By
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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Broadcast
Notes
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LINK to CFRA broadcast of
Sunday, July 26th, 2015)
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THANKS for the generosity of the anonymous donors,
who made today’s broadcast possible.
'Nehemiah: "Don't vacillate, perpetuate!"'
Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden Pond, "If
I seem not to keep step with others, it is because I am listening to another
drum beat."
Nehemiah listened to another drum
beat—that of God.
We learn from Nehemiah how to
persevere in the face of opposition.
Three times Nehemiah’s enemies test him.
Here is how Nehemiah responds:
1.
“Don’t choose the good over the great!”
2.
“Don’t take the
bait!”
3.
“Don’t
underestimate!”
1.
DON’T CHOOSE THE
GOOD OVER THE GREAT!
· In 587 B.C., the
Babylonians invaded and destroyed the city of Jerusalem.
· context:
wall is almost complete—enemy’s last chance to strike
· The enemy approaches Nehemiah like an “angel of
light” (2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms
himself into an angel of light.”)
Nehemiah6:1 “When word
came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our
enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to
that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent
me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[a] on the plain of Ono.” But
they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am
carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while
I leave it and go down to you?”4 Four
times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.”
·
Nehemiah was
invited to attend a conference of sorts in a neutral location near Joppa,
outside the boundaries of Judah
·
On the
surface, this seemed to be a plan to achieve a peaceful coexistence (but it was
actually a trap to kill Nehemiah)
·
Satan sent
the message 4 times to instill a false sense of urgency--hold your ground!
·
DON’T CHOOSE
THE GOOD OVER THE BEST--THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE MOST
TALENTED BUT THE MOST DETERMINED
2.
DON’T TAKE THE
BAIT!
·
Satan (the enemy) next appears to
Nehemiah like a “roaring like” (1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”)
· An open letter, written on leather or papyrus, and
left unsealed so message become public:
Nehemiah 6:5 “Then, the fifth time,
Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was
an unsealed letter 6 in
which was written: “It is reported among
the nations—and Geshem[b] says it is true—that you
and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall.
Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed
prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in
Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet
together.” 8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are
saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”
· Letter contained 3 charges:
1.
Nehemiah and the Jews
were plotting treason(goal of rebuilding was supposedly to rebel against
persina government)
2.
insinuated that
Nehemiah had pretensions to the throne (king of Jerusalem) (v. 6)
3.
Nehemiah was charged
with bribing some enthusiastic prophetes to support him in his quest for
kingship (v. 7)
·
Don’t get distracted from God’s vision for your
life: 1 Cor. 15 “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord.”
·
HOLY PERSISTENCE!
· Churchill:
“The reason a bulldog’s nose is backwards is so that he can breathe
while not letting go of anything.”
Nehemiah 6:9” They were all trying to frighten us,
thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be
completed.” But I prayed, “Now
strengthen my hands.”
3.
DON’T
UNDERESTIMATE!
· Lastly, the enemy appears to Nehemiah like “the
serpent of old” (Revelation 12:9 “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”)
· Nehemiah’s enemies turned to “inside connections”—a
false prophet!
Nehemiah 6:10 “One day I went to the house of Shemaiah
son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said,
“Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the
temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to
kill you.” 11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or
should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not
go!” 12 I
realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me
because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to
intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would
give me a bad name to discredit me.”
·
prophet (enemy) mixed truth with lies
·
know your enemy, but know the Word best of all (The
Bible cautions: Numbers 18:7 “You shall
guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the
veil; and you shall serve…and any outsider who comes near shall be put to
death.”)
·
Nehemiah and the workers complete the wall in 52
days!
·
But Nehemiah does not underestimate the
enemy! He does not let down his guard!
Nehemiah 7:1 “After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in
place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and
the Levites were appointed. 2 I
put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along
with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because
he was a man of integrity and feared God
more than most people do. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened
until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut
the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at
their posts and some near their own houses.”
Our Heavenly
Father, we thank You for Your word, which is a lamp unto our feet. It guides us,
instructs us, encourages us, challenges us.
And today,
I pray for the listener who’s given up a God or a main task. Would they know that
it’s not too late? They can begin anew to finish what they set out to do.
Or, I pray,
that the person listening today, whether they be a pastor or a lay person involved
in ministry, who’s near burnout, near quitting, near despair; would they rest in
You, and revitalize in You, but would they not give up.
You will
see them through, just like You saw Nehemiah through. We thank you Lord that You are greater than our
adversaries, that You will help us withstand our enemy, that You will help us to
prevail, and that it is always only for Your glory.
In the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, AMEN.
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To listen to the above
broadcast, click on the following link:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/34164/good_news_167_july26.mp3
