Persevering Faith During War Time : Part 1

Civil Defense Siren: Did you know that the siren which blasts at 12pm in Bartlett is not called a Tornado siren. It is referred to many in that way because that is its most frequent use in our area. Its actually called a CIVIL DEFENSE SIREN because it purpose is to alert the population in the area of a threat. Its a warning system that, according to Wikipedia alerts the public to the following

weather emergencies such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and ice storms

geological disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis

industrial disasters such as the release of toxic gas or contamination of river water

radiological disasters such as a nuclear plant disaster

medical emergencies such as an outbreak of a fast-moving infectious disease

warfare or acts of terrorism

Let’s camp on that last one for a moment because the terrifying thought of those sirens erupting because of a wartime invasion can really get those goosebumps going or those neck hairs standing. Sadly, those sirens were not installed at Pearl Harbor until after the attack on our military fleet. Interestingly, those sirens have been recently reinstated on the Islands of Hawaii in 2017 in an effort to prepare for the threats from North Korea (International Business Times https://www.ibtimes.com/hawaii-reinstates-pearl-harbor-air-raid-siren-amid-north-korea-threats-2619783).

The purpose of the sirens are to warn of war. They exist because war is a possibility which creates awareness but they create an ear-piercing noise in order to warn that the threat is real.

God has warned his people that spiritual war is imminent and all around us. He has used the mouth of the prophets and apostles to inform his kingdom that alertness is necessary and war is upon us.

eph 6:10-12

Ephesians 6:10–12 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1 peter 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Both of these passages from Paul and Peter give us clear understanding that war time is spiritual battle on this earthly terrain and that wartime is now! This battle comes from an interior battle , as God’s people wrestle with a temptation with sin, and an exterior battle, whereby Satan leads an army of people who are slaves to their own lusts and self-glorification against the walls of God’s church and his people.

The worst thing that we can do as God’s people, is to ignore or deny that this threat exists. Jesus warned of the end times when the Son of Man would return and all the judgments that would come upon the earth to culminate this spiritual battle with victory in the Son. He warns of the wickedness that will be prevalent, the persecutions of the church and the impending doom of those who reject his name. In luke 21 at the end of his warnings, he says,

Luke 21:34-36 “34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.””

Jesus is warning us that the cares of this life can entrap us so that we do ignore the spiritual battles that are raging all around us. We can become paralyzed by pleasure that we forget to trust in the protection of the Lord in the midst of real war.

Charles Spurgeon comments,

1 Peter (Exposition)

When we think we have no occasion for our sword, we begin to unbuckle it from our side. We strip off our armor piece by piece, and then it is that we become most exposed to the attack of our enemies.- Spurgeon

For the next few weeks, we will look at Nehemiah 4-6 and we will focus our attention with an atypical Christmas message. Its not a message about the cute little baby born in Bethlehem, surrounded by loving parents and a host of angels. Instead, it will be a Christmas message about who that child is and why he came. He came to be the conquering warrior king in the battle for lost souls. He came to save us by winning a spiritual war by giving his life upon the cross so that victory can be attained for those who believe in him. His victory was over sin and death and Satan and therefore, Jesus is the victor and we are to victoriously in this life until we returns.

That victorious life includes being alert to the war around us and fighting the fight of faith valiantly, with courage and hope in our Savior. If I could sum up these chapters 4-6 of Nehemiah, it would be found in Nehemiah 4:14

Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV)

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.”

Therefore, we acknowledge that our hope is in the Lord and as we love him, we trust that he will see us through. He has given us His word to guide us to an understanding of this spiritual battle and therefore let it teach us this afternoon how we might be prepared. This week, I want to focus on the importance of knowing the ways of the enemy and the ways of the faithful. We are going to spend time in two chapter mainly as my sermon text. We will look at chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 6. I am including both of these texts because both give evidence of the tactics of the enemy in spiritual war and the ways God’s people might respond faithfully.

Knowing the enemy

We will start off by looking back to chapter 2 when we first encounter the enemies of Nehemiah and the Jewish people.

Nehemiah 2:19 ESV

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Sanballat: He is called Sanballat the Horonite in 2:10, which most likely means that he was from the area of Beth-horon, which is northwest of Jerusalem. Edward Yamuchi gives Sanballat the title, “the chief political opponent of Nehemiah” since archeology has provided evidence that Sanballat was governor of Samaria.

As a political adversary, Sanballat did not want the Jews to regain prominence in that region and therefore he will do whatever it takes to sabotage the work the Jews are doing.

Another character mentioned as the enemy of God’s people is Tobiah the Ammonite. His name means, “YHWH is good” and therefore his ethnic heritage must be Jewish descent, most likely the Ammonites, who descended from lot but later became enemies of Israel and Judah during its history. During Nehemiah’s day, like the Samaritans, the Ammonites were neighboring nations who did not want to see Judah rebuild and regain prominence over them. It is believed that Tobiah, called an official, was the appointed governor by the ruling Persia of an area of the Transjordan.

Finally, we are introduced to another neighboring threat to the Jews’ efforts, the Arabians. In 2:19, a name Gesham is mentioned as the one leading the opposition from his people and who united in protest against the Jews rebuilding.

All three of these mentioned represent an earthly contingent of people who do not want to see the Jews regain prominence but they represent something greater. They represent the spiritual evil and demonic opposition to God’s work in this world that has been present since sin came through Adam and Eve.

These raging nations remind us once again that the kingdom of God will not exist in any form on this earth without some form of conflict against it led by Satan himself. The church has to remain vigilant in our awareness that Satan wants nothing more than to see the efforts of the gospel proclamation, Christ’s glorification, and the church’s multiplication to be thwarted.

Nehemiah documents for us the ways of his enemies and therefore the church today can learn our opponents ways that we might know how to be alert to their advancement in battle!

Way of the enemy: Mocking/Discouragement vs. 4:1

The way in which the people of God are attacked by our enemies with with mocking and discouragement. Looking back to Neh 2:19

Nehemiah 2:19 ESV

The actions of his enemies “Jeering at us” means to mock or deride them with discouraging words. You can hear the mocking attitude in v 2-3

Nehemiah 4:2-3 “2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!””

This is the way of Satan to discourage us with false words, or hurtful words so that we forget God’s power or his plan and we focus on our own strength. If you have lived with a discouraging person or you have been around one, you know that everything is negative on a personal level. Discouraging words in a marriage are never about God’s power and plan for a husband and wife lives, but instead it is about the failures of that husband or wife that the other one brings up verbally.

Discouragement can shape our identity about ourselves so that we get down on ourselves with a barrage of discourgament but in reality, that shame or hopelessness often is grounded not in our identity in Christ, but instead in the lies we are believing or the failures we are spending too much time focusing on.

Remember that Christ was also mocked and discouraged. This was one way the enemy attacked him.

Is 53:2-3 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Remember that at one time, Jesus the man from Nazareth was discouraged about coming from such an obscure town. Remember that his own family thought he was insane. Remember the Roman soldiers mocking his kingship by placing the crown of thorns on him, piercing his head. They mocked and jeered at Jesus and they will do so to those who follow him.

If you are a critical or discouraging person as a follower of Jesus, then you are doing the work of the enemy and not of the Lord. The Lord has given us his Holy Spirit who empowers us to speak words of love, admonition. We are called to bear others burdens and not become burdens for others. Let me challenge you this afternoon to repent of your critical and discouraging spirit and instead give people hope in the Jesus that you and believe in!

The Way of the Faithful: Trust God’s Power and Give Hope

Look how in 4:10-13 how the discouragement from the enemies began to take root in the people of God.

They mention how their strength is failing and the work seems like it cannot be accomplished. (10) Also they are now at such a low point that they are quoting their enemies in verse 11 and living in the fear of death by their swords. Nehemiah chooses not to stand for such fear and trepidation. He shows us that as GOd’s people, we must trust in the power of God and as leaders, give the comforting hope that we find in the Lord.

Nehemiah 4:14 “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.””

Nehemiah gathers the community and he reminds them of the character of God as a comfort to them. Nehemiah does not draw attention to the strength of men but instead to the power of God. He doesn’t say, “yeah you are probably right, this is a failure.” Instead, his actions are driven by his belief that God will accomplish the work by his power through his people.

You and I have no reason to believe the discouragement of others when he trust in the character of God. Yes, we may fail but God does not fail. Yes, we are weak but God is omnipotent and He does great and powerful things with weak vessels. Yes, we may not consider ourselves the most attractive or strong, but when we see God as our adopted Father who takes us without condition, as former enemies of Him, but now as sons and daughters, then other people’s discouragement wash away in his grace.

Secondly, God has called us to be bearers of a message of hope. This means that the spirit of the follower of Jesus should one that emanates hopefulness and joy. This world is full of discouraging and critical people who cling daily to footholds of icy hopelessness. But as followers of Jesus, why would we speak daily with such despair and calamity. Isn’t God the one who creates out of nothing. Isn’t our God the one who loves unconditionally, who forgives powerfully, who rescues imminently, you transforms powerfully all who come to him? Can’t he who molded the sun, who poured the oceans into place, who creates the physiology of our bodies do powerfully, unimaginable things? Then let us trust in his power and give others a taste of hope as well when we live with joy and encouragement amidst the backdrop of a corrupted and hopeless world.

The Way of the Enemy: Hatred/Violence 4:1, 7, 6:1-4

Secondly, the enemy of God is consistently filled with hatred and anger that leads to violence. They are not joyful or happy because they cannot be content with who they are and what they have been given. Their lust for more always leads to an unsettled anger/hatred.

For Sanballat and Tobiah, they mocked because they were angry to see the successes of others. They did not want the Jews to rise to prominence again because the Jews were their nerighbors who might possess prominence again.

Vs 1 and v 7 mention the hatred and anger towards the Jews. He was “hot and greatly irritated” by the Jews rebuilding efforts. But their hatred snowballed to violence.

Look with me to chapter 6:

Nehemiah 6:1-3 “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), 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?””

Now there is a plot to harm Nehemiah as the leader, by requesting a meeting with him. Their anger has now led to a plot to assassinate the leader of the Jews. Of course, Nehemiah was wise enough not to fall into the trap. Even in their persistence, Nehemiah was wise enough to sniff out the plot to kill him.

It is hard not to look forward in this moment to see a greater assignation plot by the Jews of our Lord Jesus. These religious leaders were also filled with rage at our Lord, even while he remained peaceful. Jesus continued about his ministry of helping others in compassion while the religious leaders plotted to kill him. We know that in God’s perfect plan, he allowed this plot against his Son to be fulfilled so that His people can go free. His redemptive work not only reminds us that God’s people will continually face the hatred and violence from others, but it also reminds us that because of one man’s death at the hands of hatred and violence, His people can live transformed lives free from being hateful and violent themselves.

Now we know that anger and hatred are sinful acts of the human sinful condition. It is only by the love of God through his Son Jesus that we changed from hateful to loving. Only by the grace of Jesus can a person be transformed from vengeful to peaceful. God does this in those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus by his mighty power. I was challenged this week as I approach the Christmas time to remember Christ who died so we can experience forgiveness, peace and love. That same forgiveness, peace and love should flow from us as His people as we interact with impatient shoppers, intolerant neighbors, or intractable loved ones.

Notice with me how Nehemiah instructs us in the ways of the faithful.

The Way of the Faithful: Trust God’s Justice and Pray

Nehemiah again consigns this anger and hate from his enemies again by once again focusing on God’s character. This time his focus is not on God’s power, but on his justice. He knows and remembers that God is the avenger. In a prayer to God in chapter 4, Nehemiah relieves his burden upon the Lord,

Nehemiah 4:4-5 “4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.”

Look again to Nehemiah 6:14

“14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.”

In both situations, Nehemiah did not retaliate with an army, nor fight back on his own. He did not counterplot an attack, he counted on God to avenge evil. He remembered that the Lord would in time bring judgment to those who defied his name and attacked his servants. He was not seeking his own justice, He was trusting that God would bring it in his timing.

As he trusted in faith of God’s justice, he prayed.

Nehemiah 4:7-9 “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.”

What a convicting response for our culture today, that are only action is not to rise up against our enemy but instead to lower ourselves in humility and in prayer. Nehemiah prayed for protection, prayed in faith for God’s justice,