Neh 1:4 “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,"

    “…when I heard these words…” Remember that Nehemiah has just found out that the walls of Jerusalem are broken down and that the city is in disrepair even thought the temple has been rebuilt.

    How would he react? Would he ignore it and say let someone else who can afford to give their time go. Or perhaps he could have said I am far too important in the work I am doing now to go let someone else.

    Remember we are attempting to learn how to thrive in times of trouble. Notice with me in the next few verse how that Nehemiah heart was one that would touch heaven.

    Someone said that Hanani, his brother that brought him the report, saw the rubble but Nehemiah saw God.  One thing that will help us to thrive is troublous times, and sometimes thrust us into those times, is to have a heart that is touched by the things of God. Nehemiah was one who had not forgotten Jerusalem. The Psalmist said in Psa 137:5-6 “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.  6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

    The city walls being destroyed and in disarray was critical.  A city without walls in that time was a city open to plunder and at the mercy of roving criminals.

I- His Prayer To God:

    The prayer line was open between Nehemiah and God. As a matter of fact you will find Nehemiah prayers scattered through the book of Nehemiah. You may recall that when Daniel was being set up by his accusers notice what is said in Dan 6:10  “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

    Nehemiah 1:5-11 records the prayer of Nehemiah as his heart reached out toward heaven.  An interesting thing is that in neither Daniel nor Nehemiah character do we see a flaw revealed.

5- Specific Praying:

    All things in life are not done in a vacuum. They are done in the world as we are engaged in life. God is concerned about the details of our life. Nehemiah prays a very specific prayer to God. He ask God to hear and them to grant his favor in the eyes of the king. Neh 1:11 “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man….”

    This man has not been identified until this point in time but notice what the next line says, “For I was the king's cupbearer.”

    The heart that touches heaven will not be afraid to ask very specific for the need in the time at hand. Remember He knows what we need but joys in the heart that trust and asks. May we know the holiness of God, go before Him on our knees, take Him at this word and ask Him in faith. May our hearts be so in tune that we move heaven with our prayers.

 Return to Outline:

    We come into the story of Nehemiah four months after he first heard the condition of the city of Jerusalem was it lay in waste and the walls were down. Remember he has been praying for this the whole time.

I- Brave: Neh 2:1-2

    We learned last time that Nehemiah was praying day and night that God would give him mercy in the sight of the king. Nehemiah we learned was the cupbearer of the king. Nehemiah had almost unfettered access to the king’s presence. This was because he had to sample all the wine and food the king consumed just on the chance it was poisoned by an enemy. So he was probably never far away.

    The time has now come to put his life in the hands of God and at risk of death from the king.

    Neh 2:1-2  And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.  2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid…”

    For Nehemiah to let down his guard and show his sadness of heart was a brave act. I think that it was an intentional action on his part. He had been praying and dealing with this for four months now. He chose the time.

    May I say that few things are ever accomplished by the faint of heart? Nehemiah takes a calculated risk that could have cost his life. Notice it says, “…Then I was very sore afraid…”

    One important thing that need to be pointed out here as well is that Nehemiah was a layman. Remember that Ezra the Priest had taken the group before him back to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah was not in the ministry as we would say today. He was an ordinary man that God called to be used.

    A couple of questions keep racing through my mind. What am I willing to risk to serve God? May I ask you as well, what are you will to risk to serve God? Is it life and limb or very little? May I say in order to thrive we must be willing to risk it all. Remember Mat 10:28  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

    If God lays something on our hearts it may take courage to do it but may I say thought through right it takes foolish courage to not do God’s will.

    Nehemiah had never been sad before the king before. He chose to let the king know what was on his heart this day.

II- Bold: Neh 2:3-6

    The king asked how long he would be away and when he would return. Notice that God was already moving on the heart of the king. He granted the request. Nehemiah gives him a time.

    There may have been other factors involved here as well. Perhaps the king had come to trust Nehemiah so that he knew he could trust him to build the walls without it being an insurrection against him.

III- Brassy: Neh 2:7-8

        Nehemiah identified the enemies of God very quickly when he came into the land.  He meets the enemy and recognized them for who they were. We must learn to recognize the enemy as well. 

II- Spiritually Preparing:

    Neh 2:11 “So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.”

III- Inspecting the Walls

    Neh 2:12-15 “ And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.  13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.  14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.  15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.”

    One thing that his midnight ride showed was the vulnerability of the city. He could ride around it unimpeded. If he had been an enemy could have attacked.

    His purpose was to assess the situation first hand. It says he, “viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.” 

    Nehemiah saw what a massive job he had gotten himself into. We have no indication that he checked his sanity about being there and undertaking the task. The debris was so great that one place the beast he rode could not pass through it. He had to take another route.

    How many of us would have turned back and retreated when we saw the task? To accomplish a task like this was going to take a lot of faith. 

IV- Jerusalem WE Have A Problem:

    Nehemiah did not blast them for their failure, remember he had prayed and confessed the failures before God. He new the reason the walls were down were God’s hand of judgment.

    Notice how he says, WE, not you but we, have a problem. By now you may have caught the hint of it was a we problem and not a you problem. We might say he identified the obvious. They were living there and perhaps they had gotten used to the way things were. Many times in our churches we will accept things that are certain ways even though they may not be what is right or what is needed to reach the lost world. Sometimes it takes someone new to identify the problems for us.

    Years ago at a church I pastored the people had gotten so use to things that they accepted them. The only problem was when someone new came in the smell of the septic tanks was offensive. Yet those who were there all the time didn’t seem to notice or at least to not acknowledge it.  In order to thrive many times we need to take a good long look and evaluate what we are doing, why we are doing it and is it accomplishing what it need to. Unfortunately we have some who are like Sanballat and Tobiah in our churches. They do not want things to change because it would upset the power structure they have managed to work themselves into.  

V- Assurance of God’s Hand and Purpose:

    What keeps God’s servants on task in face of opposition, in the face of the hardships and trial associated with serving Him.  May I say the strongest thing is the compulsion on the Holy Spirit and the clear revelation of God’s will.  Being certain of God’s hand and purpose keeps men and women moving forward against any and all odds.

    Who can forget the almost haunting words of Jeremiah found in Jer 20:9  “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

    Jeremiah wanted to quit preaching. He wanted to give up but the fire of God compelled him forward.

    Beloved Nehemiah had no less compulsion from God. Notice what he tells the leaders in Jerusalem.

    Neh 2:18  “ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me….”

    What a great motivation speech. He tells them about how God had placed His hand upon him to accomplish the task. He also tells them about what God had already done in the events leading up to this time in the heart of the King.

    Perhaps these were only waiting for a leader to come along to lead them. It seems so because notice their reaction, “And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”

Session 5- The Tactics of the Enemy (Part 1) ...Neh 2:19-20; 4:1-10

    “These three opponents of Nehemiah are now know from extra-biblical sources to have been governors or high officials in Samaria.” (Bible Study Textbook Series, College Press, p 731.)

    You may not have noticed that these three were from completely different backgrounds and points of view. The one thing they had in common is their opposition to the rebuilding of the walls. It is strange to me that they stood together. But where they the true enemy of Israel?

I- The True Enemy:

    I remind us all that sometimes, what we might call the true enemy, can us anyone for his purpose. So let us spend just a few moments and discuss what we touched on last session.

    1Pe 5:8 “ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

    There has always been an adversary against anything that is godly. Paul warned us about our enemy in Eph 6:12  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

    We could talk about the enemy more in detail but let us move to his tactics and reveal him in this way.

II- Do Not Be Ignorant:

    Today as most are aware we are in what many term a war on terror. While some are sounding the alarm about a world war other discounts it as much to do about nothing. I personally feel the war against radical Islam is a real war because the objective of these movements is to place the world under Islamic rule. The tactics used by the terrorist is to create fear and chaos. We are having a hard time identifying the enemy on a one to one basic. Still some are ignorant to the fact there is an enemy and a war.

    The same is true many times in our spiritual battle. We are ignorant of the war or deny that it is even going on.

    The Bible says in 2 Co 2:11  “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”  This word devices in the KJV is translated many different ways into various English translations. It is translated: methods, schemes, designs, purposes, thoughts, mind, devices, enterprises, plans, intentions, sly ways.

    In the next couple of sessions we will focus on the tactics of the enemy used against Nehemiah and see that they are often paralleled into our lives as we live the Christian life. Se let us look so we will not be ignorant. We also will see the response of Nehemiah to each tactic.

III- Tactic of Ridicule: 2:19-20; 4:1-5

    Notice the first tactic used by the opposition found in Neh 2:19 “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?”

    We see a continuation of this in Neh 4:1-3 “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.  2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?  3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.”

    They all join in and ridicule the effort to rebuild the walls. They laugh at them even attempting or thinking they can do this task. Tobiah says what they are doing would be knocked down by the light footed fox that walks so soft to almost leave no tracks.

    They even accused them of rebellion against the king. How discouraging it is to hear even the enemy ridicule and tear down with belittling. Satan has used this tactic many times against God’s people. He browbeats them and they get discouraged and begin to believe it themselves it not careful.

    Notice the response of Nehemiah found in Neh 2:20 “Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.”

    He was a man of conviction and purpose who responded that God would do this not merely the human element. He confronted them with a strong faith in God. Another statement he makes is what has become obvious they had not portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem. They had no claim to anything that was being done for God because they were so ungodly.

    The response to the ridicule in chapter four is to pray and turn it over to God. Neh 4:4-5 “Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:  5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.”

    It could be said as Nehemiah build the wall of brick and mortar that he also build a wall of prayer.

    So the principle for thriving in troublous time is simply. When ridicule comes, and it will, make sure you are in the center of God’s will and then turn it over to God and keep on working.

IV- The Tactic of Aggression: 4:7-8, 11

    The walls of the city were completed to about half height, “all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof.” Neh 4:6

    Notice the response of the enemies. You could call this a tactic of conspiracy or perhaps intimidation. Certainly it is a tactic of aggression. Neh 4:7-8, 11 “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,  8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it…. 11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease”

    They were planning an attack against the work. As we can see the enemies are getting more aggressive in they attempts to derail the work.

    Notice the response of Nehemiah.  Neh 4:9 “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them…” Nehemiah prays, sets a watch and keeps on working. How many times do we get sidetracked from doing by saying, “I’m praying about it.” Certainly there is a time for prayer, Nehemiah prayed constantly, but there is also a danger of hiding behind the pretense of praying to do nothing.

    We notice from Neh 4:12 that the enemies 10 times come to the people and try to draw them away from the work by telling them that their families were in danger. They were trying to get them to abandon the work and submit to the rule of Sanballet and the others.

    We see the response of Nehemiah here in Neh 4:13-14  Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.  14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

    My, what a man of faith and encouragement to all of the workers. He reminded them of God’s greatness and that this work was in fact for their families future.

    Why do we need to stay of task of reaching out to the lost world with the gospel? It is because our families’ future depends of it. We need to remember this is a critical work we do for them. Sure the enemy will plot and scheme but may I say it is not our greatness or resolve but God’s greatness that will give the victory. We are in a fight for the soul of our nation and our community and homes.  We must recognize this. Notice what happened when the enemies found out their plot was known. Neh 4:15 “And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.”

    Remember we are not ignorant of the devices of the devil. The Bible also teaches us in Jam 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

V- The Tactic of Discouragement: 4:10

    Intertwined within the last verse we see another tactic of the enemy. The tactic of discouragement is found here. Neh 4:10 “And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.” Perhaps the plot to attack was the result of those outside knowing that they were discouraged.

    However, this was not an attack by those forces outwardly but inwardly in the hearts and minds of the people. Peter told us, 1 Pe 1:13  “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

    While the enemy outside the walls were conspiring to attack and trying to get the Jews to abandon the job we see that they were beginning to succeed. The work was a giant task and they looked around and became discouraged. I think one of the things that has happened in a lot of churches today in America is they have become discourage. They have been attached, ridiculed and put down both from within and without and they have become discouraged.

    We have already looked at the response of Nehemiah. He reminded them of how great a God they served and encourage them. One thing that helps us all thrive in times of trouble is encouragement from others.  Remember Gal 6:2 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

    An elderly lady was once asked by a young man who had grown weary in the fight, whether he ought to give up the struggle. "I am beaten every time," he said dolefully. "I feel I must give up." "Did you ever notice," she replied, smiling into the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in the same old spot where they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing?"

    Perhaps we just need to focus on the good and deal with the bad knowing we are doing the work of the Lord. One thing that sticks out in this is that they continued to work in face of opposition.

    We see that in the rest of the preparation that Nehemiah did in the last few verses of chapter 4. Notice a few highlights.

    “…the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows…” Neh 4:16

    “…with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.” Neh 4:17

    Nehemiah also set up a system of warning of attack. (4:18-21) They continued to work and in fact if anything they become more resolved to do the work at hand.

    May we not be ignorant of the devices of Satan and when faced with opposition make sure were are where we need to be in relation to God’s will and redouble our efforts. The battle and victory is God’s.

V- Levels of Conflict:

    Neh 5:1-5  And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.  2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.  3 Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.  4 There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.  5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.”

    What these rich Jews were doing to their poorer brothers was forbidden by the Law. Deu 23:19-20 “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:  20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”

        Oppression of the poor is very displeasing to God. This is also seen in the New Testament as well. Jam 5:4 “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”

        This internal conflict was dealt with quickly by Nehemiah.  He presented their wrong acts to the guilty and to their credit they accepted the rebuke and restored the possessions of the poor to their owners. May we also have a heart that will allow us to see our wrong and correct them!

     As we enter chapter six we see the project was almost complete.  Neh 6:1 NASB  “…I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates.” The enemies are beginning to pull out all stops. It is getting desperate for them.

    Many times the enemy will use this tactic with us. I laugh at times at the projects that have been begun and abandoned by churches. The hardest part of ministry at times is to remained focused. The enemy will put other things before us. Just because something is good and wholesome does not necessarily mean it is God’s will.  The enemy will distract us with so much good that we do not do the best. Nehemiah response shows that he was focused on the task God had given him. Neh 6:3 “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”      

VIII- The Tactic of Slander 6:5-9

    A