Revival from Rubble
Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 79 viewsChristians should be prepared to face the 4 arrows of opposition and turn them back
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Intro
Intro
Opening Story
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:10-
Let’s frame our battle correctly. Here is the vision. Here is the enemy. Here is the battle.
Ridicule
Ridicule
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”
nehemiah 4:1-
Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:4
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Ephesians 6:
Truth wins over ridicule
Attack
Attack
But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
Nehemiah 4:7-
And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Nehemiah 4:
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Ephesians 6:14
Righteousness (right walking with God) gives us courage to stand
Weariness
Weariness
In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”
Nehemiah 4:10
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Ephesias 6:15
Peace wins when our hearts are worn and weary
Fear
Fear
Nehemiah 4:11-
And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”
So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Nehemiah 4:13-14
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Ephesians 6:16
Faith gives us confidence in uncertainty
Revive and Change
Revive and Change
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Ephesians 6:17
Knowledge of Salvation and the word of God give us clear direction
Change in Structure
Change in Structure
Nehemiah 4:15-
When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
Intentional planning and execution gives that direction focus
Change in Attention
Change in Attention
And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
Nehemiah 4:18-
Putting our thoughts on God and his strength give that focus power
Revival of Passion
Revival of Passion
So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.
Intentional, consistent action brings the mission to it’s goal
Opposition drives to revival and needed change…Prayer
Opposition drives to revival and needed change…Prayer
In the words of Faith Hayes, July 5, 2007
This morning I was doing dishes in the sink, again. Now, for those of you who don‘t know, we don‘t have a dishwasher, and by that I mean the machine kind. I am the dishwasher. God sends me beautiful hot, dry air to be my ―dryer‖ so I don‘t have to do all the work. Now, to best wash dishes by hand you need several things. One – hot water. Check! (...at least most of the time I have that...) Two - soap. Check. Three - clean water with which to rinse. Yep, we‘re set. Now lately I‘ve been noticing something. When the water pressure is low (basically 90% of the time) I have practically NO suds and therefore really slimy, inadequate dishwashing conditions, no matter how much soap I put in there. So I‘ve been doing something to help the situation. I agitate the water. You know, put my hand in there and swish, swish, swish. Do you know what happens? I get mounds of beautiful suds! And the dishwashing water actually lasts until I‘m finished w/ the entire clean-up of the kitchen!
know, we don‘t have a dishwasher, and by that I mean the machine kind. I am the dishwasher. God sends me beautiful hot, dry air to be my ―dryer‖ so I don‘t have to do all the work. Now, to best wash dishes by hand you need several things. One – hot water. Check! (...at least most of the time I have that...) Two - soap. Check. Three - clean water with which to rinse. Yep, we‘re set. Now lately I‘ve been noticing something. When the water pressure is low (basically 90% of the time) I have practically NO suds and therefore really slimy, inadequate dishwashing conditions, no matter how much soap I put in there. So I‘ve been doing something to help the situation. I agitate the water. You know, put my hand in there and swish, swish, swish. Do you know what happens? I get mounds of beautiful suds! And the dishwashing water actually lasts until I‘m finished w/ the entire clean-up of the kitchen!
So what in the world does this have to do with prayer??? Good question and I‘m sure several people in my family don‘t quite understand all the parallels I draw from this example. But that‘s okay, God knows how to bring things into focus for me and relate to where I am. Here follows my lengthy explanation:
If you read our last email update you know that we have been struggling a bit lately with opposition. Not maybe blatant, outright, ―I‘m taking you out of service‖ type opposition but more the ―I‘m going to pick and pick and pick and make this go wrong and make that break down and ruin these things and try and get you so bogged down with just maintaining the very basics that you become practically ineffective‖ - that kind of opposition.
It‘s been interesting in my quiet times, in the things we‘ve had coming up, in conversations lately w/ friends; the topics have wandered toward spiritual warfare. Not a subject I‘m totally familiar with or even comfortable with for that matter. But!! I love this passage of scripture and it is hitting home for me…
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Wow. It‘s funny because even as I was copying this out of my bible, I realized that I have parts of it underlined and highlighted. But, I stopped highlighting after vs 18. Verses 19 and 20 are EXACTLY why I am writing this update. God is so good to me and opens my eyes, even when I am not paying attention to the less famous parts...
As I was agitating my dishwater this morning and watching how much more effective my dishwater became, I realized that we need to ask you, our family, friends, and brothers in Christ, to help agitate our waters so to speak. Prayer. We need it. Parts of me feel like slimy, cold dishwater. We are working and serving here but I am now asking that you would lift us up that we might be more effective. What that looks like we don‘t know, but wow, I‘d like to find out.
Prayer is the place the battle begins. I can tell you we need more people to teach our kids on Sunday mornings. I can tell you we need people to lead life groups. I can tell you we need people who will serve in a thousand ways. But today I tell you we need people to pray. Pray and then seek how God will use you to answer those prayers. Lets agitate the water.