Well, good morning, church.
Our sermon text today is Nehemiah chapter 6.
That's page 373 in the Pew Bible.
Go ahead and turn there with me.
We'll be looking at that passage together today.
Nehemiah chapter 6, page 373.
Let me just mention before we get started that there's water in the back, or at least
there was water in the back.
If you need a drink, there's a water fountain out in the foyer.
Downstairs also is an overflow space.
The secret is it's a little cooler down there.
So if it's just getting a little hot, feel free to go downstairs.
You can still follow along with the video and the audio downstairs.
It's a little cooler.
Well, let me pray for us as we come to God's word, and then I'll read the text for us.
Let's pray.
Oh, Father, we've just sung that you would be our vision.
You would be the heart of our hearts.
You would be the target towards which we aim.
You would be the goal, the end of all that we do.
God, thank you that you give yourself to us, that you reveal yourself to us, that you allow
yourself to be known and to be loved.
And so you draw us up out of our sin and our selfishness and our concern with mere passing
things to find our hope and our delight and our home in you, the eternal God.
Lord, would you please bless the reading and the preaching of your word this morning so
that you would be our vision above all.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So, Nehemiah chapter 6.
Now, when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that
I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it, although up to that time
I had not set up the doors and the gates, Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, come, let us
meet together at Hakafarim in the plain of Ono.
But they intended to do me harm.
And I sent messengers to them saying, I'm doing a great work and I cannot come down.
Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?
And they sent to me four times in this way and I answered them in the same manner.
In the same way, Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter
in his hand and it was written, it is reported among the nations.
And Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel.
That is why you are building the wall.
And according to these reports, you wish to become their king.
And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, there is a king
in Judah.
And now the king will hear of these reports.
So now come and let us take counsel together.
Then I sent to him saying, no such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing
them out of your own mind.
For they all wanted to frighten us thinking their hands will drop from the work and it will
not be done.
But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Now, when I went into the house of Shemaiah, the son of Deliah, son of Mehetabel, who was
confined to his home, he said, let us meet together in the house of God within the temple.
Let us close the doors of the temple, for they're coming to kill you.
They're coming to kill you by night.
But I said, should such a man as I run away?
And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?
I will not go in.
And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against
me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so
they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Remember Sanballat and Tobiah, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the
prophetess Noah-Diah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul in 52 days.
And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and felt greatly
in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help
of our God.
Moreover, in those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's
letters came to them.
For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shekaniah,
the son of Ere, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshulam, the son of Barakai,
as his wife.
Also, they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him, and Tobiah sent
letters to make me afraid.
Well, sometimes the opposition just won't quit.
Remember, the year is 445 BC.
Nehemiah has arrived in Jerusalem from Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, to rebuild
the city walls of Jerusalem and to restore the honor of the city and of the people.
And as chapter 6 opens, you see there that the work is actually almost done.
You see that in verse 1.
Everything is finished except for the setting up of the doors and the gates.
But just as Nehemiah is about to cross the finish line, the enemies of the project just
won't quit.
You remember back in chapter 4 that they came against the people as a whole with taunts and
threats.
But here, it gets personal.
Now, they're after Nehemiah himself.
And it gets deceptive.
The conspiracies start coming from every angle, don't they?
It's political in verses 1 through 9.
It's religious in verses 10 through 14.
It's social in verses 17 through 19.
And in each scheme against Nehemiah, the overarching aim is to make him afraid.
In verse 9, they want to frighten me.
Verses 10 and 14, that I should be afraid.
Verse 19, Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Because if they could frighten Nehemiah, then he would stop the work on the wall and maybe
even do something sinful or shameful out of fear, which would then give his enemies ammunition
to ridicule him and taunt him and ruin his reputation in the eyes of the people.
Fear, you see, is one of our spiritual enemy's greatest weapons.
In Nehemiah's day and in our own, the world would love to make us afraid and get us to
give up our allegiance to Christ and go against his word.
Take a look at verses 10 through 14.
There, it was physical fears, right?
They're coming to kill you, Nehemiah.
Now, many Christians around the world today do face physical intimidation.
In verses 1 through 9, it's professional fears.
You better come meet with us, Nehemiah, or we're going to tell the king of Persia that
you're planning a rebellion.
Now, there's no faster way to lose your job as a governor in the Persian Empire, which is
what Nehemiah was, than to be charged with treason.
But we can face professional fears today, can't we?
Will my allegiance to Christ put my work, my job, my profession in jeopardy?
Will I be overlooked for that promotion?
Will I lose out on that big client?
Will I be
Nehemiah's enemies, Tobiah, has apparently married into the noble upper classes of Judah.
And so, from that position of sort of social leverage, he can pull all sorts of strings
and call in all sorts of favors and make Nehemiah's life pretty miserable.
I think social fears may be the most prevalent for us here in our setting.
What will my neighbors, my friends, my family think of me if they know I've become a Christian?
Will I always be on the outside, always ridiculed, always excluded, always lonely?
How about you this morning, friend?
What ongoing fears are you experiencing from the world where God has placed you?
And Nehemiah, throughout this chapter, through the ongoing conspiracies and plots,
amazingly, he doesn't give up and he doesn't give in.
In fact, in the face of all that, he shows incredible wisdom, incredible courage, and
incredible endurance.
How about us?
How can we have that same sort of wisdom and courage and endurance today?
Well, I think there are two things that we see in this passage that can help us keep going
in the face of fear.
First, a God-centered perspective.
And second, a God-centered prayer life.
A God-centered perspective and a life of God-centered prayer.
So let's take a look at what a God-centered perspective looks like.
On the one hand, we need to maintain a God-centered perspective of our work.
Look at the end of verse 3, when Samballot, the governor of neighboring Samaria, tries
to draw Nehemiah away from Jerusalem under the pretense of a meeting.
It seems that meetings were used in all sorts of ways in the ancient world, just as they
are today.
Come on, we're going to have another meeting.
Oh, my, my.
Nehemiah, what does he say?
He says, I'm doing a great work and I cannot come down.
Now, that's a very shrewd answer, isn't it?
He doesn't just tell Samballot to get lost.
No, he maintains his professional dignity and says, actually, I have more pressing work
to do right now.
But it's not just a shrewd answer, it's also a true answer.
It is a great work that he's involved in.
But maybe not in the world's eyes.
After all, in the world's eyes, at this point in history, Nehemiah is just stacking rocks
around an insignificant town in a province that's literally called Beyond the River.
It doesn't sound more backwater than that, does it?
Where do you live?
Beyond the River.
Have fun with that.
But in God's perspective, it is a great work.
It's advancing the kingdom of God.
It's restoring the people of God.
It's honoring the name of God.
Now, you may not think that your everyday work, your calling, is much in the world's eyes.
But friend, any lawful work done as unto God with a heart to honor Him is a great work.
Maybe you're a stay-at-home parent.
Maybe you're an investment banker.
Maybe you're a construction manager.
Maybe you're an admin assistant.
Maybe you're a craftsman, a plumber, an electrician.
Maybe you're an Uber driver.
If you're a follower of Christ, if you are engaged in your work for the sake of Christ
with an eye towards His glory, it is a great work.
And this is especially true when it comes to our calling as a member of Christ's church.
Yes, in the world's eyes, what we're doing here right now seems fairly insignificant.
Singing a few songs.
Reading a few passages from an old religious text.
Saying a few encouraging words.
And so, if things get a little uncomfortable out in the world, if some social pressure heats up,
if some fears crop up at work or in your neighborhood or in your dorm room,
you know, it can feel like no big deal to just stop coming to church for a while.
But in God's perspective, the church is no mere social club.
It's the very body of Christ on earth.
It's the very dwelling place of His Holy Spirit.
The church gathered around and proclaiming the message of the Bible in word and in prayer
and in preaching and in sacrament.
The church engaged in that, friends, is the very voice of God to the world.
You are doing a great work.
Don't let the world frighten you into thinking otherwise.
But Nehemiah also has a God-centered perspective, not just of his work, but of himself.
In verses 10 through 14, we see that a certain priest named Shemaiah
has actually been hired by Sanballat and Tobiah to give a false prophecy to Nehemiah.
And we actually see in verse 14 at the end of that paragraph that there were others doing the same thing.
Apparently, there was a prophetess, Noah-diah, and some other prophets
who were apparently taking bribes from Nehemiah's enemies
and then lying to him to make him afraid and to do something shameful.
Shemaiah tells Nehemiah to go hide in the temple with him,
to go inside, to shut the doors because they're coming to kill you.
But in verse 11, Nehemiah says,
Should such a man as I run away?
And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?
I will not go in.
Now, we see in Nehemiah's response that on the one hand,
a God-centered perspective of our own selves gives us great boldness.
Who am I to run away, Nehemiah says.
Now, Nehemiah is the governor of Judah.
The king of Persia himself gave him that job.
Nehemiah has soldiers and servants at his disposal.
But is that all that gives Nehemiah his boldness?
No.
You see, Nehemiah isn't just known and called by the king of Persia.
He's known by the king of the universe, the creator, the Lord.
That's where Nehemiah's boldness comes from.
But on the other hand, this God-centered perspective of his own self
brings not just boldness but also a deep humility.
How can such a man as I go into the temple and live?
You see, God's law permitted only the priests to enter into the temple itself.
Everyone could worship in the courts,
but only a certain particular group in Israel,
the priestly class, could go into the temple.
Nehemiah, you see, was humble before God.
In other words, his rightful awe and fear of God
was what helped him overcome the fear of human beings.
But how can you and I have that same kind of boldness and humility?
We are no Nehemiah, right?
There have been about a hundred books written about the book of Nehemiah
about godly leadership,
and most of them you read and you think,
oh man, that's a tough act to follow.
But friends, consider what we know
in light of the gospel,
in the light of Christ.
What is the message of the Bible
that the creator of the universe,
the Lord,
the one before whom every knee will bow
as we sung at the beginning of our service,
sent his only son,
his only son,
to come die for you,
to rescue you from sin,
to make you his son,
his daughter,
to make you his heir?
Is there any greater source
of confidence and boldness than that?
You have been chosen
not by some mere earthly king,
but by the king of kings.
He's looked upon you
and said,
I'm choosing you
and sending my son for you.
And yet,
what humility at the same time.
Because your sins were so great
and your failures so deep
that the son of God had to die for you.
You see,
the necessity of the cross
for our sins ought to give us
a proper humility.
But the willingness of God
to take up the cross for you,
it should fill us
with an unshakable boldness.
Brothers and sisters,
do you know that kind of humble boldness,
that sort of bold humility,
that right,
humble confidence before God
that can make you withstand
any fears from the world?
It's there.
It's for you
in the cross of Christ.
Stop trusting in yourself
and put your trust in him.
Find in him
the forgiveness of your sins
and the love
of your heavenly father
and the indwelling,
powerful presence
of the Holy Spirit.
It's there for you
to take hold of.
It's not just for Nehemiah's,
it's for all of us.
So then a God-centered perspective
of our work
and of ourselves
will help us to endure
through the fears
that the world throws at us.
But if we stopped there,
we'd be missing something critical.
How does what we know
in our heads,
this God-centered perspective,
get down into our hearts?
How does the truth
of our relationship with God
become a lived experience
that actually changes our lives?
Become a lived reality
that actually allows us
to carry on,
to be wise,
to be courageous
in the midst of a world
that wants us to live in fear?
And that brings us
to the second main thing
that we see in this passage.
We need to maintain
a God-centered perspective,
but we also need to enjoy
the ongoing intimacy
of God-centered prayer.
Woven throughout this passage
are Nehemiah's prayers.
In verse 9,
Nehemiah prays for strength,
and in verse 14,
he prays for justice.
Notice in that prayer
for strength in verse 9
how it just seamlessly flows
in the narrative.
This happens a lot
in the book of Nehemiah.
It's as if to say
that prayer is something
that's meant to be woven
into every corner
of our lives.
I mean,
think about the situation
for Nehemiah here.
Nehemiah is at the office,
and he's just
gotten word
of an open letter.
That's like an email
that's been CC'd
to the whole company.
And this sort of
open letter
contains a not-so-very-veiled
threat
that if he doesn't
come meet with
Samballot,
the sort of,
you know,
director of operations
over a few
companies over,
if he doesn't come
meet with Samballot,
he's going to be accused
of treason
to the king of Persia.
And as Nehemiah
is dictating his response,
a prayer goes up
from his heart,
Oh God,
strengthen
my hands.
Friends,
do you see
the intimacy
that God wants you
to have with him
at any moment
to speak with him,
and he will hear?
Nehemiah knows
that in himself
he's weak,
so he calls
out to God
for strength.
Give us this day
our daily bread.
Lead us not
into temptation,
but deliver us
from evil.
Oh God,
strengthen my hands.
You know,
we often think
of prayer
as a work
that we have
to perform,
as a sort of
religious duty
that we have
to engage in,
but Nehemiah
actually shows us
that prayer
is really
the breath
of the heart,
giving simple
expression
to our needs
before the God
who made us
and loves us
and who promises
to hear us
and to fight
for us.
So if you are weary
and if you are weak
and if you are afraid,
look to God.
Pray for strength.
He will hear
and he will answer you.
Nehemiah also
prays in verse 14
for justice.
This God-centered
life of prayer
involves a prayer
for justice.
Now at first,
this prayer in verse 14
can sound a little
vindictive,
but actually,
what Nehemiah
is doing here
in this prayer
is actually
acknowledging
that God
is the only
just judge.
Rather than
seeking vengeance
against his enemies,
Nehemiah
lets God
be God.
Matthew Henry
writes on this verse,
he says,
whatever injuries
are done to us,
we must not
avenge ourselves,
but commit
our cause
to God
who judges
righteously.
You know,
rather than thinking
that Nehemiah
can fix his own problems
and put his enemies
in their place,
he prays for God's
justice whenever
and however
God chooses.
You see,
just like Nehemiah
knows that he's weak
and so he must
pray for strength,
so Nehemiah knows
that he's also
not righteous,
he's not
a perfect judge,
so he turns
his enemies
over
to God
who is.
Do you wonder
how Nehemiah
is able to put up
with the ongoing
stress and schemes
of his opponents
who just
won't quit?
How is he able
under all that pressure
to answer
with such clarity
and shrewdness?
How is he able
to deal
with the nobles
of Judah,
for example,
in verse 19,
who come to him
and just praise
how wonderful
Tobiah is,
Tobiah,
such a great guy
and then turn around
and betray
Nehemiah's confidence
right back
to his enemy?
How is it
that Nehemiah
doesn't just
lose his cool?
And how can you
and I live
in the midst
of a world
that does
the exact same thing?
People disappoint us,
they betray us,
they gossip about us,
they intimidate us,
they forget about us,
they threaten us,
and yet,
in prayer,
we can lay
all of that
out before a God
who is perfect
in judgment.
We don't need
to sort it all out.
We don't need
to be the judge.
We don't need
to be defensive
or bitter
or entitled.
We can pray,
God,
let your kingdom come
and let your will
be done.
Forgive me
my trespasses
as I forgive
those who
trespass against
me.
If you are
under pressure,
if you feel
like you're
under attack,
pray for God's
justice.
Entrust it
into his hands,
he will hear
your prayer,
and then
you'll have
the clarity
and the peace
and the perspective
to act in a way
that honors him,
that is shrewd,
that is courageous,
that is persevering.
So when the world
wants to make us
afraid,
afraid to keep
going,
afraid to hold
fast to our
allegiance to Christ
and his kingdom,
Nehemiah 6 reminds us
to fill our minds
with a God-centered
perspective
and to express
our hearts
in ongoing,
intimate,
God-centered prayer.
And then,
what's the outcome?
Well,
in verse 15,
the wall's finished.
They actually do it,
and they do it
in 52 days.
Friends,
it's going to take
longer than 52 days
to build the thing
we're planning to build
over there.
I guarantee you that,
and this was a big
project Nehemiah
was engaged in.
Talk about an answer
to prayer,
52 days.
And because
Nehemiah,
doesn't give in
to the fear
of the world,
the world,
ironically,
in verse 16,
begins to fear God.
And again,
we see the
missional thrust
of this book
and of the entire
Old Testament
and of the entire
Bible,
that God is out
to capture the hearts
of all nations,
and he's using
his people to do it.
Their very opponents
became fears of God
in just a little bit
more of a true way
because of this work.
But surprisingly,
that's not the end
of the book of Nehemiah.
You would think,
right?
They build the wall,
boom,
book over,
bring on the New Testament,
right?
No.
Moreover,
in those days,
all this other stuff
started happening.
The city wall
is finished,
but the opposition
keeps coming
in verses 17 through 19,
and there's still
more work to be done.
In chapter 7,
Nehemiah then begins
the work of protecting
the city
in verses 1 through 4,
and then repopulating
the city beginning
in verse 5.
There's more to be done,
and there's more
opposition to withstand.
So the story of Nehemiah
is not done.
It pushes ahead.
And you know,
even by the end
of this book,
it's not over.
The temple's finished,
the city's rebuilt,
the people are gathered,
but the king,
the long-awaited king,
is still not here.
You know,
Nehemiah's enemies
accuse him
of making himself
a king,
and that's all lies,
of course,
but the truth is,
Nehemiah and the rest
of the returned exiles
know that there is
a real king
still on the way.
And you know, friends,
our story isn't done either.
Even when we stand strong,
even when we complete
great works
for God's kingdom,
the opposition's
going to keep coming,
and there's still
going to be work to do,
but we know
that the king,
the king that Nehemiah
was waiting for,
the king that Isaiah
spoke about,
and Zechariah
and Haggai,
the king that they
were all talking about,
the king has come,
and we know that this king
is going to come again.
The world may try
to make us afraid,
but with our eyes
fixed on our once
and coming King Jesus,
the church will endure.
Friends, you will endure.
The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord.
She is a new creation
by water and the word.
From heaven,
he came and sought her
to be his holy bride.
With his own blood,
he bought her,
and for her life,
he died.
Mid toil and tribulation
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace forevermore,
till with the vision glorious
our longing eyes are blessed,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.
Let's pray.
Father, in this moment,
we take just a moment
to be still before you
and to open up our hearts
before you
in this quiet
to let our souls come out
as it were
and to lay our fears
before you.
Oh, Lord Jesus,
you are great.
Lord, you have loved us.
You have died for us.
You have risen again.
I pray for all of us
gathered here
that we
would stand firm
and have all the wisdom
and courage we need
going out this week
into your world
as ambassadors
of your kingdom,
knowing that you've given us
a great work.
Even so,
come, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Would you stand and sing with us?
Amen.
People are having you
along with us giving us
all these here
shown us.
Amen.