with God. (1 Cor 10:31)

So, what makes the work you are doing great? When God’s name is at stake.

This was a reality for Nehemiah too. The rebuilding of Jerusalem was to reestablish the city as a reflection of God’s name and glory!

When we are doing a great work for God, we will be faced with distractions every day that lead us away from our primary focus as a believer.

Distractions do three things.

Distractions shift our focus.

Nehemiah 6:2 ESV

2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.

The distraction that calls us away from God’s work is the distraction that seeks to stop God’s work.

Nehemiah recognized that this meeting wasn’t to aide the effort of rebuilding the wall.

It wasn’t a party to celebrate what had been accomplished thus far…

This was a call to concern himself with the things that were not what God had called him into…

What could be distracting you from fully pursuing and seeking to accomplish God’s work?

Maybe your calendar and schedule?

Some of us are yes men- we say yes our of a pure intention even at the cost of aa healthy pace.

In Luke 10, we see a character than can surely relate to this struggle…

Luke 10:41–42 ESV

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha wasn’t necessarily doing a bad thing… She was wanting to appropriately serve Jesus!

But in the busyness of her intention, she missed what Jesus valued more- her presence and full attention…

Not everything that is a good thing is a God thing.

Maybe for others what distracts you the most is what insights fear…

If you are a young professional in the room, your focus on Gods work in and through you will be enhanced by one discipline you might need the most… rest.

Story of starting ministry…

Distractions shape our fears.

Our fears insight anxiety and worry.

Nehemiah 6:4–7 ESV

4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”

The enemy will use fear to distract us from keeping our eyes focused on God’s work in and through our eyes!

Nehemiah was receiving open letters, letters that had been read to the public questioning his intentions and rewriting his motives!

Have you ever had something false said against you? Something that, if believed, would alter people’s opinions about you and your ethics? Has fear creeped in because of what is at stake?

What is your immediate response?

To defend yourself? To combat it? To call them up and tell them whats up?

Nehemiah did nothing like that…

Nehemiah 6:8 ESV

8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”

Nehemiah basically didn’t give any attention to it. He kept his head down and focused on the work at hand.

Nehemiah doesn’t let the distractions of lies and false accusations hinder his focus.

But for some of us, distractions like these have a habit of shaping our fears.

In order for something to be shaped, it has to be already be possessed.

We carry fear with us wherever we go, the question is not whether we have fear, it is how is fear shaped?

Is our fear shaped by the world around us or the God that is for us?

Genesis 3:10 ESV

10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to do what they wanted instead of what was good for them.

Their sin warps their fear.

In their act of selfishness, they lost what was once a healthy fear of God and because of the distraction of the enemy and their fall to his temptation, their fear was shaped into a fear that paralyzed them.

God now seeks to remind us of the purpose of fear as a result of how the distractions in our lives have shaped it…

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

This wisdom allows us to walk confidently in God’s work by grace through faith…

Fear either paralyzes us or empowers us.

When we walk with a fear of the Lord it empowers us to accomplish God’s will with that confidence.

When we walk in a fear shaped by the distractions of the enemy, we will be paralyzed, hindered, filled with anxiety and worry.

We are unable.

What shapes your fear?

Is it the distractions in your life that are calling you away from God’s work in and through your life?

Or is it the wisdom of God’s word directing you in His work reminding you of your worth….

Lastly…

Distractions will shame your faith.

Nehemiah 6:10–13 ESV

10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.

Shemaiah, who carries the reputation of being some type of a prophet (meaning he declares the will of God to the people), comes to Nehemiah declaring that there is a threat upon his life…

He encourages Nehemiah to run into the temple and hide and there he will be saved…

Nehemiah knew this man was not sent by God- he knew this distraction was a distraction… How?

He knew God’s word…

Nehemiah knew that the Pentateuch (the jewish name for the first four books of our Bible- the Bible they had up until this point) declared that no one could enter the temple except the priest!

This was a law established by God himself.

Numbers 18:7 ESV

7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Nehemiah wasn’t about to risk disobeying God, knowing it would risk his life as well just to try and save it!

This is a brilliant plan by the enemies. They know that if Nehemiah will fall into this distraction and go into the temple, they can shame his faith for disobeying the Lord!

It was a trap!

Imagine how Nehemiah could have justified running to the temple…

“I am not quitting, I am just being careful…”

“God wants me to be safe, doesn’t He?”

Notice how the enemy isn’t attacking him head-on.

It is the small compromises that the enemy wants you to fall to!

The small compromises we make today will lead to bigger ones in the future…

One small lie turns into a lifestyle of dishonesty.

One moment of impurity turns into a life of addiction.

One season of rejecting God turns into years of distance from Him.

Distractions that persuade us to compromise lead to excuses.

“I know I haven’t been at church in a couple months, it’s just crazy at work right now…”

“Listen, I see where God calls us to live this way but I think thats a bit out dated…”

“I am not going all the way to BP for that marriage conference… why can’t we just have one here?”

So here you are… malnourished in your faith, living in destructive sin, and seemingly losing in prominent areas in your life.

1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV

12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

This starts in the smallest areas of our life… If we are not careful, what we tolerate today, we will accept tomorrow.

How do we fight against distraction that could shame our faith?

Nehemiah 6:11 ESV

11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.”

Remember your identity.

Nehemiah knew what role he played in God’s work.

He knew God had revealed a burden to rebuild the wall.

He was passionate about God’s call on His life to restore the city of Jerusalem.

He valued God’s name among the nations.

He knew His identity was to serve the Lord by acting on the burden he received…

Do you know your identity?

You are…

righteous

blameless

temple of the HS

purposeful life

you are chosen

child of the KING

When is distraction defeated? When faithfulness is repeated…