As we continue our series Doing a Great Work, Pastor Derek teaches us that "we respond to opposition through reflexive prayer and faith filled action".
For more resources join us at www.pgfirst.com
As we continue our series Doing a Great Work, Pastor Derek teaches us that "we respond to opposition through reflexive prayer and faith filled action".
For more resources join us at www.pgfirst.com
Doing a Great Work, Nehemiah 4:1-14
In his biography of his father, Thomas Edison’s son recalls the December night in 1914 when his father’s laboratory burned to the ground. He writes, “Fire companies from eight towns arrived, but the heat was so intense, and the water pressure so low, that the fire hoses had no effect...When I couldn’t find Father, I became concerned. Was he safe? With all his assets going up in smoke, would his spirit be broken? He was 67, no age to begin anew. Then I saw him in the plant yard, running toward me. “Where’s Mom?” he shouted, “Go get her! Tell her to get her friends! They’ll never see a fire like this again!”
At 5:30 the next morning, with the fire barely under control, he called his employees together and announced, “We’re rebuilding.” One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area. Another, to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought he added, “Oh, by the way. Anybody know where we can get some money?”
Later on he explained, “You can always make capital out of disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish. We’ll build bigger and better on the ruins.” With that he rolled up his coat for a pillow, curled up on a table and immediately fell asleep.”
Thomas Edison’s impact on this world is almost immeasurable. Because of his contagious determination and relentless optimism, we enjoy the microphone, the stereo, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than a thousand other inventions. It is because of people like him that we have the world as we know it.
Nehemiah was such a man. He faced insurmountable odds as he attempted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed over 140 years before. He possessed no skilled laborers to accomplish the task, and he faced ever-present opposition from the enemies of God. Armed with a high view of God and an unshakable conviction that he was squarely in the will of the Lord, he led a rag-tag group of disillusioned Jews to rebuild the city walls in record time. He was a great man who did a great work for the Lord.
Likewise, you and I are called to do great work for the Lord. Because greatness in the Kingdom of God is not measured by the scope of the work, but by the spirit of servanthood that imbibes the work, God calls us to do many great things in His sight. From raising your children in the Lord to serving Christ in the workplace to mercy ministry and so much more- God gives us great work to do, work that glorifies His great name. But as Nehemiah’s experienced, the work will be hard, we will feel inadequate, we may lack the ideal resources, and the work will need to be done in the face of opposition.
Nehemiah four is set within chapter three. Chapter three explains who built what, but chapter four sheds light on the challenges and obstacles that the people faced as they built the wall. It shows the contagious determination and relentless optimism of a man who would not be dissuaded from doing his great work. We also see illustrated the type of opposition we will face and the actions we must take. Here we learn that...We respond to opposition through reflexive prayer and faith-filled action.
Chapter four tells us what we can expect when we step out in faith to do a good work. Perhaps the Lord is convicting you to take some next steps in following Christ. Or maybe you desire to be a more Christ-like husband or father or wife or mother. Or perhaps you want to serve the Lord in a greater capacity. Or, corporately as a church we seek to push back the darkness and advance the gospel. Whatever it may be, what should we expect? The answer from this text is three forms of opposition- opposition from unbelievers, from ourselves, and opposition from professing believers. We’ll breakdown these forms of opposition in the text and then consider how we should respond.
First...Opposition is bound to arise from unbelievers (1-3, 7-8, 11). This opposition came in three ways. First, through explosive anger. Sanballat and company were very angry and greatly enraged. The Hebrew word for “very angry” means “burning mad.” Why so? Well, a prosperous Jerusalem would threaten his rule as governor of Samaria. And because of animosity between Samaritans and the Jews, they hated to see the people of God thrive (see Jn. 4:9). You don’t have to do the Lord’s work for very long to encounter the burning anger of the unbelieving world. If you seek to do hard things for Christ, some unbelievers will be furious about the outworking of your convictions.
Secondly, opposition comes through the mockery of unbelievers (2-3). Like the coward he is, Sanballat launches his verbal attacks from afar, knowing his words will carry to God’s weary people. Even Tobiah gets in on the fun, sarcastically ridiculing the quality of the work. They are simply trying to break the resolve of God’s people (2:18b).
Likewise, doing a great work will bring about mockery and sarcasm from the world. The sneers and the jeers are bound to come. Often unbelievers will resort to ad hominem attacks. They’ll just bypass rational discussion and go straight to character assassination. The followers of Jesus should expect this (Jn. 15:18-21). Come to expect it, and do not be discouraged by the mockery and sarcasm of the unbelieving world.
Thirdly, opposition will may come through physical threats (7-8). The rulers of the area had Jerusalem boxed in. They knew they had to be careful, because an all-out attack against the Jews would be construed as opposing the decree of king Artaxerxes (2:9). But smaller, covert attacks could fly under the king’s radar, and they could just claim innocence in the matter. Currently, we may be immune from physical persecution, but there’s no doubt that living for Christ can cost you big time. Doing a great work can cost you your job, business, social status, or even your kids depending on where you live. Doing a great work will bring about opposition from unbelievers.
The second form of opposition is this. Opposition is bound to arise from within our own hearts (10). The people had charged hard through the first half of the project. But now the work grew exponentially harder, and the rubble wasn’t diminishing. Undoubtedly, the verbal intimidation and threats of physical violence took a toll, and the people began to question whether they were up to finishing the task.
It’s easy to start a great work, but it requires great perseverance to finish the task. The halfway point is where the real challenge begins. It’s when you’re at the halfway point of raising your kids, when you’re halfway through your working career, or you’re midway through living out your convictions in this rotten world that the real work begins. Because our hearts can become defeated, and we can be susceptible to the lies of the evil one, we need to dig in and press on (Phil. 3:13-14). Doing a great work will bring about opposition from unbelievers and it will arise in our own hearts.
The third form of opposition is this. Opposition is bound to arise from other professing believers (12). The Jews, who lived nearby, probably in places like Tekoa and Jericho, pleaded with their own people to return to their hometowns. They came ten times, which is a Hebrew way of saying, “they just wouldn’t stop.” They probably had legitimate concerns over their safety, but they weren’t like-minded, and they failed to see how this was God’s work, and how the good hand of God was upon His people to rebuild the city where He had chosen make His name dwell (1:9b). Because they weren’t involved in the work, they didn’t share the same convictions, and they (probably) unintentionally sought to distract them from the work.
As you seek to do a great work for the Lord, you will encounter some professing believers who will seek to distract you from the work. Because they do not share the same convictions, they will seek to pull you away from doing a great work. For example, professing Christians who are not actively attending corporate worship may (unintentionally) seek to pull you away from church. Or a professing Christian who has shady business ethics may seek to distract you from the good work of following Christ in the workplace. Or a professing Christian with a less than biblical sexual ethic may seek to get you to cave on living a holy life that God requires. This kind of stuff happens all the time. Be on your guard about the distractions coming from other professing believers.
So, how do we respond to our opposition? Nehemiah gives us two responses. First...Werespond to opposition through reflexive prayer (4-5, 9). It’s no surprise that Nehemiah prayed, or that he led the people to pray (we). What seems shocking is the content of his prayer. Seems rather vindictive if not nasty! Especially when we consider Christ’s command to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:44) Should we imitate Nehemiah?
Nehemiah is praying an imprecatory prayer, which are found throughout the Psalms and even in Rev. 6:10. Through such a prayer, we lay down our own desires (or plans) for retaliation and we place vengeance in the Lord’s hands- where it belongs (Ro. 12:19). Rather than speaking evil against or gathering his own raiding parties, Nehemiah turns the matter over to the Lord. He asks the Lord to act justly because he knows that to be opposed to the work of the Lord is ultimately to be opposed to the Lord of the work (they have provoked you). To pray in such a way is to pray for the advancement of the Kingdom of God and the removal of anything that opposes it.
J. I. Packer is helpful. “The key principle here is stated in Psalm 139:21-22: “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord...? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.’ The nearer we come to this state of mind, which is a spinoff from the desire that God’s will be done, his kingdom come, and his name be hallowed and glorified, the less problem shall we have with vengeance prayers.” So turn the matter over to the Lord in prayer, and ask Him to move on His behalf- for His glory and the good of His people.
The second response is this. We respond to opposition through faith-filled action (6, 9, 13-14). They built the wall, set up protection, shored up the vulnerable spots, and armed the people to fight and protect their own. The people were to do this as they “remembered the Lord, who is great and awesome.” Ultimately, deliverance was going to come from the Lord, but Nehemiah knew that he also had the responsibility to act wisely and decisively. He called the people to respond to their opposition with faith-filled action.
We are called to look to the Lord in faith. We must remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. Because our God is awesome, we have no reason to be afraid. But we’re also called to act responsibly. We trust in the Lord, our confidence is ultimately in Him, but we also must live active lives as we wait upon Him for deliverance. So, remember the Lord, and respond with faith-filled action.
We respond to opposition through reflexive prayer and faith-filled action.
Let’s close with these challenging words from pastor Stephen Cole. “The Christian life is a conflict. There will always be opposition. The enemy will try to get you sidetracked or to give up completely. Even though it was God’s will for the wall to be rebuilt, He did not remove the opposition. Even though it is God’s will for you to grow strong in faith and to labor to advance His kingdom, God does not remove the opposition. If you respond properly, the opposition will drive you to greater dependence on the Lord and to greater determination to do what He has called you to do. If you yield to the opposition, you will quit the race in discouragement or settle in for a mediocre Christian existence.”