Nehemiah Week 4

Nehemiah

The Rebuilder | Week #3

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever been falsely accused? Have you been accused of doing something you did not do?

I.E. Run over the bushes in your driveway? Only to discover that it was one of your daughters.

How did you respond? How did it make you feel? TBH, I did not like that my wife made such a wild accusation and then never apologized even after she learned the truth from my daughters own mouth!

This week we will be looking at the results of Nehemiah’s finished work, the accuser and the overall lessons learned from Nehemiah.

Nehemiah Review:

1. God breaks Nehemiah’s heart for his people and his city and calls him to a greater purpose (v. 3-4).

2. Nehemiah begins to fast and pray to be sent to rebuild (v. 3-4).

3. God puts an eternal purpose in Nehemiah’s heart.

4. Resistance is guaranteed. The enemy wants you to get discouraged and quit.

5. We need a team/tribe/community to accomplish all that God has called us to do.

6. We are all in this together. All of us need to be involved in the Mission of God

7. Healthy communities are accountable to each other. Correction is a good thing.

8. Followers of Christ must lead by example.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?

Nehemiah 6 NET

1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm. 3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They contacted me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time. 5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6 Written in it were the following words: “Among the nations it is rumored (and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king. 7 You have also established prophets to announce in Jerusalem on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” 8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. All of this is a figment of your imagination.” 9 All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.” So now, strengthen my hands! 10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.” 11 But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life? I will not go!” 12 I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.13 He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I would be discredited. 14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs—also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to scare me! 15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in just fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw this, they were greatly disheartened. They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them. 18 For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said. Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare me.

(NLT)

1About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews.

2They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.”

3Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.”

4And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes.

5We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”

6When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.

7After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.

8At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense.

9Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?

10I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest.

11You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.”

12They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do what they had promised.

13I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake you like this from your homes and from your property!” The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

14For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance.

15The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.

16I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall.

17I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands!

18The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden.

19Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.

Observations:

1. The enemy changes tactics to stop the Mission of God.

2. Nehemiah recognizes the scheme of the enemy and refuses to engage.

3. The enemy uses accusations and fear to discourage the Mission of God and Nehemiah.

4. Nehemiah stands his ground and completes the Mission of God.

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THIS?

Why Do We Need To Know This?

1. The Satan (The Accuser) has a plan to kill steal and destroy. He uses fear and accusations to discourage you and kill the purpose God has planted in your heart.

7 Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8 And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,

“It has come at last—

salvation and power

and the Kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters

has been thrown down to earth—

the one who accuses them

before our God day and night.

11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb

and by their testimony.

And they did not love their lives so much

that they were afraid to die.

12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens!

And you who live in the heavens, rejoice!

But terror will come on the earth and the sea,

for the devil has come down to you in great anger,

knowing that he has little time.”

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), .

Ex. ,

3. Followers of Jesus must lead by example in serving, giving, living like Jesus (). You can’t expect people to go where you aren’t willing to go or haven’t been yourself.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO?

1. Be strong and stand firm

2. Hold each other accountable ().

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

3. Lead by example. Imitate me as I imitate Christ – The Apostle Paul

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), .