https://www.bible.com/events/49551892
Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus
Rebuilding: The Legacy of Nehemiah Part 3
Responding to resistance.
Today are continuing our first teaching series for the new year called “Rebuilding: The Legacy of Nehemiah.”
To rebuild can mean to make extensive repairs, or to restore something back to a previous state. To simply build again.
As we continue in Nehemiah, we are looking at the middle of the rebuilding story to see the importance of a prayerful and practical response to resistance.
Nehemiah 4:1-3
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
Whenever you are following the Lord’s plan of rebuilding for your life, you will face resistance.
The first resistance we see here in the middle of Nehemiah’s rebuilding story comes from two enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah. They show up and are harassing the people of God, calling his plans and their abilities into question.
Nehemiah 4:4-6
Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
Nehemiah made the resistance a matter of prayer and he kept on working. He did not allow resistance from enemies to distract him from the work God had called them to do.
In verses 7-8 Sanballat and Tobiah round up some friends to come and stir up trouble, they were planning an attack against Jerusalem. Sandballat and Tobiah from the north, the Arabs from the South, The Ammonites from the east, and Ashdod from the West. Literally resistance was coming from all sides.
Nehemiah 4:9-12
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
Here in verse 10 we see that resistance to God’s rebuilding can come from things in the past.
The people working on the wall are having to work through the rubble from the old walls that had been torn down years ago.
It also comes from friends and neighbors as they repeat the threats they heard about from the enemy. Rather than being encouragers, they join voices with the enemy, adding their worry to the work.
Nehemiah 4:13-14
Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
Nehemiah specifically sends people to work on the weak places, calling them to serve together with their families.
He reminds them that the Lord is great and awesome- he will fight for them. And he calls on the people to remember who they are fighting for.
Whenever you are in a rebuilding season with the Lord, it’s never only about you. You are working for your family and your friends too. Future generations will be impacted by your rebuilding.
Nehemiah 6:15-16
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
A wall 8’ wide, telephone pole tall, just over 2 miles long, rebuilt in just 52 days. This was nothing short of a miracle.
From the middle to the end, with opposition from all sides, the people of God made it, and you can too.
The big question for us today is simply this: How are you going to respond to the resistance?
The rebuilding legacy of Nehemiah offers us a few practical tools and weapons to face our resistance. Remember the word BRICK.
B- Balance. Rebuilding takes faith AND action.
R- Remember The Lord.
I- Intense Focus.
C- Community Defense.
K- Keep Going!