Persevering in Wartime: Part 2

Review

From sermon last week, this week, and next week, are ways for us to consider how we might resist our enemy , living courageous holy lives for Christ, who is the victor over our enemies! Last week, we look at a few observations about our enemy and observations about being faithful under attack. They were

Our Enemies: Mock/ Discourage

We saw this as the enemies of the Jews tried to discourage the faithful Jews who were building the walls. They didn’t shoot flaming arrows with bows over the walls, they shot flaming arrows of discouragement at the workers. They tried to tear down the builders instead of the walls themselves.

Nehemiah 4:2 (ESV)

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?”

The Faithful:Trust God and Be Hopeful

Our response to discouragement, mocking and slander, is not to fall prey to believing it but instead, focus on the work of God in us and his power to do greater things than we can imagine. Nehemiah’s response as a great leader:

Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV)

14 “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.”

I didn’t spend a lot of time on this last week, but I appreciate the call of Nehemiah, to not only trust God’s power to see them through, but to call the Jews for fight the battle for the sake of God and their brothers. This sense of community applies to us as a church, who as we see spiritual turmoil raging around our family of faith, may we put on our swords and fight along with them. Our war is a war fought in community of the church.

Our Enemy: Hatred/Violence

Again, our enemy is one who is angry at the world. They are discontent with their situation and they lust for more. They clammer for the top of the world, only to find themselves constantly slipping down the slope of worldly discontent, knowing what this world offers is never enough. This is why they slander, this is why they rage.

We saw in Nehemiah 4 that the enemies Sanballat and Tobiah were enraged and angry at the Jews. By chapter 6, they wanted to lure Nehemiah to a meeting to “do him harm.”

The response to this hatred and violence is not retaliation. Instead we stated,

The Faithful: Trust God’s justice and pray

Nehemiah was faithful to not retaliate against his enemies with his own rage and violence. Instead, he trusted God’s justice and prayed to God for protection against them.

Romans 12:19-20

Romans 12:19–20 ESV

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Our response to evil should never be evil, but instead we should trust and pray to God knowing that his justice is fair and just in his timing.

Now we look at the final observations from our enemies:

The Way of the Enemy: Stir Up Fear

Nehemiah 4:11-12

Nehemiah 4:11–12 ESV

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.”

It is clear that the enemy of God wants to incite fear among the people of God so that they are hindered from his work. Some of those fears are fear of sickness, fear or death, fear of instability, fear of the loss of family, fear of social acceptance. If we can be paralyzed with fear then Satan has crippled the work force of the church that would otherwise be active and faithfully serving each other.

I want to bring something to your attention that you need to see from a grand scheme. COVID has been masterful at shutting down a functional society in a matter of days. When the shutdown happened, it came quickly. What sprang up from that was at home....everything. We had at home business, at home fitness, at home delivery of products and goods, at home social gatherings via ZOOM, at home church. This has already happened and with the variety of variants of this virus, it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

Here is what else was introduced during this time…the METAVERSE. Let me explain what this is and how it relates to a great concern over fear! The metaverse is essentially a world of virutal reality beyond video games that our teenagers may play. It is moving beyond this to a world of shopping, interacting, worshipping, etc. Facebook just changed its named to META and there are already virtual worlds being created, visited, and enjoyed. There are already churches testing their virtual services, where a live sermon is streamed on a virtual stage, with virtual congregants sitting next to you in your virtual chairs. It’s scary and it all stems from FEAR....fear that you will get sick and die if you get around anybody. Fear that the world outside is unsafe. It will be marketed as safe place in the current health crisis but it is a major shift in the life of humanity. It stands to be a bigger change that the invention of the internet.

It tell you all this because we have no reason to fear as followers of Jesus. Jesus tells us his disciples regarding our enemies, which by the way is fearing sinful effects, sinful people, or spiritual evil:

Luke 12:4-5

Luke 12:4–5 ESV

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Nehemiah was not going to let the people live in fear. He gathered them together and reminded them about the strength of the Lord in our battles. Let us see in Nehemiah 4:15-20 how the faithful are to respond instead of fear!

The Way of the Faithful: Be Alert and Resist

Nehemiah 4:15-20

Nehemiah 4:15–20 (ESV)

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, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

Nehemiah calls the people to arms…physically. Can you imagine working with a tool of labor in one hand and a tool of protection in the other. Its a commitment, not to give into fear, but to push forward in courageous faithfulness. Notice that the courage did not come from the honed metal blade or the shield. It was that “God will fight for us!”

We have recognized through this series that everything falls back to God’s character, his might, his faithfulness, his holiness, his glory. Therefore, being alert and resisting the devil is all done so with the strength of Almighty God in mind for he fights for us.

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.

It is important to see that that alertness to spiritual attack is not a reason to shrink back in fear. God is not calling us to continually live in a fearful alertness like an obsessed home owner that is constantly watching their security cameras thinking that a thief might break in. Thats a poor use of God’s time given to us.

Instead, we are alert as we live in this world, understanding an interpreting conflict realistically, as Satan trying to disrupt God’s people from living as He desires and doing what He commands. Look at verse 9,

1 Peter 5:9 (ESV)

9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Here is another command. The first be alert and the second resist him as you stand firm in your faith. Peter is clear to point out with a verb here that resisting Satan is possible and necessary. The church resists Satan with their obedience to the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. We deny the efforts of the name it and claim it Word of Faith movement, who dance around rebuking Satan like a bunch of goofballs. Our words cannot resist Satan, God’s word resists Satan. Memorizing his words, declaring them over and over in your mind, living your life in obedience to them is the ways we resist him.

Secondly, Peter states that resisting Satan occurs based on the firmness of your faith.

The Way of the Enemy: Deception 6:5-14

Neh 6:5-14

Nehemiah 6:5–14 ESV

5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. 10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 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.

The last characteristic from our enemies is deception. Satan is the Father of lies and he will stop at nothing to fill this world full of them. In chapter 6, as attention is turned to attacking Nehemiah as the leader individually, the deception falls on him. First, in verses 5-9, we can see that these enemies begin to discredit Nehemiah in an attempt to break the trust Judah has with its leader. They make up a lie about Nehemiah stating that “you wish to become king” and “you have set up prophets” to lie about God appointing you to that position. Basically their lie was that Nehemiah was plotting to overthrow the Persian king by claiming Jerusalem back and building a wall to build up defenses as claimed the kingdom from Persia.

The irony here is in v 10-14, it was actually the enemies of God who were spewing lies and setting up false prophets. We are introduced to Shemaiah, a false prophet hired by Nehemiah’s enemies to discredit him. This 48 hours OT edition includes, a false prophet revealing to Nehemiah about a real assassination and having that false prophet encourage Nehemiah to lock himself in the temple sanctuary, which was forbidden by OT law for any laymen like Nehemiah. What real prophet of God would instruct a man to disobey the law of God for his own protection.

In both deceptive plots, these enemies remind us that spiritual battle is a battle for truth versus deception.

What is truth? Steve Lawson gives us a great definition:

“It is defined as that which conforms with fact or reality. It is genuineness, veracity, or actuality. In a word, truth is reality. It is how things actually are. Theologically, truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Truth is the self-disclosure of God Himself. It is what it is because God declares it so and made it so. All truth must be defined in terms of God, whose very nature is truth.”- Steve Lawson Tabletalk Magazine

There is a stark contrast between Jesus, who is the “the way, truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and who is living word “full of grace and TRUTH” (John 1:14) and Satan who is the father of lies. Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8:44

John 8:44 ESV

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

This is why the church today must recognize the battle for truth as spiritual war. The truth of God throughout history is always under attack. It is always trying to be changed, discredited, or ignored. Many times that truth is being jeopardized subtly because Satan works most effectively when truth is corroded in the shadows. If Satan can get you to doubt truth about God, then the snowball effect is a denial of God completely.

Satan is the leader of a planet full of unbelievers who according to Romans 1, “suppress the truth of God in their unrighteousness.”

How then does the church fight the war of untruth?

The Way of the Faithful: Declare Truth and Obey it

Nehemiah has been a beacon of truth during this entire rebuilding effort. One way he has declared truth is that he has declared the character and purposes of God. As a herald of truth, Nehemiah is busy making that truth about God known in the world. This can be observed both in Nehemiah’s interactions with God’s people and with his enemies.

Back in Nehemiah 2, with the beginning of the opposition to the work by Sanballat, Nehemiah declares the truth about God to his enemies,

Nehemiah 2:20 ESV

20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah is quick to confront the lies of his enemies with the truth of God’s grace on his people, also informing his enemies the contrast between God’s people standing with God in righteousness by faith and his enemies standing in God’s judgment. His enemies has no right or portion in the spiritual inheritance of God, while God’s people receive it without condition.

Secondly, Nehemiah declares the truth about God character to God’s people, reminding them of the character of God in whom they believe. Again we go back to 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...”

It is the role of God’s people to be heralds of God’s word in two arenas: the church and the world. In the church, we encourage each other and even discipline each with the word of God. We apply the soothing balm of the Scriptures to the wounds of the saints like medical personnel on the battle field.

Col 3:16 “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

We also are heralds of the gospel of God in the world of darkness. He must be ambassadors of the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ by declaring the truth that God’s salvation is through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone for salvation. There is no other way.

I am sure you have heard the true story of St. Nicolaus of Myra. This fourth century bishop is believed to be the real person behind the fable of Santa Claus. St. Nick was a faithful herald of the truth of God’s word. Historians have noted that St. Nick was bishop during the ravaging years of persecution under Roman dictator Diocletian. He escaped dying under the persecutions he suffered and continued serving under Constantine’s more peaceful years of leadership. St. Nick was there at the church council of Nicea, where Arius stood trial before the church for teaching heresy against the eternal nature of Christ. Historian Stephen Nichols notes, that at one moment in his trial, “Nicholas stood up, crossed the floor toward Arius, and promptly punched him in the face.”

St. Nick faced church discipline for his Mike Tyson moment, repented and continued serving the church, most known for his generosity among the poor in his day, which is how the St Nick/Santa Claus legend continues. But let us not forget the faithful herald he was to declare truth and stand for truth in a dark work.

But not only do God’s people declare God’s truth, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Scriptures as a whole, but we also must stand for all truth. In the face of dishonesty and lies, God’s people must live holy lives as truth bearers. We do this because God is the God of truth and we stand to represent him in this world against all lies and deception.

Therefore the response of lies told against Nehemiah in Nehemiah 6:8-9 “8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah does not sit idly by and let the lies of the enemies of God ruin his faithfulness to God’s work. He was going to declare the truth of his intentions to the people, calling out the falsehoods told about him, so that they would not doubt his leadership and the work cease in the name of mistrust. In this moment, Nehemiah models for us the need for God’s people to stand for all truth and call out the lies in this world.

I believe that the quest for truth should originate and orbit around the truth of God and his Word but must also spiral outward into the world. In other words, the church must be defenders of the attacks against Jesus, his name, his nature, and his church, but we don’t have to stop there. We are apologists for Christ firstly and chiefly, but also must recognize that God has called his people to lights of truth in the world.

Therefore, our quest for truth should continue into all of life. We stand for truth in our pulpits, in our schools, in our courtrooms and our presidential podiums. We lead our children to tell the truth and even though the world may be lost, we cannot resign the fact that truth must be stated clearly and stood for. We cannot adopt the mentality that “its just not our problem” when truth matters to God because truth originates in him.

The greatest example of this is seen in the judicial trials of the Lord Jesus. The writers of the gospel make the clear point that Pontus Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, for the lies about him could never be verified. He was not guilty of any wrongdoing according to the laws of the Romans and yet was still punished unjustly. This has spiritual implications for God’s people knowing that Christ was sinless, but it also has practical applications knowing that God saw to it that the lies of the Jews fell away to the truth of the innocence of Christ. That day before Pontus Pilate, the Father saw to it that truth was exposed beyond the lies of the Jews, even as our Savior suffered unjustly.

Therefore, let us life in such a way that turn away from breaking the 9th commandment of bearing false witness against our neighbor and instead, live a life where we declare the truth to our neighbor, both about God but also in all of life and beyond.

Conclusion:

Enemies of God:

Mock/Discourage

Hate/are Violent

Stir up Fear

Lie and Deceive

People of God:

Trust God’s power and are hopeful

Trust God’s justice and pray

Be alert and resist the enemy attacks

Stand for truth and obey it