Sermon Tone Analysis

, - Overcoming Satan’s Subtle Schemes: Fear & Discouragement

Satisfaction of finished work - how about life well lived, production line, house, framing 3-4 days.

Nehemiah - overcame opposition without - external threats, opposition within - real $$ problem - slavery/bitter taste in mouth - worked remarkable re-commitment to each other - generosity change community!

Eben-Ezer - through all struggle, up and down, hit these points - after a funeral, middle of a personal crisis, reach out to hurting members, support for Children of the Promise - look .

Are you reaching points in your service to the Lord like that - feel God has done this, God is at work Sure struggle, suffering opposition - God is building something beautiful - my life, my service, my relationships -

But now critical point - and the enemy realizes it too - wall physically important - but Nehemiah - like Jesus Christ - not so concerned with this nice building as you and I being re-built into Living Cathedral made of people - enemy realizing this Nehemiah - building a people of the covenant -12 years as Governor!

The enemy now throws his last ditch attempts to make sure only a spurt of building for the Lord, not a long term lifestyle!

And if you are to servants of the Lord here, must learn to recognize the schemes the enemy is throwing your way and you must learn how to overcome them!

Its especially in this 6th chapter that the Lord teaches us:

Overcome the enemies sly schemes to stop your God-directed service, by turning to the Lord`s Sovereign Sufficiency!

This is vitally important for every single person here because:

1.

No one escapes Satan’s sinister schemes!

That there is a Great & Awesome God who is Good, made all things Good, active in this world/ your life.

But that there is another -mutant twisted force, in our universe, fallen angel - who in this free world that God made - rebels and wants to take the whole creation with him in that rebellion.

A. You feel the darkness and deadness of how he decieves the world - with half truths and lies about who God is - Father of lies.

Even in church comes as angel of light - master strategem - like right from the beginning - did God really say - I can judge for myself, I can be me own own god, I can live independent of God, rather than actively depending on him.

I can settle for $5 worth of the gospel, enough to inspire me, but not to change me!

If Satan keeps you drugged with half-truths, never really realize his activity in your life - likes to let sleeping dogs lie.

B. But deception of spiritually deadend people, not only method.

For you who like the people of Jerusalem grow up in the covnenat community - tempts you in very obvious ways - Frontal Attacks of Temptation: You believe what the Bible says: “Lion seeking whom he may to devour” Even Jesus faced these early on: Please yourself = hedonism/materialism; parade yourself - wealth for selfish gain; prove yourself - don’t listen to what God says, His Son pleased with you - live life to win applause!.

How much more for us,must we be on guard - live spiritually dynamic and charged world!

Not saying, demon behind every tree - but Satan - use the world’s thinking, sinful nature -the flesh, use the demonic minions - to pull you from God and His work!

That’s the truth behind what God allowed Satan to do - in testing Job - Job didn’t know it!

C.

But nothing makes Satan more angry - and stirs his rage as much as when, like Nehemiah, you are doing a great project for the Lord in your life.

When all the deception, and the frontal attacks, fail.

It is then that He unleashes his most subtle schemes as a last ditch attempt to take God’s servant out of commission and render him or her ineffective!

So while every human being comes under the deceptions and temptations of Satan;

2. Servants of the Lord must especially watch out for His CHANGING Subtle Schemes

Nehemiah and God’s people - everything in place, kind of like small groups, no gaps remaining, just last part of launch.

No small feet, scaffolding lifting equipment - hugely important last steps of the gates of the city!

And Satan launches three sublte attacks one after the other to stop God’s servatns!

First, S,T,Geshem,they scheme to get Nehemiah to stop the work of the Lord by Intrigue, Smoozing, Political Softball.

Look at there message: v.2b.

You need to understand that Ono is a days journey away - throw in the full day meeting - two travel days - distraction.

But also need to know it is half way between Samaria/Jer in the middle of hostile territory - of Ashdod/Samaria.

They are luring N away?

Anything in your life doing that - not necessarily bad activity - but it is leaving the work of the Lord, duty undone!

What from that survey is inordinate - moderation - sports, tv, facebook - use them or do they use you - are they helping you in Your life calling or hindering you!

But the scheming of the enemy is more dangerous than distraction.

And that’s why I would call this a schmoozing scheme.

This is like a concession speech on election day - Look know we haven’t always seen eye to eye - there was that attack thing, but Hey you win, you’re getting that wall done - Yup you’re a big shot now, why don’t we bigshots work out how we can help each other - If Nehemiah was currying the favour of bigshots - would have given up on His God given task - But for Nehemiah God and His job where big - and because of that people could not intimidate or buy him!

Four times this subtle scheme comes - and each time with resolution v.3 “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.

Why should the work stop?”

What is it in your life that sense work - devotions as family; teaching God’s children here, work of mercy -, speaking for justice for enslaved, poverty - Yes, tempting to curry favour of world- But God’s called me to a great work!

How this world without a moral foundation, needs you and I with our wills stealed with conviction, and our hearts full of compassion - to take an uncompriomising stand for the Lord - pro-life, ethenaisia, lifestyle choices - in regard to alcohol -

S,T,G of the world may ridicule us as uptight - press on with conviction and compassion to do the work of the Lord1!

Second.

But look what happens next: v.5

Then the fifth time - Satan mixes it up, throws a curve ball, pulls another device out of the tool shed.

If currying the world’s favour won’t work.

Nothing works so well as panic and discouragement.

We could call this the dirty politics.

You have probably faced this - anyone ever spread a distorted version of the truth about you - a rumour?

That’s the significance of this open/unsealed letter - Not only a rumour - but a veiled threat!

Listen you don’t get in line with us, I’m going to send the King this letter.

Probably already sent!

All your neighbours, they’re going to read this too!

Now how do you respond to false rumours?

What are you options: PANIC - has he sent it, better do what he says, better find out.

Retaliation - I’m going to write an open letter about you three slime-balls.

Oh yeah they’re going to know the truth about people like you who write open letters!

Uncontroled rage that stirs the controversy isn’t it!

hen the fifth time - Satan mixes it up, throws a curve ball, pulls another device out of the tool shed.

If currying the world’s favour won’t work.

Nothing works so well as panic and discouragement.

We could call this the dirty politics.

You have probably faced this - anyone ever spread a distorted version of the truth about you - a rumour?

That’s the significance of this open/unsealed letter - Not only a rumour - but a veiled threat!

Listen you don’t get in line with us, I’m going to send the King this letter.

Probably already sent!

All your neighbours, they’re going to read this too!

Now how do you respond to false rumours?

What are you options: PANIC - has he sent it, better do what he says, better find out.

Retaliation - I’m going to write an open letter about you three slime-balls.

Oh yeah they’re going to know the truth about people like you who write open letters!

Uncontroled rage that stirs the controversy isn’t it!

What does Nehemiah do:

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

He doesn’t waste his emotional energy on lies does he.

He can’t control what the three stooges do.

He doesn’t try to.

He leaves that in God’s hands!

Like Jesus isn’t he - who absorbed all the falsehoods in silence at his trial.

Pray for yourself when this happens.

There is a time to say what’s engraved for generrations on a castle wall: They say, What do the say; let them say!”

Leading to what Jesus says: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Wow, Jesus even tells us to pray for those who persecute and lies about us!

So Nehemiah, only does two things: he denied the rumour sharply and matter of factly sending a brief reply to the source, Sanballat.

But its the second thing he did that makes all the difference in overcoming the schemes of Satan.

3. Overcome these Subtle Schemes with Precious Remedy of Prayer

To understand why you must use the remedy of prayer, you must first understand the one goal of Satan’s various subtle attacks.

It’s actually a theme throughout the whole of Nehemiah.

It’s a word repeated 4 x, intimidate, frighten, - word FEAR.

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

Do you get that?

The enemies goal is ultimately to shake you off the work God’s called you to do and the relationship you have with God in it.

Satan wants to fill your heart with fear.

Like the TV show Fear Factor, tailored made to make you freeze, stop give up.

Revealing question to ask on another - what are you afraid of, worry about, couldn’t stand if it happened?