Overcoming Opposition & Discouragement
Nehemiah 4:1-22
4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 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?”
3 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!”
4 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. 5 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.
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 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.”
11 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.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 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. 14 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. Rememberthe Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpetstayed with me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”
This Sunday’s service can be view on our Facebook page @ Sunday, January 15, 2023
Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.
But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved
and by those who are perishing.
To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.
But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving aroma.
2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NLT)
(Jesus said) “This is my command: Love each other.
If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.
The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it,
but you are no longer part of the world.
I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
John 15:17-19
One of the highlights for me of being a minister is that I get the opportunity to officiate the joyous union of two people committing themselves to one another in marriage. I had just finished the wedding ceremony and was relaxing during the reception when I was quickly approached by a young man. He thanked me for wedding message and affirmation of the couple but he had a few questions about what I said. Then he began to tear down the concept that God had anything to do with bringing these two people together. He further articulated that Jesus was just a man on an ego trip who has fooled millions of people into thinking he was some kind of god. He then asked how I could promote such nonsense in today’s world where people know better. I have to admit, I found myself taken back a little but also very interested in why this young man felt this way.
During our conversation, I had silently began to pray for God’s wisdom and the Spirit’s leading to know how to respond to this guy. I asked why he felt this way and his belief that God was a human concept. My heart ached as he told me of his disappointment with people who claimed to be Christians but basically were just self-centered hypocrites who were no different than anyone else. I finally had a chance to ask these questions in a moment he truly wanted my opinion: “Do you have anyone in your life that you genuinely love? Where does this concept of love come from?”
This question took him by surprise and he became more aggressive in defending his belief that God is not active in our world even if he does exist. He eventually asked me “where do you think love comes from?” I told him that my whole life was directed at understanding that concept of being loved and truly loving others. I shared with him that Jesus demonstrated the greatest love towards me and others that I have ever heard about in my life. I told him the promise he gave to never leave me and that he provided me with true peace, hope, joy, and strength. I could not help but tell him that the greatest challenge for me is to love God with everything within me and how that love overflows to truly caring for others. That is what I’ve given my life to and what gives my life meaning. I then asked him, “what gives your life meaning?”
This young man looked at me, shook his head and said, “I don’t buy it. I’m done with this conversation.” He then turned and walked away.
When you live your life for God you will encounter opposition and disappointment. You will find moments of discouragement when others throw what you believe back in your face and reject you. Nehemiah experienced this and so did others who joined him in rebuilding the broken down walls. This Sunday we are going to delve into how God helps us overcome opposition and discouragement!
Grateful to be on this journey with you,
Pastor John