Fear Neh. 4:11-23

Jews who lived in the outlying villages kept on bringing reports of the enemy planing another sneak attack. Nehemiah saw that his people were starting to become afraid, so he began to act. Henry David Thoreau, American naturalist, who wrote in his journal on September 7, 1851, "Nothing is so much to be feared as fear." Why? Because fear paralyzes you, fear is contagious and fear paralyzes others. Fear and faith cannot live together in the same heart.

Nehemiah's first step is to post guards at the most vulnerable places on the wall. He armed entire families, knowing that they would stand together and encourage one another. Families stood together to protect their homes and their city.

After looking the situation over, Nehemiah then encouraged the people not to be afraid but to look to the Lord for help. If we fear the Lord we need not fear the enemy. Nehemiah new that God was strong enough to meet the challenge. He reminded them that their fighting for their nation, their city, and their families. If the nation was destroyed, what would become of God's great promises to Israel and his plan of redemption? When we face a situation that creates fear in our hearts, we must reminded ourselves of the greatness of God!! If we walk by sight and view God through the problems, we will fail, as did the Jews at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13:26-33). But if we look at the problem through the greatness of God, we will have confidence and succeed. That was the approach David took when he faced Goliath (1 Sam 17:45-47). I know I have said this many times before but here we go again what stops the people of God from stepping out of he boat (FEAR)!!!! When the Holy Spirit asks us to do something all of a sudden we become fearful and we start making excuses instead of being obedient. We need to realize our help comes from the maker of heaven and earth, there should be no fear for those who our found in Christ Jesus.

When the enemy learned that Jerusalem was armed and ready, they backed off. God had frustrated their plot. "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the people of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations" (Ps.33:10-11 NKJV). It is good to remind ourselves that the will of God comes from the heart of God and we need not be afraid.

The people where armed with both a tool and a weapon prepared to fight as they continued on their task to rebuild the wall. They realized it was God who fought with them and He alone could give the victory. Building and battling are both a normal part of the Christian life if we are faithful disciples. Nehemiah not only organized the workers and guards and encouraged them to trust the Lord, but he also set the right kind of example before them. He was a leader who served and a servant who lead. The late Dr. Alan Redpath explained why the Jews succeeded in getting the work done and keeping the enemy at bay: The people had a mind to work (v.6), a heart to pray (v.9), an eye to watch (v.9) and an ear to hear (v.20) and this gave them the victory (Victorious Christian Service, Revell, 1958; pp.76-79). They also had a godly leader with the faith to stand. I want to leave you with this verse and I hope it encourages you in your journey of faith. "Therefore be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Cor.15:58, NKJV).

Discouragement Neh 4:10

It's amazing to see the contrast between verse 9 and verse 10. In verse 9 we see the people of Jerusalem seeking after God to be there shield and protector. Verse 10 is a different story. Discouragement begins to creep in and take control of their lives. Pressure that we face daily creates problems from within. It isn't easy to carry on your work when you are surrounded by danger and daily face the demands of a task that seems impossible. If the Jews discouragement continued to grow Sanballat and his allies wouldn't have to wage war the Jews would have defeated themselves. Discouragement is one weapon that Satan uses against us. It was discouragement that kept Israel from entering the promised land (Number 13). The ten unbelieving spies discouraged the hearts of the people of Israel and as a result the nation wandered in the wilderness for forty years until the next generation was ready to conquer the land. Nehemiah didn't pay much attention to these complainers but went right on with the work. That's the best thing to do. If you take time away from your work to listen to everybody who wants your attention, you will never get anything done. Nehemiah got his encouragement from prayer and the promises of God. For some reason, God likes choosing ordinary people to do His work. Remember Gideon? He was a farmer threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from the Midianites but God choose him to deliver Israel. How about David a little shepherd boy? God choose him to be King. Or Moses who had a stuttering problem but was called to lead his people out of captivity. Or Ruth an unknown widow from Moab. God choose her to be the great great great grandmother of Jesus. Or what about Jesus’ very own disciples like Peter, James, John, Andrew? They were plain old fishermen but God choose them to lay the foundation for His church. There our countless Biblical characters who weren't qualified for the task given to them. This causes me to ask if these men and women of faith let discouragement take control of their lives would they have been obedient to the task given to them? Don't let discouragement take control of your life!! Philippians 3:12-14, Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Surrounded by the enemy

The next attack is intimidation of the enemy. This attack can be found in Nehemiah 4:7-9. The walls of Jerusalem are being built, and because of this Jerusalem enemies need to do something about it. So the enemies of Jerusalem surrounded the city and plan a secret attack. To the north was Sanballat and the Samaritans; to the east Tobiah and the Ammonites; to the south, Geshem and the Arabs; and to the west, the Ashdodites. Nehemiah suspected that his enemies would launch an attack, so he posted a guard and encouraged the people to pray, We learn in verse 17 that the workers held both tools and weapons and were prepared to fight when the signal was given. Watch and pray combines faith and works and is a good example for us to follow. The Christian battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan and his demonic forces that use flesh and blood to oppose the Lord's work. If we hope to win the war and finish the work, we must use the spiritual equipment God has provided. If we focus on the visible enemy alone and forget the invisible enemy, we are sure to start trusting our own resources; and this will lead to defeat. I think there's a huge lesson to be learned in this passage of scripture could you imagine what it must of been like to be Nehemiah, to be surrounded by your enemy!! I don't no much about war but 1 thing I do know is you never want to be surrounded. Your chances of escape or victory are very slim. Applying this passage to our lives it can be difficult to see the victory we have when were surrounded and intimidated by the enemy. You might feel hard pressed on every side or beaten down you might even say it's hard to be light with darkness all around if I can encourage you today know that God has given us to tools to stand and we need to rely on them in our time of need. I love in verse 9 how it says they prayed, so many times we look at the problem and not the answer. Nehemiah didn't let his enemy intimidate him he new his God would see him through. Be encouraged today that God will help you through any situation your facing regardless of how intimidating the enemy is.

Facing Opposition?

I'm sure many of you know growing closer in your relationship with Jesus isn't always easy. That there is a refining process that we go through. Today I want to look at Nehemiah chapter 4:1-6, Nehemiah has been commissioned to build the walls of his people but along the way he runs into opposition. In this chapter alone he runs into four different attacks of the enemy. Where going to take a look at just one of those oppositions today. This chapter reminds us that God's people can be steadfast and defeat the enemy. If you are continually building upon your relationship with Jesus you will soon be battling so preparation is vital!!!!

1. Ridicule (Neh. 4:1-6)- Ridicule is nothing new for those that oppose the will of the Lord. Goliath ridiculed the God of the Israelites, the Roman soldiers and the rabbi's ridiculed Jesus as he hung on a cross. It amazes me how God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Sanballat saw what Nehemiah was doing as an insurmountable task. But Nehemiah had great faith in a great God, and that's what made the difference. I love how he responds to the ridicule he prays and asked God to fight the enemy for him! Nehemiah didn't let the words of his enemy forget the task that God gave him to due. In our lives it can be very easy to listen to the ridicule of the world. Words like what your doing is a waist of time, you'll never amount to anything. Remain obident to wherever the Holy Spirit leads!! Anything that keeps you from doing what God has called you to do will only help the enemy. Be encouraged today that whatever storm you may be facing that those that are found in Christ have already won the battle.