Satan's Attack from within
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Good morning, turn with me in your Bibles this morning to . We are in our 5th sermon in the book of Nehemiah and we are learning what it looks like when God gives you a spiritual burden.
When God makes your heart heavy for something He wants you to do and what it takes to see God fix what is broken through your obedience.
In order for us to walk in the victory that God desires for us we have to have a heart sensitive enough to see things as God sees them, and allow our hearts to be burdened for the things which burden the heart of God.
This is where the adventure is in the Christian life, where He uses us as tools in His hands to accomplish His eternal purposes. But if we are ever going to be used by God we must first have that burden but then we must seek God for a vision of how we can respond and answer the call, once God gives us a vision, when God tells us what we are called and commanded to do about the issue we must look beyond ourselves and have the committment to see it through to the end.
This is what has happened in the life of Nehemiah, his city is burned to the ground, God provides a platform for him to do something about it for he was the kings cupbearer.
He then goes to his hometown and begins to do the thing God had called him to do rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. Now many of us would think this is great he is obeying where others would not the people will be pumped and jump on board but this is not what happens at all.
While a vast majority understand they need to do something about their broekn down wall, many in leadership do not, Sanballat and Tobiah rise up and they seek to destroy the very thing that they should have rejoiced over.
They are so adamantly opposed to the man Nehemiah they miss out on Gods plan, and they miss it by a mile they even decide they are going to kill the people who are working to rebuild God’s city of Jerusalem.
so the people rather than be afraid they just keep being obedient to God and they continue to build with swords in their hands.
The principle laid out here is amazing that hen it comes to obeying God you will be opposed, normally from enemies attacking you from the outside but what happens when the enemies attacks come from within?
That is the topic from When the enemy attacks from within.
This reminds me of a story I heard once of a man who got on to his young daughter in the backyard, she is having a conversation with her friends, and as he is listening he can tell the conversation is getting heated and an argument breaks out.
The daughter and her friends are yelling at each other and he runs outside to reprimand his daughter and his daughter says dady its ok we were just playing church.
Its sad but true
Most divisions that occur within churches dont happen because of some doctrinal difference, you know why they occur?
Personal conflict
How about this for a title of a book:
“GREAT CHURCH FIGHTS” and entire book and its not the only one by the way, devoted to helping churches resolve interpersonal conflict.
Sad but true
Now there are many who say well if there is gonna be drama within a church I just wont go to one. For the record Jesus said the wheat and the tares shal grow together so no matter what church you go to there will be drama, and conflict.
Whether you know about it is one thing but there will be conflict
Not only that but the Bible also records in Jude that there will be some who Satan places within the churches to cause confusion and division. One commentator said this:
Within the church what we have seen through
Throughout the history of the church when Satan saw that he could not destroy it through persecution, the next thing he did was join it.
Think about that...
So is it any wonder that Jesus’ final prayer before He left this Earth, one of His final prayers was for us. Of all the things HE could have prayed for isn’t that interesting, He thinks about future believers and HE prays for us everyone who will trust in Him by faith.
Do you know what He prays for?
UNITY
He says I pray that they would be unified.... why?
Because Jesus understood that disunity is a real barrier to the gospel, its a real barrier in terms of what people think about our God, Unity sends a powerful message to those who dont yet know Christ.
But theres something else in the midst of all of our diversity, there is unity and what is it that unifies us? Its the person of Jesus Christ.
So this is why we must be committed to being peace makers and seeking peace with each other.
We Must ALWAYS Seek PEACE with each other
We Must ALWAYS Seek PEACE with each other
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Question: What is it that makes for peace?
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.
Do you know what you have been called to?
You have been called to represent the very name of Jesus Christ.
Christian means LITTLE CHRISTS
You represent Jesus!
Walk in a manner worthy of the calling by which you were called.
Your kids bear your name, my kids bear my name you want your kids to represent the name well.
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:2
Back up heres what He is saying you wanna maintain peace?
Start with humility, show gentleness, show tolerance for one another in love
What is such a challenge is that you and I well um we rub each other the wrong way. We dont always get along, in our humanness we do things that offend each other.
Last week we read
Heres Nehemiah theres this opposition from the outside and bc god supernaturally intervenes and the oppositions plot is exposed Nehemiah and the people are prepared to defend themselves from the attacks that are coming the opposition tries to kill them...
They have a stone in one hand and a sword in the other so their building and they are defending… They know they are under attack because there are people who did not want them doing Gods work and they did not want God’s Holy City to be rebuilt.
Nehemiah was a tremendous leader, it is a great leader who can elad people in the face of discouragement.
that wall gets built higher and higher and higher
there is this amazing victory in chapter 4 the opposition couldnt take em, and all of a sudden you get to chapter 5 and Nehemiah has his hands full bc Nehemiah’s opposition now comes from within.
heres whats happening
This was a farming society back in the day, 445 bc men were leaving their feilds in order to commit themselves to build the wall to protect Gods holy city so that Gods people could worship in safety.
When they left their feilds the work fell on the women and children, and that was tough as it was, but not only that a famine came in the land at that time as well, so when a famine hits its really rough bc theprice of food sky rockets and people become even poorer, so what the wealthy Israelites saw was that this was an opportunity to become richer by taking advantage of their poor Jewish brother.
So what you have is God people taking advantage of one another and when this happen there will be no unity what the opposition could not do from the outside God’s people did to themselves.
They did it to themselves....
Theres no building going on, bc there is this disunity going on and Gods people are taking it to each other. So Nehemiah has his hands full.
Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
Nehemiah 5:1
The wives say listen we gotta problem...
For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.”
This tells you how desperate this situation had become, there were a whole lotta people who are starving to death.
There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
In order to get basics like food and water they were having to mortgage their fields and what were gonna see in a few seconds is that those who had the ability to take over their feilds and give them grain were charging them interest.
You say whats wrong with that?
well it was forbidden to Mosaic law for you to lend your Jewish brothers food money or anything at any kind of interest if they were starving.
I mean if you have a brother or sister who is starving you dont make life more difficult on them and expect the favor of God to stay upon you.
“Listen we will help you right now but once your not so emaciated I expect 50% back on top of what you borrowed.”
You dont do that but that is what was happening here
And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards.
The Persian King enacted a tax on the people’s property and in order to pay that tax they had to borrow money. Again it was coming with interest.
Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
OUR FLESH IS AS THE FLESH OF OUR BROTHERS
They had to sell themselves as endentured servants to their own people.
Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
This is a classic case of the rich oppressing the poor God cares about the poor, bc God cared about His own people, He says listen if there ever comes a day when were having a hard time finding food for each other we share and were generous.
We dont charge one another interest.
DO YOU GIVE WITH EXPECTATION OF GETTING A RETURN?
Listen to me it is not worship if you give and expect a return....
Well I wanted to help that one out but I dont think he or she will ever get it right and they are just gonna take my money and it wont make a bit of difference.
Not up to you to decide that
If God prompts you give expecting nothing in return giving it solely to God.
In the book of James there is one of the most powerful verses you will ever read and it is written to rich people, now listen we might not all be making millions but compared with many in our world we are the rich.
Even if we are living paycheck to paycheck man listen if you have a home, if you have bills to pay, if you have a job and live in the US we are the rich.
now sometimes we all fall on hard times but that is why the church exists to help one another in the book of Acts it says that they shared with each other as any had need.
But by in large Americans are richer than they realize even here in our little town of Cottonwood, guys listen we are blessed.
Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days! Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!
Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
Now above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. Your “yes” must be “yes,” and your “no” must be “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.
My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.
James 5
In
Woe to you who are rich
Woe to you who are rich
Now is it a sin to be rich, absolutely not, but it is a sin to be what I call wicked rich.
You store up riches for yourselves and neglect the needs of the hurting among you.
He says your storehouse is overflowing but the person who is in need you pay no attention to.
Then a crazy thing happens in that text read it carefully
ITS AS IF ALL OF THE RICH PERSONS POSSESSIONS ARE PERSONIFIED AND THEY RISE UP AND THEY GIVE WITNESS AND THEY SPEAK AND GIVE TESTIMONY AND THEY SAY WE ARE THE PROOF THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SELF INDULGENT, AND HAVE IGNORED THE NEEDS OF THOSE AROUND YOU.
We are the proof that you have witheld pay from your laborers bc your greedy you have become stingy and you mistreat those who work for you.
As Christians we should be generous...
(Jesus paid it all)
Who could you give sacrificially to this week?
When we defraud each other when were not kind to each other, when someone does things even intentionally to destroy unity what do we do?
Well Jesus gives us some specific orders and the first is found in
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Matthew 18
So heres what he doesnt say, if your brother has sinned against you in some way, heres what you do, you go sit in little circles and talk badly about them.
No
He says heres what you do: You go on facebook and ladnblst them without calling their name.... no thats not what you do
Give them the silent treatment.... no thats not what you do
DO NOT TAKE YOUR GREIVENCE AND MAKE IT PUBLIC, bc that only causes the walls of disunity and distrust to be built higher.
What happens is when someone has wronged thereis this intense desire to go tell everybody, let me tell you what this person did to me or did not do for me.
Thats human nature
But what does Jesus say?
Go to them in private, and when you do so in humility and gentleness and say hey can we talk?
give them the opportunity to make things right when this happens great healing comes.
What happens if they dont respnd to you? What happens when they say I didnt do anything wrong, thats your problem… how dare you even say anything to me about this?
What do you do next?
But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Matthew 18
Only when its neccesarry do you involve others, only when it is neccesarry do you involve church leadership, if that person then does not respond to those who want to bring accountability and unity to the situation without airing dirty laundry to everybody then what do you do?
You have to protect the sheep and this is what good leaders do.
GUARD THE UNITY IN THE CHURCH, GUARD THE UNITY WITHIN YOUR MARRIAGE, GUARD THE UNITY WITHIN THE YOUTH GROUP, GUARD THE UNITY WITHIN THE SS CLASS
GOD DESIRES UNITY!!!
We must always seek to pursue peace with one another
Theres one other powerful pearl of peace keeping wisdom that i am going to mention in a moment but back to Nehemiahs response
I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
Nehemiah 5:
Pay close attention to the things that make you angry bc those are the things you really care deeply about. Most of us get angry bc someone cuts us off in traffic .....
What does he get angry at?
He gets angry at their outcry and injustice, he is mad because people are hurting and some people are taking advantage of them.
I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them
I took counsel with myself
Literally you wanna know what that means I thought carefully...
This is so good, not only did he think carefully but you know what else he did He controlled his emotions… thats so hard.
He brought the facts
I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them
Nehemiah
It takes alot of courage to stand up against nobles and officials, what kind of person does this?
Youll find out in a minute
Whats happening here is the Person king who allowed the Jews to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the city has also given him the title and position of governor of Judea, and as governor he has a support team with him, he has people who help him accomplish his mission.
Thats who he rallys
and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
He is saying look heres what were doing, were spending our money and were buying our Jewish brothers back from foreigners and those guys are buying them from you.
So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
Nehemiah
Heres what he is saying, he isn’t making this about him, he is not even making this about the people heres what he is saying: you’ve got to understand something the way we treat one another is really important bc when we sell each other out, other nations are gonna look at us and be like PSHHHT look at you, look at what you do to each other and guess what that is a reflection of our God.
do you see that?
Thats really important for you to get
THE WAY YOU TREAT PEOPLE MATTERS
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THEM BEHIND THEIR BACKS, WHEN YOU JUDGE THEM WITH YOUR EYES, WHEN YOU PLOT AGAINST YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHEN YOU REJOICE WHEN THEY ARE HURTING BC YOU THINK YOU CAN GAIN FROM IT....
YOU ARE DOING THIS TO SOMEONE GOD CREATED AND LOVES DEARLY!!!
HOW YOU TREAT PEOPLE MATTERS!
Because how you treat people is a reflection of our God.
When you look at the OT it seems like God is so restrictive over the JEws He is like
you can eat this dont eat that wear this dont wear this
your like oh man what is this, you wanna know what this is, God was using His chosen nation as a window so that others might be able to see Him.
you could meet a JEw and youd be like oh I know who youre God is
You believe in one God I gotcha
By virtue of their actions people were learning things about the one true God.
Listen church your life will be the only Bible that some people read, they will make judgments on whether or not God is real based on how you treat others.
JESUS SAIS BY THIS THE WORLD WILL KNOW YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES BY THE LOVE THAT YOU HAVE FOR ONE ANOTHER
Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
Were giving them what they need with our own money
Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”
Nehemiah understands an important principle there can be no true mending of relationship until you have actually tried to make the wrong right.
Its one thing to say oh I am really sorry for what I did its another thing to bear the fruit of that repentance
ITS ONE THING TO SAY THE WORDS BUT DO YOUR ACTIONS BACK UP YOUR APOLOGY
Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
Do you see what One courageous individual can do to the hearts of people?
THEY PRAISED THE LORD
great leaders lead by example
the greatest leaders lead sacrificially
Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
Nehemiah 5:
The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
I hope your getting the theme that keeps bubbling up in this man’s life do you wanna know why the Lord used this man in such a great way?
HE FEARED GOD
I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
NO LAND
this is incredible because think about it you know this is going to become prime property so we could buy the land and then charge when people start to come here.
Nehemiah said didnt do it didn’t even acquire the land.
Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.
He said I paid for it out of my own pocket He is not bragging he is saying, I am not going to say this to you when I have a log in my own eye bc this is what I did myself.
I wanna share with you this passage as we close
Now what was happening in this church, this was a really jacked up church, this was a crazy group of Christians just trying to come together the apsolte Paul is really trying to help them out
They are taking each other to court
To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?
1 Corinthians
Excuse me I am an American, excuse me I do not get cheated. Why not?
Maybe you just need to stop and take one for the team bc if you take each other to these secular law courts what are they gonna think about your God?
GOD CARES ABOUT THE UNITY OF HIS PEOPLE
GOD BLESSES THOSE WHO KEEP PEACE
GOD CARES ABOUT HOW YOU TREAT OTHERS
Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah worked for Gods approval not the approval of men
This is the cure for much of what ails us,
so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
hebrews
Seek to please God not yourselves not others but God alone
You may take one for the team, God knows and God is a rewarder of those who give sacrificially
Bow your head and close your eyes
WHO IN HERE IS HOLDING A GRUDGE?
WHO IN HERE IS SEEKING TO MAKE LIFE HARD FOR SOMEONE?
WHO IN HERE KNOWS THEY SHOULD BE GIVING AND ARE NOT?
WHO IN HERE REFUSES TO FORGIVE?
Maybe you need to go to someone and make things right…