Rev. David Holwick ZK Nehemiah series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 19, 2006
Nehemiah 2:9-20
RECOVERY FROM RUIN
I. WITH POWER AND A PLAN.
A. Definite change in attitude about America's Iraq policy.
1) Lopsided election and replacement of Rumsfeld means
even the Administration gets the message.
2) Consensus is that invasion was a textbook success, but
occupation was deeply flawed.
a) Too few troops.
b) No plan on what to do.
c) Rosy expectations that were soon dashed.
B. Nehemiah did it differently.
1) He arrived with power.
a) Ezra had deliberately traveled without protection.
b) Nehemiah is making a statement with his escort.
2) He arrived with a plan.
a) This was obvious the moment the king had asked what
was bothering him.
1> He wanted to return to Jerusalem.
2> He wanted to rebuild the city.
3> He wanted royal letters for protection.
4> He wanted royal letters for supplies.
A> For the gates, the temple, the city wall
and his own house! 2:8
C. With power and a plan, we can turn our own lives around.
1) Nehemiah's principles can work for us, too.
II. HE INSPECTED THE DAMAGE.
A. Nehemiah wanted to know exactly what he was facing.
1) First, he took a breather, resting for 3 days. 2:11
a) Even men of action can suffer from jet lag.
b) He does not rush into action.
c) Neither does he rush into talk.
1> He kept his counsel to himself.
2) Then he arranged a private tour of the defenses.
a) He didn't rely on others, but took a personal look.
b) Few men, only one horse, done at night.
c) Nehemiah had someone else along - God was riding
shotgun on his heart. 2:12
3) His assessment was grim.
a) The damage was extensive.
1> At some places his horse could not get through the
rubble.
b) Jerusalem then was not a large city - it wasn't much
longer than Ledgewood's Main Street.
1> It would not be able to defend itself.
B. We also need to do honest self-examination.
1) Over time, our personal walls can break down.
a) Subtle temptations take root and grow.
2) Perhaps we need to do a tour.
a) Like Nehemiah, it can be a private inspection.
b) King David examined himself each night.
In Psalm 139:23-24 he says,
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
c) He passed this wisdom on to his son Solomon.
In 1 Chronicles 28:9 he says,
"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your
father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion
and with a willing mind,
for the LORD searches every heart and understands
every motive behind the thoughts.
If you seek him, he will be found by you;
but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."
3) Our hearts are rebellious.
Paul Thigpen, a writer for Discipleship Journal
magazine, points out that sins are not isolated
events.
In truth, sin is much more than an act or an
accumulation of acts.
Individual sins are actually the outward culmination
of an inward human reality called sin.
The Bible describes this universal condition in various
ways:
. as a bondage or imprisonment of the will (Romans 6:17);
. as the direction of the heart turned away from God
(Deut. 30:17);
. as a spiritual infection that has claimed the whole
world (Romans 5:12).
#173
4) But God is forgiving.
a) If we acknowledge our sin, he can forgive us.
b) Even better, he can redirect us to the right path
again.
c) Sin's power can be broken.
III. HE GATHERED SUPPORT.
A. Nehemiah stated the obvious. 2:17
1) They were in obvious trouble.
2) City was in ruins.
3) His report should have been no big surprise.
a) The wall had been damaged for a hundred years.
b) They had actually grown accustomed to it.
Once there was an airplane pilot who had a hard time getting
along with the local aircraft mechanic.
One day the pilot brought his plane to the hangar where the
mechanic did repairs.
He wrote the following complaint in the shop log: "Unfamiliar
noise in engine."
The next day the pilot was somewhat surprised to see that the
plane was already back in service.
Curious as to what problem the mechanic had found, the pilot
checked the log book.
The entry simply said: "Ran engine continuously for four
hours. Noise now familiar."
B. Nehemiah motivates them with disgrace. 2:17
Pastor Rick Warren notes that Nehemiah didn't use external
motivators.
He used two internal things: self-esteem and God's glory.
The greatest motivation in life is not external, nor
internal, but eternal.
Nehemiah says, "Let's rebuild the wall for the glory of
God!"
God was already helping them out. 2:18
C. The people respond.
1) Nehemiah's encouragement did the trick.
2) They begin the "good work".
IV. HE PREPARED FOR OPPOSITION.
A. Sanballat and Tobiah mock them. 2:19
1) These men were local leaders, serving under the same
king that Nehemiah did.
2) They raise the red herring of rebellion.
a) Because of Nehemiah's show of force, they didn't fight.
B. Opposition serves a purpose.
1) It sharpens our focus on what we should be about.
2) Any bold decision will face opposition of some sort.
3) Nehemiah totally excludes his opponents.
a) They have no share in this endeavor.
b) Was he being too harsh?
1> "Us vs. them" mentality is common in religion.
2> But on some issues there can be no compromise.
c) Sometimes single-minded clarity is called for.
1> Everything Nehemiah said to them was true.
V. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT.
A. Recovery is not something that should be put off.
B. "Now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor 6:2
1) Raise red herring of rebellion.
B. Nehemiah's retort.
1) God will give us success.
2) You have no share in this.
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#173 "Careful Self-examination," by Paul Thigpen, Discipleship Journal,
#46, July/August 1988, p. 22 ff.
This and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Possible themes:
I. Inspecting the damage.
A. Self-inspection of life, personal faith.
Stedman - It is most important that we do something like this in recovering
our own ruined areas. We must face the facts as they are, name them, and
acknowledge to ourselves and others that they are true. We must not try to
cover them over or in any way excuse them. If you are acquainted with the work
of Alcoholics Anonymous you know that they require that everyone they work
with must publicly acknowledge their problem to be alcohol addiction. They
must state it clearly, "I am an alcoholic." If they are not willing to do
this, there is little hope for their recovery.
II. Now is the time to act.
A. Stedman - This is a wonderful example of good leadership. He cannot do this
work alone. He must involve others. First, he appeals to their pride, "You can
see the ruin around you," he points out. Actually the ruins had been there for
almost one hundred years. He is saying, in effect, "That is long enough. It is
disgraceful that nothing has been done until now. Let us begin to act." He
puts it to them plainly that now is the time because, as he suggests, "God is
with us." God had already helped them. He had moved the heart of the king,
setting up the possibility of repair. Now was the time to act.
When leadership steps out like that, it is almost certain to find a following.
Nehemiah galvanizes the Jews to action, to begin the process of rebuilding. He
appeals to their sense of self-respect, and supplies an encouraging motive to
begin.
III. How to deal with opposition.
A. Opposition is necessary.
Stedman - Whenever anybody says, "I will arise and build," Satan always
replies, "Then I will arise and oppose." You can count on it! It is a
necessary part of the process. God allows it for it is good for us to have
opposition.
B. Techniques of our opponents.
1) Stedman - These men stood outside the covenant of promise. One was a pagan,
Sanballat the Horonite; one was a renegade son of Lot, an enemy though also a
relative of Israel; and one was a total foreigner, a descendant of Ishmael.
All three had no claim to the promise of God to inherit the land. That is why
Nehemiah took this stand.
The form their opposition took is also prophetic of our struggles. They first
"mocked and ridiculed." This is usually the first weapon the enemy employs.
You may have felt it when you began to recover from your ruin. Your friends
laughed at your desires to change. They may ridicule your religious
convictions and resent with scorn your implied criticisms of their conduct.
Also, Nehemiah's enemies began to threaten and slander him with charges of
rebellion and disloyalty. If ridicule does not work, then the opposition
stiffens and becomes openly unfriendly and threatening. It is the next level
of resistance which those who seek to rebuild will encounter.
~~
What that means in practice is that we do not need to be bound by habits from
the past. No matter how innocently they may have begun we do not need to be
slaves to drugs, sex, alcohol, tobacco, or whatever it may be controlling and
limiting us. Remember Paul's great cry, "I will not be brought under the power
of anything!" {cf, 1 Cor 6:12}. Why? Because he was under the power of God.
This is what Nehemiah declares here. There is no necessity to be a slave to a
hot temper, or a critical, censorious attitude, or a complaining spirit. These
areas of ruin in our lives can be set aside because we are trusting in the
program of God. We are expecting God to grant us the grace to stand.
That is why, with great determination, Nehemiah clenches his fist and says,
"Look, the God of heaven is with us. He will give us success. We, his
servants, will start rebuilding. Do what you like. It is not going to stop us.
You are usurpers and have no right to this land."
IV. Nehemiah too harsh?
A. "Us vs. them" mentality.
B. No compromise.
1) Sometimes single-minded clarity is called for.
V. Prophetic starting point.
A. Stedman - There is a fascinating historic note here also. There is a reason
why this Satanic opposition is so severe and will continue to increase as we
go on in this book. That historic note is found in the ninth chapter of
Daniel. There, Daniel is given a great prophecy of the history of Israel and
is told of a period of 490 years that would be marked off in which God was
going to do tremendous things for Israel. The chronological event that would
mark the beginning of that period is precisely stated. It is this: "When the
decree goes forth to rebuild Jerusalem ..." {cf, Dan 9:25}. That is when God's
clock for Israel will begin to move. That is the decree we are dealing with
here. This decree of Artaxerxes, given to Nehemiah as the governor of the
province, to begin rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was issued in 445 B.C.
That is the starting point of God's special period of 490 years for the people
of Israel. During that time, wonderful events would take place. The Messiah
would appear toward the end of it, and then would be "cut off and have
nothing," {cf, Dan 9:26}. This is certainly a reference to the crucifixion.
But after that there would be a strange period of seven years which many have
thought to be fulfilled in the events following the crucifixion, but it will
not fit. We learn in the New Testament (Matthew 24, Second Thessalonians 2,
and the book of Revelation) that these things are yet to be fulfilled for
Israel during times of great judgment which we call the Great Tribulation. All
of this ties together with the book of Nehemiah in a fascinating way. We
cannot pursue it at length here, but it indicates that Satanic opposition
often has far deeper dimensions to it than we may suspect.
