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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Nehemiah 04: Expect Opposition
Facing fierce resistance while following your faith journey? Join us as we uncover the profound lessons from Nehemiah Chapter 4 and explore how steadfast prayer and perseverance helped Nehemiah and the Jews withstand mockery and threats while rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. We'll discuss the inevitability of encountering opposition when you take bold steps in your faith, drawing parallels to the modern challenges of living a Christ-centered life. Discover how Nehemiah's unwavering resolve can inspire you to maintain your joy and strength through faith, even amidst adversity.
In the next part of our conversation, we delve into the critical importance of faithfulness when confronting both external and internal opposition. We'll explore how trusting in God's calling can provide the strength needed to keep moving forward, even when the path is tough. Our discussion emphasizes preparing for the worst while hoping for the best and the hard work of remaining steadfast. We'll also share a heartfelt prayer for wisdom and strength, inspired by Nehemiah 8:10, reminding you to find joy and strength in God. Tune in for an uplifting and insightful conversation that will encourage you to stay strong in your faith journey.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, nehemiah chapter 4, and Nehemiah chapter 4 says simply expect opposition, expect opposition. I wish I could tell you that when you became a Christ follower, and especially when you become a Christ follower and start following Him with your life, that everybody's going to love it. Everybody's going to think this most amazing thing and they're going to say man, you do you. Unfortunately, that's not always how it happens and so we need to expect it. So we don't let it stop us, but continue to move forward. We're going to get into that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast, commenting on both and joining us at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook, because the more we dig, the more we find. Well, if you want me to open your Bibles with me to Nehemiah chapter 4, remember the overarching theme is that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and we remember that the joy of the Lord is not a feeling. The feeling is happiness, and happiness, you know, it changes depending on what's going on Like? If it's raining I'm sad. If it's sunshiny I'm happy. Right, joy is a position of the heart. It's a settled, confident assurance that God is in control. And so the joy of the Lord, the settled, confident assurance of the Lord, is the strength that keeps me moving forward. And that's what we see in the book of Nehemiah. In Nehemiah, chapter one, he sees that the walls of Jerusalem are here, the walls of Jerusalem are all over the place, they're down. And so he says I take responsibility. And he goes all the way to Jerusalem from Susa and when he gets there he realizes man, we got to cast a vision for this. We have to have a vision for what's going to happen. And then, in chapter 3, they start getting to work and they expect hard work. And it's hard work. Everyone's got their part of the wall. But, man, things are moving forward.
Speaker 0:And many times in our life it's the same thing. We look around at our life, we see things in disarray, whatever it is. We see, you know, there's no one else that's a Christ follower in our workplace, or there's no one else following Jesus in our home and our family, or just whatever it is. And we say you know what. I'm going to take responsibility for this. I am going to be the catalyst that's going to help these people love God like I love God as I grow. I want them to grow and you get this big idea. And so then you, you cast that vision, you put it out there. This is what I'm going to do. I want everybody in the office I work in, or everybody on the assembly line that I work at, I want every one of them to be Christ followers in three years. I don't know whatever that is. And then, you know, we get to work and realize it. It caused us to know what we believe in, christ. And then we have to take the next step, to then befriend people and get to know people and really develop relationships. And it's that long, you know long obedience in the same direction.
Speaker 0:But in chapter four, just like with Nehemiah, we need to expect opposition. Not everybody is going to celebrate you when you take steps forward for Jesus. I know they should, but they don't. And there's a thousand reasons why, and some of them are our fault, because sometimes we can follow Jesus and we let everybody know we're following Jesus. You know we have to watch our heart, make sure we don't get prideful or arrogant, but on the other side people can get jealous. People can feel insecurity. There's conviction of the Holy Spirit and instead of knowing what to do with that, they turn it against us. We don't know, but let's watch what Nehemiah does and see if that will give us some encouragement and some direction when we face opposition in our life. You ready Nehemiah?
Speaker 0:Chapter 4, verse 1, says this Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samaritan army officers what does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think that they are doing? Do they think they can rebuild the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap, and charred ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite he was standing right beside him and remarked the stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked across the top of it. Then I prayed hear us, o God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land. Do not ignore their guilt, do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders. So they're not just saying those things, they're saying it to their faces. It's one thing when someone says something behind your back, but when they turn right around and look at you in the face and say the same thing, oh Lord, right, but that's exactly what they're doing.
Speaker 0:Verse six at last, the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city. The people had worked with enthusiasm, but when Samballot and Tobiah and the Arabs, ammonites, ashdites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps of the wall in Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and to throw us into confusion, but we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. The people of Judah began to complain. The workers are getting tired and there's so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves. Meanwhile, our enemies were saying before they know what's happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work. So the Jews who lived near the enemy camp and told us again and again, they will come in all directions and attack us. So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall, in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families and armed them with swords, spears and bows. And then I looked over the situation and I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them don't be afraid of the enemy, remember the Lord, who is great and glorious. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes.
Speaker 0:When our enemies heard that they knew of the plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. But from then on only half my men worked on the wall, while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. All the builders had a sword belted to their side and the trumpeters stayed with me to sound the alarm. Then I explained to the nobles and the officials and all the people the work is very spread out and they are widely separated from each other along the wall. When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to whatever it is that is sounding, then our God will fight for us.
Speaker 0:We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset, and half the men were always on guard. I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day. During this time, none of us not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who are with me ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water. Wow.
Speaker 0:So, as you can see, opposition is coming from every side. Notice how it said Sanballat and Tobiah on the outside are saying we coming to kill you. On the inside, they're saying they're coming to kill you. On the inside, they're saying they're coming to kill us. And so there's opposition to stop on both sides of the wall. And can I tell you in our life that's going to be true. Sometimes, the loudest voices of dissent are not going to come from the outside, they're going to come from the inside. Fears and doubts and worries are going to come from the inside At any given time.
Speaker 0:You have three enemies the world, the flesh and the devil. You've got the world, culture, expectations of others. They want to tell you what you are and what you're not. You've got the devil, who's wanting to always frustrate the plan of God in your life. But you also have your own flesh, who knows you. You know you better than anybody and it's always going to try to define you and tell you what you can't do. But God, god knows you, god calls you his own. It's God who has given you the vision that you have. And so what do you do when you have enemies on the outside and enemies on the inside have? And so what do you do when you have enemies on the outside and enemies on the inside? You prepare for the worst, hope for the best and keep moving forward.
Speaker 0:Notice what Nehemiah did. The Bible said that Nehemiah got his workers and they had a trowel. They had a tool in one hand, they had a weapon in the other and they kept moving forward. They had guards to help those who were building, and then the building people. They would take turns and they prepared, prepared.
Speaker 0:What does that look like for us? Is that when we go through different things in our life, we prepare for a fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. How do we prepare to fight against the world? By reading God's word every day and filling up on what God's word has to say for us and filling up with who he says we are. How do we fight against the devil? By declaring the truth of God's word over our life. And then how do we fight against the flesh? By knowing what God says about us, so that when our own fears and our own inadequacies want to come and haunt us, you say, yes, that's who I used to be, but because of Jesus, this is who he is making me.
Speaker 0:And we keep moving forward, only to realize at the end of the day, the only thing that can stop us is ourselves. If God has called us to do it, he's going to do it, and our job is to move forward. And that's not easy. It's really hard. It's really hard to move forward when other people are threatening you. It's even harder when the threats and the fears are coming from the inside, and so we hope for the best, we prepare for the worst and we keep moving forward.
Speaker 0:I don't know what opposition may be coming your way today, but can I tell you don't give up If God has called you to it. He will see you through it. But you got to do the work and it's hard work and sometimes the hardest work is faithfulness. Sometimes the greatest act of faith is faithfulness. But if you'll be faithful, god will see you through any opposition. Let's pray God. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you are with us and you are for us. I pray today, god that is. There are probably so many people who are listening or watching this. They're experiencing opposition. Sometimes opposition is because of bad decisions we've made and, lord, we pray you'll give us wisdom to see that Sometimes opposition is because of the enemy. I pray you'll help us to see that and we will hope for the best, but we'll prepare for the worst and we'll never stop moving toward you. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. God's word says in Nehemiah 8, verse 10, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Nehemiah, chapter 5.
