Nehemiah 4:7-23-Winning in the Battle with Discouragement.
Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 915 viewsNehemiah lays out how to win in the battle against discouragement.
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Last week we dove back into the book of Nehemiah after our Christmas Advent break. If you haven’t already, go ahead and turn in copies of God’s Word to Nehemiah chapter 4. We will read todays verses in a few moments. We began last Sunday with a quick summary of what we had looked at so far in our study of the Book of Nehemiah. One of the first things we highlighted was the characteristics in Nehemiah’s life that were so important to opening the door for God to do such a mighty work through him. The great things about these characteristics is they are also obtainable to us. These characteristics were:
1. He had an unswerving love for God .
2. He had a deep love for God’s people .
3. He was devoted to prayer .
4. He was a student of the Word of God .
After our quick summary we moved into the first 6 verses of chapter 4, where we looked at 5 keys we need to keep in mind as we move forward in our growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. These 5 keys are: there will be:
1. A PRESENCE OF OPPOSITION. And often times the opposition may come from:
2. ATTACKS FROM WITHIN.
also:
3. THE ENEMY DOES NOT WORK ALONE…a couple of side notes we want to be aware of when the enemy attacks is:
What is feeble in the eyes of man (which often times is us!) can be a great tool in the Hand of God.
&
The servant of God never works alone, the Hand of the Almighty God is ever present in the life of the faithful servant of God.
Additionally, When the enemy does attack:
4. OUR GREATEST WEAPON AGAINST THE ATTACK OF THE ENEMY IS PRAYER.
which often strengthens us body, soul and spirit to do the work of God.
and lastly:
5. GODLY UNITY IS AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY. Vs. 6
This morning we will continue in chapter 4, starting in verse 7. Go ahead and stand with me and will read verses 7-14.
“7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
We left off in verse 6 with great success. God had worked through the Nation of Judah to the point that within a very short time half the wall around Jerusalem had been completed. Then the inevitable took place, the enemy upped his attack. We see in the verses we just read that Sanballat and Tobiah were no longer alone in the attack. They now had the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites joining them. Additionally the type of attacks from the enemy progressed. In writing of the attacks of the enemy in Nehemiah, Chuck Swindoll writes;
“First there was sarcasm. Then there was mockery, which led to open opposition, criticism, and finally conspiracy. The conspiracy was so great that before long the inevitable took place—discouragement set in. No matter how hard he tried, Nehemiah was unable to correct the problems. They just got worse; they multiplied and magnified as time went on.” (Swindoll, Charles R.. Hand Me Another Brick (p. 80). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)
Oftentimes when discouragement sets in, our eyes seem blinded to anything good that may be taking place in our lives. Have you ever experienced that type of discouragement? Discouragement so strong that all you saw was darkness? My guess is that if I asked for a show of hands on these questions, quite a few hands would shoot up, actually let me re-phrase that, the hands wouldn’t shoot up, hands would slowly raise. First one hand, then another and another. More would raise as people began to realize they are not alone.
It was early in May, 2018. Pam and I had just returned from Village Mission Candidate School. We had literally spent the last 24 hours plus either on a plane or in an airport facing delay after delay. Neither of us had had much if any sleep and discouragement had begun to set in for Pam. By then Pam and I knew that we had been accepted by Village Missions, but we had no idea where we would be moving to to minister, and there was so much to do to get ready to move. When we first knew we would be moving I hadn’t had my accident yet, so we figured I would have no problem getting things ready, which included replacing some siding on our home, and then painting the outside. That all changed on March 3rd with my accident. Even though much had changed, the one thing that had not changed was God’s plan and God’s Hand on our lives. It seemed every day or two He did some new thing to confirm His call on our lives and His powerful Hand moving on our behalf. Despite all that He was doing, because a deep discouragement had set in, all Pam saw at the time was darkness.
While my accident had taken a toll on me physically, it had taken a mental toll on Pam. Counselors have said for many years that one of the things a wife wants most from her husband is to feel secure, both in her relationship with her husband, but also secure in that her husband is able to do whatever it takes to take care of her and the family. At that point in time not only was I out of work, but on top of that I was physically unable to do much of anything. So, in her eyes, everything to do with the move, with packing, with getting the house ready to sell, was all on her shoulders. This all culminated with her laying in the dark on a foam pad in our unfinished basement literally unable to do anything. She couldn’t prepare meals, pack, clean or much of anything else. It was so bad that she had to quit her job on the spot, she couldn’t function. I recall late one Saturday night praying with her, pleading with God that He would somehow confirm at church tomorrow what we already knew to be His will. We walked into the Annex where we met for Sunday School the next morning and a close friend handed me a card. In it was a gift card for a local grocery store for about $100. Additionally that same morning a couple in my parents Sunday School class asked my parents if I was still out of work. After my parents confirmed that was still the case, the husband handed Dad a sealed envelope. Inside the envelope was a card letting us know they were praying for us, also inside was about $300. My spirits were lifted, Pam still saw nothing but darkness. When you are in the depths of despair, discouragement, depression, that is often how it is, and it does not mean you aren’t walking with God or at the center of His will. Pam’s walk with God has always been solid and we were in the center of His will, but all she saw was darkness. A few days later we went to the Walmart to pick up groceries. Like our Walmart in Crawfordsville, you could order the groceries online and they would bring them right to your car. This had been a particularly dark day and I recall Pam and I praying on the way to Walmart, which was less than a mile from our house, that God would somehow give us another sign that we were at the center of His will.
Perhaps some of you may be thinking, “Wasn’t that already pretty clear?” And to be honest, yes it was, but the enemies attack on us was so severe since we had committed to join Village Missions that there was a lot of second guessing going on. At this point in time we were both out of work, I was physically unable to do much of anything, we were moving, and not only did we not know where we were moving, we didn’t know when we were moving, so yes, there was a lot of second guessing going on. We picked up the groceries and no sooner did they get loaded into our trunk than Pam got out of our car and said she needed to walk home. I prayed and pleaded with God the whole ride home. As I finished putting the groceries away my cell phone rang. It was my good friend Mike. Pam hadn’t quite made it home, so I walked out to our back yard and began to talk with Mike. Mike had been a good friend for a long time, he and I had served on our church board for several years as well as several other leadership roles in the church. He and his wife Dana were very excited for whatever and wherever God was leading us. They had had an exceptional year in 2017 and had been sitting on a large chunk of cash. They had set it aside for the Lord but were not sure where God wanted the money to go. He and Dana had prayed and both felt God confirming in their hearts that He wanted them to give it to us. Did I mention that it was $5,000? Talk about confirmation! Yet still, Pam saw nothing but darkness.
Now, a year and a half later, Pam and I can see God’s Hand in all of this, but at the time our struggle was intense.
In many ways what Pam and I were going through is similar to what the Nation of Judah was going through in the passage we read this morning. God had done some great things through those who had undertaken the very difficult task of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, but the constant verbal attacks from their enemies, the fact that there were now new enemies joining them and the negativity of some of their own people had taken its toll on them, like Pam when we were in the midst of our hard days, all they saw was darkness, even though God was definitely moving. If you who have experienced this same thing, pay careful attention this morning as we look at the steps Nehemiah took with the Nation if Judah to deal with their battle with discouragement and despair.
The first thing we noticed in this mornings passage in verses 7 & 8 was that not only did the attacks from the enemy continue, they intensified and their enemies seemed to be recruiting additional enemies. This brings us to our first lesson this morning. Next Slides
Our Enemy Doesn’t Give Up Easily, in fact he Never Gives Up. Vs. 7 & 8
As was mentioned in the quote from Chuck Swindoll; “First there was sarcasm. Then there was mockery, which led to open opposition, criticism, and finally conspiracy. ”
Knowing that the enemy doesn’t give up easily and that he also gets others to join him in his attacks. I want you to notice what Nehemiah writes in verse 4:9; Next Slide
Nehemiah 4:9
9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Did you notice the personal pronoun at the beginning of verse 9? “We”. In the past Scripture seemed to indicate the praying was done by Nehemiah, but here we see the word “We”. In other words; Next Slides
Nehemiah was recruiting Prayer Warriors. Vs. 9
One of the things that impresses me in looking at this man Nehemiah is his ability to get others to buy into this task God has called him to accomplish. We see this throughout the first 4 chapters of this book. We saw this in 2:18 where we read;
Nehemiah 2:18; 3:1-32; 4:6 & 9
18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Keep in mind these people lived in considerable and constant fear before Nehemiah showed up on the scene.
Chapter 3 is filled with descriptions of individuals he was able to convince to buy into his plan. And now, here in chapter 4, we see that twice in the first 9 verses he is able to inspire the people to join with him in a unified effort. In verse 6 he is able to get the people to work with one mind even in the midst of criticism from their enemies. And here in verse 9 the people are now following his lead in bringing their concerns to the throne of God Almighty.
However, as we read on in chapter 4, we see that despite all of Nehemiah’s efforts, despite his ability to inspire others to follow his lead in both work and in prayer, discouragement and fear still had a strong grip on their lives.
This brings us to the next important lesson from this morning’s passage: Next Slides
Discouragement, Fear & Depression Can Be Present Even During Times of Victory. Vs. 10-12
Look at verse 10 with me for a moment. We read in verse 10; Next Slide
10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”
One particular phrase stood out to me in this verse. The phrase;
“There is too much rubble.”
As I look at this phrase what I notice is that their eyes are drawn to the wrong thing. They are fixated on the piles of rubble outside the walls instead of the growing strength of the walls. Their eyes were focused on the defeats of the past instead of the victories God was giving them now.
Paul put it best in Philippians 3:13-16 where we read; Next Slide
Philippians 3:13-16
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
There was a lot from Paul’s past that was admirable, but there was also a lot from his past that brought him great shame. Paul put both in the rear view mirror, then he reached up and yanked the rear view mirror off of the windshield and through it in the trash heap. Once done with that he; “pressed on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
We have the same danger the Nation of Judah had, focusing too much of our attention on the failures of the past. In my view the only reason to look at the failures of the past is that they may serve as a reminder for us lest we head that direction again, but that should only be a cursory review, not something we dwell on.
As we move to verses 11 & 12 we see continued verbal threats from their enemies, especially in verse 11, but in verse 12 we see panic among some specific Jews. Let’s look at verse 12 together to see a couple specific details about these Jews that I don’t want us to miss, the first detail is clearly stated, the 2nd one we kind of have to read between the lines to figure out; Next Slide
12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”
1. For the one that is clearly stated, who do these Jews live near? (the enemies of those building the walls).
I get the impression that not only did they live near these enemies, they had close relationships, perhaps even ties to them. They approached those building the walls 10 times to warn them of the threats from the enemies. Before I move forward with this thought, I want to introduce the less obvious detail;
2. These individuals put no effort into the rebuilding of the wall. We see that at the end of verse 12 where we read “You must return to us.”. Had they been assisting with the rebuilding of the wall they wouldn’t have been asking to builders that had joined the rebuilding effort from the surrounding areas to “return to us”.
So why are these 2 details important? Really for a couple reasons, their proximity to the enemies of Judah is very concerning. Let me put it this way. Let’s say one of your adult children, or if your a young adult looking at the possibility of marriage to the love of your life, this could be you. Let’s say as the wedding approaches, one of your closest friends expresses an intense hatred for the one you are marrying. In this instance there is no real rationale behind it. Your soon to be spouse is not a bad person, in fact quite the opposite. But your close friend hates him/her anyway. So there marriage takes place and after that your close friend continues to express that hatred to your new spouse. Before long you decide that it is best to just end the relationship because they have a hatred for the one you love the most.
I think that is kind of similar to what we see taking place here. Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem and was leading a rebuilding effort that should have been done decades earlier. This brought the enemies of the Jews out of the wood work. They hated the Jews and wanted them to have no success whatsoever. If you are a Jew, why would you maintain close ties to them?
The second reason why these 2 details are important is the fact that these individuals who were discouraging the rebuilding effort refused to put any effort in the work of God in Jerusalem. If they would just spend less time listening to the enemies of the Jews and more time coming alongside those who were doing the work of God, maybe this wall would have been completed already, which by the way would have greatly decreased the opportunity of the enemies to attack. A fully completed wall provided great security to the City of Jerusalem and the Nation as a whole.
You know once you have fully devoted yourself to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, critics will come, and often times their critiques are accurate. That being said, I do not put a lot of value in the critiques I receive from those who are either opposed to my faith or from those who are doing nothing for the sake of Christ yet claim to be believers.
Now let’s move to the response Nehemiah has to the discouragement of the people. His response shows the heart of a man who had set an example of looking to God first over a quick reaction. A quick reaction may have ignored the discouragement of the people, perhaps even shaming them for ignoring all that God had already done through them. This may have brought shame, but that may have just added to their discouragement.
These are good lessons for us when we deal with the discouragement that often take place in our life. We see 5 specific steps in Nehemiah in dealing with discouragement. Next Slides
1. Unify Your Efforts Toward A Goal. 4:13
We read in 4:13
13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
Of this verse Chuck Swindoll writes; “Now that is significant. The builders have been scattered all over Jerusalem working together with stones, water, and mortar, and yet separated from their families. Nehemiah unified them according to families and gave each one a common goal—preservation. He turned their attention from themselves to the enemy, from the discouragement of self-pity to the goal of self-preservation. He "tightened the ranks" and thereby encouraged the disheartened.” (Swindoll, Charles R.. Hand Me Another Brick (p. 88). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)
This is something we need to do as well when we are being overcome with times of discouragement. We need to seek the face of God for what He would have us to do going forward, and then unify our efforts for what He has directed us to do.
The next step we see Nehemiah take in handling the discouragement of the people is he; Next Slides
2. Direct Your Attention to The Lord. 4:14
In verse 14 we read;
14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Up until this point they had spent far too much effort with their attention focused on the rubble, and I might add the dwindling rubble, because with the wall being built to half its height, the pile of rubble had to be shrinking. The most telling statement of the entire verse is; “Do not be afraid, Remember the Lord, Who is great and awesome”. Remember, this was his rallying call at the very start! He gathered the people to a specific place, sat them down and then began to tell them of all the great things God had already done to get him there and to set the stages for the rebuilding effort. Now he is reminding them of what God has now done, not through him, but through them.
This is perhaps one of our greatest tools in overcoming discouragement. Spending time reflecting on what God has done in our life. Honestly, the vast majority of us could come up with page after page of God’s blessing on our life. And any time discouragement sets in, we pull out those pages and read them again.
The next step we see is; Next Slides
3. Maintain Balance in Your Thoughts and Actions. 4:14-17
What did Nehemiah do next in his attempt to thwart discouragement? He encouraged the Jews to maintain a balance. He called them to action. "Now, you've got to fight," he commanded. "There's a job to be done. Draw swords!" Verse 14 concludes, "Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses." Remember, he had just reminded them of the “great and awesome God” that was right there with them. Look at verses 15 and 16: “15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah”
Verse 17 adds, "Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon." Swindoll, Charles R.. Hand Me Another Brick (p. 91). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
From this point forward they were to do more than just build, they were to be prepared to fight. By the way, please notice, he was not encouraging them to engage the enemy, but if the enemy did the engaging, they were free to defend the Lords work, not their work, the Lords work-this is an important distinction.
The 4th thing Nehemiah did was to; Next Slides
4. Determine a Rallying Point. 4:19-20
I love what Chuck Swindoll writes regarding verses 19 & 20; “Let me clarify what I mean.Nehemiah wrote in verse 19, "And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, 'The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.'" Now in verse 20 we read of the rallying point: "At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." What was the rallying point? First of all, it was a place, but it also suggests a principle. The place was wherever the sound of the trumpet was coming from. Nehemiah ordered, "Whenever you hear that trumpet sound, you come running to the spot where the bugler is standing." The principle: Don't try to fight alone. The principle is still true; we need a rallying point. We need a close friend, somebody we can attach ourselves to whenever the attack comes. Don't try to fight it alone. None of us should say, "I don't need anybody else." That's poor theology and conveys a warped idea of Christianity. The response of the healthy child of God is, "I cant possibly do it alone. But, O God, if You will give me Your strength through Your Spirit and link me with a brother or sister in the family who can encourage me and whom I can encourage, I will be rallying around You until the last day of that test.” (Swindoll, Charles R.. Hand Me Another Brick (pp. 91-93). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)
Last we see Nehemiah encourage the people to; Next Slides
5. Develop a “Serving Others” Ministry. 4:21-23
Don’t forget to add that often times God uses the attacks we face to open up doors for ministry in the future and how that has worked out for Pam and me.