Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190043S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:09 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:32 Hello, friends. 00:33 Welcome to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in 00:37 as we continue our trek through Ezra and Nehemiah, 00:41 also including our protégé Daniel 00:44 in the picture because all three of them 00:46 contribute to the restoration, 00:48 rebuilding of the temple and the city and the economy 00:51 of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. 00:53 And so today, we're gonna talk about the topic 00:55 "Facing Opposition," lesson number 4. 00:58 If you'd like to find out how to get a copy, 01:00 do one of two things. 01:02 First, you can download 01:03 by going to ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:07 that's ABSG, Adult Bible Study Guide.adventist.org 01:13 or better yet, 01:14 go to a local Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:18 in your community, ask for a copy and join them 01:21 in a tremendous study. 01:22 This study is so vitally important 01:24 as it comes to understanding the Christ or the Antichrist, 01:29 whether or not there's room for a secret rapture or not, 01:32 Daniel 9 addresses that. 01:34 But today, we're gonna be talking about opposition, 01:37 when you are faced with opposition, 01:39 what do you do? 01:41 Before we go any further, we'll begin with prayer. 01:43 Jill, would you have prayer for us? 01:44 Sure. 01:45 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 01:47 and we thank You for Your Word and the truth contained in it. 01:51 Would you open up our mind and our hearts 01:54 to receive what You have for us 01:56 just now in Jesus' name, amen. 01:59 Amen. 02:00 Our memory text is Ezra 5:5 02:03 and I'll read it in your hearing. 02:06 "But the eye of their God 02:08 was upon the elders of the Jews, 02:11 so that they could not make them cease 02:14 till a report could go to Darius, 02:18 then a written answer was returned 02:20 concerning this matter." 02:23 Now, we all know as we go into the topic, 02:26 that it's so important to understand 02:29 who's with us today and each contributor 02:32 to the lesson for this week. 02:33 So to my immediate left is my good friend, Mollie. 02:37 Mollie, you are enjoying retired life. 02:39 I am. 02:40 But I'm glad you took some time out to be here. 02:41 Good to have you with us today. Thank you. 02:43 Pastor Kenny. Yes. 02:45 Always good to have a man 02:46 of experience and passion on the panel. 02:47 Good to have you here today. 02:49 It's a blessing, thank you. 02:50 And Jill, the one with many hats, 02:52 our CFO or vice president, 02:55 and the one upon whom all, did I say CFO? 02:58 CFO, I'm thinking I better not be doing that job. 03:02 That's a good title that I'm glad you don't have, 03:04 but glad to have you here today. 03:06 Thank you, Pastor John, privileged to be here. 03:07 And Shelley, the lady with many hats. 03:10 And a lot of hair. 03:11 A lot of hair. 03:12 That's a good way to say it. 03:14 Always good to have good Bible students 03:15 that we can dive into the Word of God together. 03:18 Thank you for letting us smile at the very beginning 03:20 because this lesson is no smiling matter. 03:24 But we will see that the Lord we serve 03:26 is always ahead of pack. 03:27 That's right. 03:29 Now in Ezra, we talked about this before 03:30 in our Sabbath School panel. 03:32 We followed Ezra 1-5 03:34 and we have jumped around some in Nehemiah 03:36 and then we tapped our way into Daniel, 03:38 the 70 weeks, the 2300 days 03:40 but what we learned is that 03:42 when God calls His people to a work, 03:45 there's always opposition. 03:48 Now you'd find as we go to Sunday's lesson, 03:52 we will find that 03:54 there's a very important question asked, 03:57 and Ezra 4:1-5 03:59 is where the foundation comes in 04:01 and then we're gonna take an unpredictable turn 04:04 to the Book of 2 Kings and see why the question, 04:09 where the answer to the question is found. 04:11 I'll read quickly, Ezra 4:1-5, 04:15 "And in one of our prior lessons, 04:17 this was included, 04:18 so I may have fun with these names again. 04:20 Hasn't this been a name tongue twisting lesson? 04:22 Oh, yes. 04:24 I am so glad we don't use those kinds of names today, 04:27 but let's go with the verse 1. 04:28 "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin 04:31 heard that the descendants of the captivity 04:33 were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, 04:36 they came to Zerubbabel 04:38 and the heads of the Father's house 04:39 and said to them, 'Let us build with you 04:42 for we seek your God as you do 04:45 and we have sacrificed to him 04:47 since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, 04:51 who brought us here but Zerubbabel and Jeshua, 04:56 and the rest of the heads of the father's house of Israel 04:58 said to them, 'You may do nothing with us 05:01 to build a house for our God, 05:03 but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel 05:07 as King Cyrus, the King of Persia 05:08 has commanded us, 05:10 then the people of the land 05:11 try to discourage the people of Judah. 05:14 They trouble them in building 05:16 and hired counselors against them 05:18 to frustrate their purpose 05:20 all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, 05:24 even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.'" 05:27 So you'll notice that one thing you cannot allow 05:32 to cause you to prevent the work. 05:34 Anytime you're doing anything for the Lord, 05:36 you're going to get opposition. 05:37 Matter of fact, that's an indicator 05:39 that you're doing God's will. 05:41 If you're not doing God's will, 05:42 I've often said and I think Mollie may have... 05:44 You have Mollieism I think I heard this somewhere. 05:47 Well actually, recently, somebody said, 05:50 if you don't meet the devil head on, 05:52 you and he are going in the same direction. 05:54 Well, now. 05:55 That seemed like for a moment. 05:57 So when you're going in an opposite direction 05:59 to the enemy, you're gonna meet him head on 06:01 and that's what happened to the captives 06:02 that came back from their time in Babylon. 06:06 They met with opposition because they were going 06:09 in the opposite direction of the enemy. 06:11 So now the question was asked in the lesson. 06:14 It made the point on the surface 06:18 the request seemed like a kind neighborly thing to do, 06:23 so why turn down the help? 06:24 In one sense, 06:26 the answer is found in the text itself, 06:28 but now let's look the word adversaries is there, 06:31 that is indicator enough, indication enough. 06:35 Why would your adversary help you rebuild a temple? 06:41 Why would the devil help the people of God 06:44 do the Lord's work? 06:46 That's why the Bible says your adversary, the devil 06:48 walks about like a roaring lion. 06:50 So let's dive into 2 Kings 06:52 because here the question is answered, 06:55 why were the people called adversaries. 06:58 And what I'm finding out 07:00 is there's so many contributing books 07:02 to the picture of Ezra and Nehemiah. 07:04 So let's begin in 2 Kings 17:24, 07:08 and I made reference, 07:10 I'm gonna make six very important points. 07:13 All right, Jill. Yay! 07:14 Six very important points 07:16 and I'm gonna break them down quickly 07:17 as we go through these 17 verses, 07:20 starting with verse 17 of 2 Kings and believe me, 07:24 pray for all these names. 07:27 Then the king of Assyria, verse 17. 07:29 Verse 24. 07:31 Yeah, Verse 24, 17:24, thank you. 07:35 "Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, 07:39 Cuthah, Ava, Hamath and from Sepharvaim 07:44 and placed them in the cities of Samaria 07:46 instead of the children of Israel 07:48 and they took possession of Samaria 07:51 and dwelt in the cities. 07:53 Now, the first point 07:54 I want to make is the foreign nations 07:56 that claim to want to help Israel rebuild. 08:00 The foreign nations took the cities 08:02 that belong to Israel and establish themselves 08:06 where God intended that Israel should live. 08:09 So they're coming to say, we want to help you, 08:11 but we're gonna live where God wants you to live. 08:14 They possess Israel cities. 08:16 Secondly, let's go to verse 25. 08:19 "And it was so at the beginning of their dwelling there, 08:22 that they did not fear the Lord, notice, 08:24 they want to help but they don't fear the Lord. 08:26 Therefore, the Lord sent lions among them, 08:29 which killed some of them. 08:30 So they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, 08:33 'The nations whom you have removed 08:36 and placed in the cities of Samaria 08:38 do not know the rituals of the God of the land. 08:41 Therefore, he sent lions among them 08:43 and indeed they are killing them, 08:47 because they do not know 08:48 the rituals of the God of the land.'" 08:51 Now, this is, this point is very shortened to the point, 08:55 the Lord was angry with the foreign nations 08:57 and raised up judgment against them. 09:00 You know, what I like about this point, panel, is this. 09:02 We don't have to fight our battles. 09:04 Yes. 09:05 The Lord fight our battles for us 09:07 and we don't have to be concerned 09:09 and this is something that's very, 09:10 this is not human, by the way 09:12 because it's human nature to defend ourselves. 09:14 Yes. 09:15 Especially when you hear people say things about you. 09:18 Has 3ABN ever been attacked in rumors? 09:22 Absolutely. 09:23 That's another topic for another day, 09:25 but if we spend the time and the money, 09:28 trying to defend ourselves, 09:29 we don't give the Lord the time to defend us. 09:32 It's good. 09:33 And so what's happening here is the Lord sent lions 09:35 to remedy what the Israelites could never remedy. 09:38 Let's go to the next one, verse 27. 09:41 "Then the king of Assyria commanded saying, 09:43 "Send there one of the priest whom you brought from there, 09:46 let him go and dwell there and let him teach them, 09:49 the rituals of the God of the land. 09:51 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away 09:53 from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, 09:55 and taught them how they should fear the Lord." 09:58 Now, this is amazing, 09:59 "The foreign nations asked 10:00 for the priests of the Lord to teach them 10:02 but even after they learn the way of the Lord, 10:04 the foreign nations still continued 10:06 in their own way." 10:07 So the priests taught them, 10:09 but they still continued in their own way. 10:11 Here's the evidence, verse 29, 10:13 "However, the nations continued to make gods of its own 10:17 and put them in the shrines of the high places 10:19 which the Samaritans had made. 10:21 Every nation in the cities where they dwelled," 10:25 the men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, 10:27 the men of Cuth, it talks about all the nations 10:29 and it says in verse 31, 10:31 and the Avites and the Nibhaz and Tartak 10:34 and all those nations, 10:35 let's go down the Gods of Sepharvaim, 10:37 verse 32, "So they fear the Lord 10:40 and from every class they appointed for themselves, 10:43 priest of the high places who sacrifice for them 10:47 and the shrines of the high places." 10:49 So you notice what's happening, 10:50 all the nations are mentioned but what they doing? 10:53 They're sacrificing in the high places 10:55 and the high places were established 10:57 to keep the Israelites from sacrificing in Jerusalem. 11:01 All the practices of the foreign gods 11:03 and I put a point here, 11:04 it's so vitally important 11:06 that we learn the lesson from Israel. 11:08 When someone comes along that says, 11:10 I want to help, 11:11 but their practices indicate otherwise, 11:14 don't create an alliance. 11:15 Amen. 11:17 Don't create an alliance. 11:18 Let's go to the next one, verse 33. 11:19 Let's see if I can get in here, 11:22 "They fear the Lord yet serve their own gods 11:25 according to the rituals of the nations 11:26 from among whom they were carried away. 11:29 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals. 11:32 They do not fear the Lord 11:34 nor do they follow their statutes 11:36 or their ordinances or the laws of the commandment 11:38 which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, 11:41 whom he named Israel, 11:43 with whom the Lord had made a covenant in charge of them, 11:45 saying, 'You shall not fear of the gods 11:48 nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice.'" 11:51 And the next point is, 11:52 "Regardless of what other nations 11:54 or rebellious leaders say, 11:56 they will honor their god over the true God." 11:59 That's what you're continuing to see, 12:01 no matter what they say, 12:02 they're still honoring their God. 12:04 The sixth point, I'm going down to verse 40 now. 12:08 Am I jumping past 36? 12:10 Let's go to verse 40, in the interest of time, 12:13 "However, they did not obey, 12:15 but they follow their former rituals. 12:18 So these nations fear the Lord yet serve their carved images. 12:21 Also, their children and their children's children 12:24 have continued doing as their fathers did, 12:27 even to this day." 12:29 And here's the point, no matter the situation, 12:31 other religious leaders have a greater dedication 12:35 to their way of worship 12:37 and to the gods that they serve. 12:38 So here's the point of clarification 12:40 in the point of unity, 12:41 the danger here is found in Luke 4:8, 12:44 here's where the council comes from. 12:47 What are we told, 12:48 what the Lord Jesus Himself say? 12:50 Here's the council that we must follow. 12:53 When others try to 12:54 and I'm gonna use the word convince us 12:59 or seduce us into a unity that leads us away 13:03 from allegiance to the true God. 13:05 Luke 4:8, "And Jesus answered and said to them, to him, 13:11 'Get behind me, Satan, for it is written, 13:14 you shall worship the Lord your God,' 13:16 and what else? 13:17 'In him only you shall serve."' 13:20 Whenever the choice is between unity 13:22 with opposition for those who do not serve the true God, 13:26 always make a decision to serve God 13:28 with our whole heart. 13:30 Amen. 13:32 Mollie. 13:33 I want to, you know, 13:34 what I'm looking at is prophets encourage 13:37 and that is Ezra 5:1, 13:41 but I want to read. 13:44 Go back up to Ezra 4:23, 13:47 I'm gonna read 23 and 24. 13:50 "Now when the copy 13:51 of King Artaxerxes' letter was read." 13:54 Now, what was this letter? 13:57 This letter was where those surrounding nations 14:01 that so opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem, 14:06 the walls in the temple, 14:08 and those were the ones that you were talking about, 14:10 it first came and said, 'Hey, let us rebuild with you.' 14:14 And when the answer was no, you can't rebuild, 14:17 they started discouraging 14:19 and then they asked for a letter 14:22 from the king of Persia 14:24 to discontinue the building and with this, 14:27 they ascribed all of these shortcomings 14:33 of the nation of Israel to the king. 14:35 And it says, now, 14:36 when the copy of King's letter was read, 14:41 and that though while King Artaxerxes... 14:44 Am I saying it right? 14:45 Artaxerxes was read what he had done 14:48 was he had listened to these naysayers, 14:51 and he had written a letter 14:53 and what did that letter say to the children of Israel? 14:57 It said, "You've got to quit rebuilding." 14:59 First, they were rebuilding, 15:02 and then they had to quit rebuilding. 15:04 So this is where I pick up. 15:06 I'm picking up 15:08 with the encouragement from prophets. 15:12 Now the time frame that I'm looking at 15:14 is several years after the rebuilding began. 15:18 When the children of Israel first returned from Judah, 15:21 when that first 50,000, they call the remnant, 15:26 the reason they call it the remnant, 15:27 it sounds like 50,000. 15:29 Boy, that's a lot of people. 15:30 But the scripture clearly says 15:32 that hundreds of thousands didn't return. 15:35 So that's why it was just a remnant, 15:38 the others chose to stay in Babylon 15:41 or chose to stay in the nation 15:44 where they were comfortable, 15:46 but God always has a remnant. 15:48 Now we can praise God for this. 15:49 So this remnant returns and when they first returned, 15:53 what was the purpose of their returning? 15:56 To rebuild. 15:57 To rebuild, they were to rebuild. 16:00 And so they were so excited when they first returned, 16:04 there was this great optimism. 16:07 They were rejoicing and excited 16:09 and said about the opportunity to rebuild the temple 16:14 and the city walls of Jerusalem. 16:16 However, this is what we're picking up today 16:20 many years later. 16:22 So what was the reason that they discontinued. 16:26 We can say, well, they got a letter 16:28 from the king of Persia saying you've got to stop, 16:32 but they, there was more to it than just that. 16:35 They were so discouraged. 16:37 When you're discouraged, 16:40 it's like somebody reaches right on the inside of you 16:44 and pulls your courage out. 16:46 Now when you're encouraged on the other hand, that's... 16:50 Do you like to be around a discourager? 16:52 You walk away feeling, but an encourager, 16:55 an encourager takes courage, Pastor Lomacang 16:59 and puts it on the inside of you. 17:01 So we're gonna look at the discouragement, 17:04 but we're also going to look at the encouragement. 17:07 God never leaves us where we are. 17:10 He always has a way for us 17:12 to come up and out of our situation. 17:14 So when you are discouraged, 17:17 it's like somebody has reached in the inside of you 17:20 and taken your courage out. 17:22 Discouragement leads to even worse things. 17:26 Apathy, pessimism, it effects you in every area, 17:32 mentally, physically, 17:34 emotionally, and spiritually. 17:37 These people had returned. 17:40 Now look at what they had returned. 17:42 These were like pioneers. 17:44 They had come 900 miles, it took them how many months? 17:48 Four months. 17:49 So they were like pioneers. 17:51 They had returned to a city that had been decimated. 17:57 The land itself was desolate. 17:59 They had crop failures. 18:01 The work was extremely hard, 18:04 and they were constantly being threatened 18:06 by their enemies and they lived in fear. 18:09 How would you like to be in that situation? 18:12 Now, these enemies that surrounded them 18:16 that they were in fear of had written the letter, 18:19 King Artaxerxes read the letter, 18:22 listened to the letter, and sent a letter. 18:25 He said to stop the rebuilding. 18:28 They were already discouraged, 18:30 they were already living in fear for their own safety. 18:34 Now the king demanded, 18:36 they stop restoring the temple and the city walls. 18:40 And this is what they do. 18:42 They just found it easier 18:44 to stop rebuilding than to fight, 18:47 and that was a byproduct of just being discouraged, 18:53 and tired, and fearful. 18:56 Discouragement and pessimism had led to spiritual lethargy 19:01 and it was just easier to neglect the things of God. 19:06 So the rebuilding of the temple had come to a halt. 19:10 It was at this setting that God needed to intervene, thank God. 19:14 Amen. 19:16 He called his prophets Haggai and Zachariah 19:19 to bring a message to the people of Judah 19:22 and to bring that good word, 19:24 encouragement to complete the work on the temple. 19:29 Remember, discouragement takes our courage out of us, 19:32 takes our strength out of us, 19:35 but here are these men bringing encouragement 19:38 and that's gonna put courage and strength on the inside. 19:41 So let me read to you Ezra 5:1-2, 19:44 "Then the prophets, Haggai and Zachariah." 19:47 Now both of these men have been captives in Babylon 19:50 and had returned to Judah. 19:52 "The son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews 19:54 who were in Judah and Jerusalem, 19:56 in the name of the God of Israel, 19:58 who was over them." 20:01 And we find in Haggai, the first chapter, 20:05 what this message was to the people. 20:07 I'm gonna read Haggai 1:4, he asked a question, 20:11 "Is it time for you yourself to dwell 20:13 in your paneled houses, 20:15 and this temple to lie in ruins?" 20:17 So what he was saying is, 20:18 hey, what you are doing 20:20 is you are rebuilding your own house, 20:22 but you're leaving the house of God in ruins. 20:26 And verse 5, "Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: 20:31 Consider your ways!" 20:33 Has God ever said that to you, Pastor Kenny? 20:35 Oh, would that get your attention if He did? 20:38 Consider your ways. 20:40 Zachariah 5:5, 20:42 "The people in their discouragement in fear 20:45 had discontinued caring for the things of God 20:49 and had been carrying on for their own things." 20:52 Verse 9 tells, 20:53 "He tells them that the reason 20:56 for their lack and need 20:58 is because of my house that is in ruins 21:03 and while every one of you runs to his own house." 21:06 So the prophet comes and drops a plumb-line 21:11 and he tells you strengthen the wall. 21:13 And so what he was saying was, you have a plan, 21:17 you need to get back into alignment 21:20 with what God has called you to do 21:22 which is to rebuild that temple and rebuild that wall. 21:25 Get about your business, 21:27 get back up on that wall and get busy, okay. 21:30 The message God sent through His prophet 21:33 had immediate results. 21:35 Look at verse 2, 21:37 "So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua 21:40 the son of Jozadak," 21:43 oh these words, these names. 21:45 They did something, they rose up 21:48 and began to build a house of God. 21:50 Now, don't you just like that? 21:51 They rose up. 21:53 What was the condition they had been in? 21:55 They were down, they were discouraged, 21:58 but when the encouragement came from the prophet of the Lord, 22:03 it infused like bellows. 22:06 It infused courage into them and they rose up 22:09 and they got back to the business 22:12 that they were called to do 22:14 to build the house of God, which is in Jerusalem. 22:17 And this is something I like so good, 22:19 I underlined it in my Bible. 22:21 It says, "And the prophets of God 22:24 were with them helping them." 22:26 Amen. 22:28 And the prophets didn't come in and say, 22:29 look at us, aren't we important? 22:31 No, they put their hand to the plow. 22:33 In this case, to the nail and hammer 22:36 or whatever they used 22:37 to rebuild walls and temples in that day. 22:40 The prophets got right down to business 22:42 and dealt with them. 22:43 God had sent the remnant back to Judah 22:46 to rebuild His house and the city 22:48 and God had a plan and His blank plan 22:51 had been disrupted by fear and discouragement 22:54 so God stepped in. 22:56 God didn't abandon His people. 22:58 And the word of encouragement to every one of us today, 23:01 if you're discouraged, God will never abandon you. 23:04 There will always be... 23:07 He will always make a way in the wilderness. 23:09 He will always bring encouragement to you 23:12 and you know, Pastor Lomacang said something, 23:16 a few lessons ago, and it was this. 23:19 Its inspiration will get you going, 23:24 but dedication will keep you going. 23:26 So be inspired today, but be dedicated 23:29 and keep going for God. 23:30 Amen. 23:32 Amen, thank you so much, Mollie, that was amazing. 23:33 Prophets encourage, that's right. 23:35 That was Monday's lesson. 23:37 And I like to encourage you, don't go away, 23:39 we'll be right back in just a moment. 23:46 Ever wish you could watch 23:47 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:49 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:53 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:57 A clean design makes it easy 24:00 to find the program you're looking for. 24:02 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:06 so you can follow along. 24:07 Sharing is easy. 24:09 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:12 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:18 Welcome back to our Sabbath School study. 24:20 We're gonna continue with Tuesday's lesson 24:22 by Pastor Kenny Shelton entitled "Work Stoppage." 24:26 Yeah, to me this is very important part of it 24:28 and we've covered some of it 24:30 but I want to look, 24:31 you mentioned while ago, a letter 24:34 and I think we'll examine that letter a little bit 24:36 to see what the complaints, 24:37 you know, really were all about. 24:39 We've hit some of them so on and so forth, but to me, 24:42 it's how far people will go 24:44 if they don't want to see something move forward. 24:47 If what they'll do, what they'll make up, 24:50 how they balloon it up, how they even come, 24:52 sometime they even tell some lies. 24:54 So here this is definitely the one of the work stop. 24:58 So let's examine that letter little more. 24:59 So to me, it's a powerful lesson 25:01 and when God calls us to do something, 25:04 Pastor John has missed probably everyone here, 25:06 there will be opposition. 25:07 I mean, that's, I don't know if you can say it enough 25:10 that there will be opposition if you stand up 25:14 for what is truth and what is right. 25:16 In fact, it will come sometime from your own family, 25:19 which is very hurtful. 25:21 Sometimes it will come from church members. 25:23 Sometimes it will come from just neighbors 25:25 or whatever it might be, 25:27 but the opposition will come in some form or fashion 25:30 to try to discourage you, 25:32 to try to discourage me to make us go back. 25:35 I think everybody's done this here 25:36 to make us go back and go over. 25:39 Did God really impressed my mind to do this? 25:43 I don't know if anybody's ever been there. 25:44 I've been there a lot of times. 25:46 God really do because you've got other people, you know, 25:49 the places that simply say, well, I don't think 25:51 this is what you ought to be doing right now. 25:54 So we have to just look and really examine, 25:56 you know, did we hear it wrong? 25:58 You know, did we hear it wrong? 26:00 Did we get the wrong message 26:01 and now you know, doubt comes in 26:04 and then when doubt comes in, the enemy comes in. 26:07 You mentioned, we get discouraged with it 26:09 and we kind of wonder what we should really do, 26:11 you know, work stoppage. 26:13 And I can only think of one individual 26:15 who likes the work or the cause of Christ to stop, 26:19 would that be the enemy? 26:20 There's only one that wants to stop the work of God. 26:23 That's all there is to it. 26:24 So let's look at some of the enemy did 26:26 to stop this work in Jerusalem in Ezra Chapter 4, 26:29 we're gonna look several different times 26:30 in lessons and verses 6-24. 26:34 So there's several things here we'll look at quickly. 26:36 Number one is they said, they hired counselors, 26:39 we've been through part of that, 26:40 they hired counselors, so they... 26:42 Now, remember they hired. 26:44 They were so bent on getting this stopped. 26:47 They did not want that wall to be rebuilt, 26:49 they didn't want the city to be rebuilt. 26:50 They didn't want the wall. 26:52 They didn't want anything there with the Jews. 26:54 So they went out and they hired the best. 26:57 I like to think about, you know, 26:58 you get yourself in trouble, what do you do? 27:00 Sometimes you go out and you hire a lawyer. 27:02 You don't get any lawyer. 27:04 Some of those might, 27:05 but you gotta look at the best and usually you have to pay. 27:09 You pay dear for that. 27:11 They went out and they hired. 27:12 So I figured they hired those who had a little information 27:15 what had gone on in the past 27:17 and what was going on right then and there 27:19 so they could make a good case because they had to be stopped. 27:22 I think they had one shot. 27:24 We're gonna give it one shot, we're gonna go into it, 27:26 we're gonna make stop this right here now. 27:27 If we don't stop it now, we may not get to stop it. 27:30 I'm hearing talk like that even today 27:32 about lot of things going on in the world. 27:34 We've got a shot. We've got to stop this. 27:35 We got to stop that. 27:37 And a lot of extremes 27:38 we're gonna to it seems like to, 27:40 make sure we stop something we don't want to see. 27:42 So they hired the counselors. 27:44 Counselors are as you will know they are what? 27:46 They are advisors, 27:47 they are people that come together, 27:49 they want to guide you. 27:50 And evidently these counselors advise them to 27:53 as you mentioned I think here write a letter 27:56 and write it to the king. 27:59 If I want to write a letter, 28:01 I think I'd like for it to go to where it needs to go. 28:03 So there's not going through a bunch of hands 28:05 that doesn't need to go through. 28:06 There's lot of times lot of our talk 28:07 and all the stuff that we do 28:09 is where it doesn't need to be. 28:11 We need to go right to where we want to change take place 28:13 that we make that letter 28:14 and we send it to where it needs to go 28:16 and they said, 28:17 we're gonna stop those Jews from working 28:19 if that's the last thing we do. 28:21 Even though God told him to do it, 28:24 they said they won't stop. 28:25 First they wrote to, 28:26 I think they wrote to the Darius first. 28:28 I think they wrote him a letter, 28:29 I think in Ezra Chapter 5 and 6, 28:31 you can glean that from there. 28:33 They even wrote to King Xerxes and then later Artaxerxes. 28:37 So they were doing everything. 28:39 Let's get the right guy. 28:40 Let's write the right letter. 28:42 Let's get it in the right hands, 28:44 and what was the reason? 28:46 Why were they convinced, 28:47 we're gonna convince the people, 28:48 we're gonna convince the king, it's best if they stopped. 28:51 And so, here's what they did. 28:53 One of the first argument was, 28:55 they said before, the city is bad. 28:58 The city is bad. 28:59 You notice the city was bad and it was rebellious. 29:02 And that's, basically I think they look at this 29:04 and see if you can see this is true. 29:07 You can go back, 29:08 I want to thank you go back to the courthouse. 29:10 You go back to the courthouse, and you go back to the records 29:13 and they basically said, "Go there and get the records. 29:15 Look at the records, you will see that they were bad 29:18 and they were rebellious. 29:19 And they're gonna cause the king 29:21 a lot of problems." 29:23 Well, the last thing the king wanted to hear was what? 29:24 There's gonna be some problems. 29:26 Who wants any problems? 29:28 Number two it says, we're doing this 29:30 because we don't want to see you the king dishonored. 29:35 You know how much power that kind of gives 29:37 if the king sitting there he is all puffed up anyway, 29:39 bless his heart. 29:40 Probably thinks he's more than what he should be. 29:43 You know, sometimes we sit in a position 29:44 and somebody comes to you, they're using psychology. 29:47 They're coming right at you and say, 29:48 "Now, this is the last thing 29:50 we want to see is you to get hurt." 29:51 Well, right quick, you're starting to sympathize, 29:53 oh, well, oh, yeah, well, I'm glad you feel that way. 29:55 That's what they said. 29:57 We don't want you to be dishonored. 29:58 So I mean, they were really write it out 30:00 to where it be almost when you read this letter, 30:02 you be a tear jerker. 30:04 Some of you didn't, it take a while. 30:06 Now the third part it says, 30:08 you notice this, this right here, 30:09 and I'm not sure which one maybe, it was Pastor John, 30:12 one of us in here mentioned before, 30:14 and it comes out in this lesson here. 30:17 And they said, and by the way, if we don't stop this, 30:21 there's no one gonna pay any tolls. 30:24 Basically, no one's gonna pay any taxes, 30:25 no custom, no tribute, no anything to you king. 30:28 Right. 30:30 You're gonna end up short with the money, 30:32 your treasure is gonna be way down. 30:34 You can't do what you want to do. 30:36 You can't go out and fix the roads 30:39 and fix the water lines and sewers. 30:41 You know what I'm talking about. 30:42 You can't do what all you've been doing before 30:44 because the money won't be there. 30:46 Money talks as loud as anything or more than anything 30:49 in this world even today. 30:51 So with the threat of that out there, 30:52 oh, the king said, 30:53 "Now wait a minute here now, we need the king, 30:55 I kind of like the life I'm living." 30:58 I kind of like to be doing what we're doing here. 30:59 I mean does that run through your mind there 31:01 just a little bit? 31:03 And so they said, but we gonna get lot less money 31:05 is gonna be coming in. 31:06 So and then they said number four, 31:09 they're only building, the Jews are only building 31:11 because so they can gain independence. 31:15 Think about, only so they can gain independence 31:17 so that they, you know, 31:19 and this will cause the king more problems 31:21 and we say he can shake a stick at. 31:23 The king right quick got a little bit like oh my, 31:26 so what did he believe? 31:28 If you had a letter like this, 31:29 you had some high important people that signed it, 31:31 you had the support of the neighbors all around. 31:35 You have to look at that 31:36 and the king just looked at that, 31:37 as his advisors, his counselors, 31:39 men in authority looked at that 31:40 and he believed those accusations. 31:42 That's what they were. 31:43 They were lies, they were accusations, 31:46 we see it happening, taking place nowadays. 31:48 There's no doubt about it, 31:49 but sometimes people read something 31:51 and they believe it is the gospel 31:53 when it is a lie, you know, just down and out lie. 31:56 So they said, well, you know, the king said, 31:57 well, if this be the case, and it look like it is, 32:00 we got enough witnesses here, we're gonna stop the work, 32:02 I'm gonna stop the Jews from working on it. 32:04 And someone mentioned even then a prior lesson there, 32:07 what did they do? 32:08 Weren't going to say I want you to stop, he said, 32:10 we're gonna bring in the troops, 32:11 we're gonna bring in the big boys, 32:13 we're gonna bring them in, 32:14 we're gonna make sure that work stops, 32:16 because I don't want to go in anymore. 32:18 So there was opposition. 32:20 So when that happened, what happened to the people? 32:24 The people became, you were talking about, 32:25 they became discouraged. 32:27 Man, there's troops would say, now they, 32:29 well, they've got their guns and got this, 32:31 well, they had their weapons 32:32 and whatever they had right there, 32:34 and they were gonna make sure 32:35 and I think they went far enough, 32:37 whatever it took to stop that work. 32:39 If it meant killing somebody, they go that far with it. 32:41 Say we're definitely going to stop this right here. 32:44 And so the all sudden today that people use the excuse, 32:47 well, we're afraid. 32:49 Well, man, if I go out there 32:50 and start building on the wall right now, 32:52 I've got five kids. 32:53 You know, who's gonna feed my kids 32:56 and Sister Mollie said, "Well, Kenny go on home, 32:57 you got five kids. 32:59 You know, we've done, 33:00 it's like legitimate but God said go. 33:03 God said to build, 33:05 and so God is gonna take a responsibility 33:07 is He not to make sure this comes to completion, 33:11 and sometime we run from ghost 33:14 as it were, if you know what I mean, 33:15 something doesn't really, really exist. 33:18 And when we're doing God's will, 33:19 I'm telling you right now, God's gonna step to the plate. 33:21 God's gonna do something good. 33:23 God's gonna hit the home run as it were. 33:24 He's gonna dry the runs in, the game is gonna be won 33:28 because God said so 33:29 not because the king said, don't do it, 33:31 not because there was a petition, 33:32 not because there was decree, 33:34 not because of the soldiers, 33:35 not because of anything that went on right there. 33:38 I mean this, we're trying this to happen. 33:40 The people between a rock and a hard place we call it. 33:44 If you were those folks that were in that position, 33:45 what would you do? 33:47 Would you go back to work the next day, 33:48 knowing that something's going to happen to you 33:50 or could happen to you? 33:51 The king said stop, 33:53 the army says that we stop whatever it might be, 33:55 it will cost you your life if you don't so interesting. 33:59 The time is coming. 34:00 Remember, the time is coming again. 34:02 Hopefully with this lesson study, 34:04 this lesson we're gonna be 34:05 studying, praying, working right now 34:07 where our minds will be made up to when these things 34:10 come across against the laws of God 34:12 and the laws of mankind that you and I, 34:15 by the grace of God 34:16 will make the right choice, right decision. 34:18 We don't have to go to counselors, 34:20 we don't have to go to anyone else. 34:21 We go to the Word of God, 34:23 we go on our knees, we ask for what God 34:24 and says give us the wisdom that we need 34:26 to make the right choice 34:27 and the right decision that time is coming 34:30 just around the corner. 34:31 Amen. 34:33 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny. 34:34 Anytime, God wants His work to go forward, 34:38 Satan comes with opposition. 34:41 That is right. But God is stronger. 34:43 And I love to see that. 34:45 You all were talking about Zerubbabel and Ezra 34:48 and I'm jumping over with my day 34:50 on Wednesday to Nehemiah. 34:52 So let's turn over a book to Nehemiah Chapter 4, 34:55 but the concept is the same. 34:58 We see opposition to the work of God. 35:01 We see the darts and the attacks 35:03 as it were that Satan throws in, 35:06 and then we see what God does 35:08 on behalf of His people. 35:09 So we're looking at Nehemiah 4:1-23, 35:13 really the whole chapter. 35:15 We see the opposition begin. 35:17 Now remember, Nehemiah had come back, 35:19 he had said, "Let us rise up and build." 35:21 He had done the, secret walkabout of the city 35:25 to see what had taken place, that's in Nehemiah Chapter 2. 35:29 All the leaders, and the nobles, 35:30 and the priests, and the people 35:32 were off a mind to work and they said 35:34 yes, with God on our side, we can do this. 35:36 Now we see 4:1-3. 35:41 Now, I want you to notice as we read this, 35:43 the first opposition, the first attack is emotional. 35:48 It's not physical. 35:49 The first attack is emotional. 35:52 Nehemiah 4:1-3, 35:53 "But it so happened when Sanballat," 35:56 remember he was the governor of Samaria to the north. 35:58 "When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, 36:01 that he was furious and very indignant, 36:06 and mocked the Jews." 36:07 We see anger, we see ridicule and scorn. 36:11 "And he spoke before his brethren 36:13 and the army of Samaria, and said, 36:14 'What are these feeble Jews doing? 36:17 Will they fortify themselves? 36:18 Will they offer sacrifices? 36:20 Will they complete it in a day? 36:22 Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish, 36:25 stones that are burned?' 36:27 Now Tobiah the Ammonite," remember he was from the east, 36:30 "was beside him, and he said, 36:32 'Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, 36:36 he will break down their stone wall.'" 36:38 What's he doing? 36:40 He's making fun of them, right? 36:41 He's making fun of them. 36:42 The first attack is emotional, 36:44 anger, ridicule, and scorn to try to get them to stop. 36:49 Have you ever stopped the work of God 36:51 because someone was angry with you? 36:53 Because you were afraid 36:55 of someone's anger or someone's scorn 36:59 or someone's ridicule against you, 37:02 or the work or the ministry that God is calling you to do. 37:07 You know what the human response is, Pastor Kenny? 37:10 Human response might be anger in return, right? 37:13 They dish it to me, maybe I'm gonna dish it back. 37:16 Or the human response, Shelley, could be, 37:18 I'm gonna argue or I'm gonna cower in fear. 37:22 And I'm gonna stop the work and I'm gonna quit, right? 37:25 I'm afraid. I don't like that ridicule. 37:27 I don't like the anger. I'm just going to stop. 37:30 Let's look at Nehemiah's response. 37:33 His response is really twofold, prayer and work. 37:38 And we'll look at that. 37:39 Prayer is in Nehemiah 4:4-5, the next two verses. 37:43 Nehemiah prayed, and he said, 37:45 Here, O our God, for we are despised, 37:49 turn the reproach on their own heads 37:51 and give them as plunder to a land of captivity." 37:55 Now, it's interesting to me how he prays, he didn't pray, 37:59 oh, God, would you work redemptively 38:02 in so and so's life, right? 38:04 He said, turn out their reproach 38:06 on their own heads, 38:08 and give them as plunder to the land of captivity. 38:10 This is a strong prayer. 38:12 Do not cover their iniquity, 38:14 do not let their sin be blotted out from before You, 38:17 for they have provoked You to anger before the builders." 38:21 This is a prayer for God to work 38:23 on behalf of His people. 38:25 It's a prayer that God would execute judgment, 38:28 not you, but God can execute judgment. 38:31 It's a prayer for God 38:32 to vindicate His name and His people. 38:35 In that culture 38:37 a war between the city and the people 38:38 was always understood as a conflict 38:40 between the deities of the involved groups. 38:44 So in other words, this challenge 38:45 from Sanballat and Tobiah 38:48 was not just a challenge to Nehemiah. 38:50 It wasn't just a challenge to the builders of the wall. 38:53 It was a challenge 38:54 to the God of Jerusalem, Jehovah God, 38:58 Creator God and because of that, 39:00 I think Nehemiah prayed in the way that he did, 39:04 that God would rise up and vindicate his name, 39:07 but Nehemiah just didn't pray, he worked. 39:09 The next verse, Nehemiah 4:6, "So we built the wall," 39:13 you notice that, he didn't just say 39:15 we're having a prayer meeting and prayer meetings are good. 39:17 He didn't say, okay, we're gonna do this. 39:19 And now we're gonna stop 39:20 and we're gonna wait for God to work. 39:22 It says, "We built the wall, 39:23 and the entire wall was joined together 39:25 up to half its height, 39:27 for the people had a mind to work." 39:28 So they're already halfway done. 39:31 And the opposition accelerates, 39:34 not just emotional attacks, we get some physical attacks. 39:38 And this is even maybe a threat of military involvement. 39:41 Look at the next two verses, 7 and 8. 39:44 "Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, 39:46 the Arabs, the Ammonites, the Ashdodites 39:49 heard that the walls of Jerusalem 39:51 were being restored 39:52 and the gaps were beginning to be closed, 39:54 they became very angry," there's the anger again, 39:58 "and all of them conspired together 40:00 to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion." 40:06 Sometimes attacks are emotional, 40:08 sometimes they are physical, sometimes they are spiritual. 40:12 And the human response 40:13 as always is give up in discouragement, Mollie. 40:17 I'm afraid, depression, I want to quit. 40:21 Let's see what Nehemiah's response is to this. 40:24 I call this Nehemiah's accelerated response 40:27 'cause it's not just two fold. 40:28 It's not just prayer and work. 40:30 There's four responses that I see 40:32 and how Nehemiah responds. 40:34 The first is prayer 40:35 'cause prayer is always our first line of defense. 40:39 Nehemiah 4:9, the first half of the verse, 40:41 "Nevertheless we made our prayer to God." 40:44 So prayer is always the first line of defense. 40:47 Second, they didn't just work. 40:49 This is called active guard duty. 40:52 They got the militia involved. 40:54 The second half of Nehemiah 4:9, 40:57 "And because of them, we set a watch 40:59 against them day and night." 41:03 Jump down to Nehemiah 4:16, 41:06 "So it was, from that time on, 41:07 that half of my servants worked at construction, 41:10 while the other half held the spears, 41:12 the shields, the bows, and wore armor, 41:14 and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah." 41:17 So what's taking place here? 41:18 Half the men are working at construction. 41:20 The other half of the men are on guard duty. 41:23 They're equipped, they are armed, 41:26 they are ready for battle. 41:29 Half of them are on the lookout for battle. 41:32 So the first response of Nehemiah is prayer. 41:34 The second is active guard duty prepared for battle. 41:38 The third is vigilant work. 41:41 Now this is not just work 41:43 that we talked about the first response, 41:44 this work is a little more increased. 41:47 Remember, we just said half of them carried weapons, 41:49 they were on guard duty. 41:50 The other half worked, 41:52 but what about the ones who were working? 41:54 Verses 17 and 18, those who built on the wall. 41:57 "These are the construction workers 41:58 and those who carry burdens loaded themselves 42:01 so that with one hand they worked at construction 42:03 and with the other they held a weapon." 42:05 So we're talking here you have half of them engaged 42:08 and ready for battle, 42:10 the other half are doing construction, 42:12 one side of them one hand, 42:14 and the other hand, they got their sword 42:15 and they are ready. 42:16 They did long hours. 42:18 Verse 21, "We labored in the work 42:19 and half of the men held the spears 42:21 from daybreak until the stars appeared." 42:25 That's a long day. 42:26 We're talking from the moment the sun comes up. 42:28 We were just in Russia recently and in the summer, 42:31 the sun came up at 3:30 in the morning, 42:33 okay, so I didn't know about them. 42:35 But if the sun comes up that early, 42:36 and you're working all day 42:38 till the stars come out, long hours, 42:41 and they actually slept in their clothes. 42:43 Verse 23, " Neither I, my brethren, my servants, 42:46 nor the men of the guard 42:47 who followed me took off our clothes, 42:49 except that everyone took them off for washing." 42:51 So in other words, 42:52 they even slept in their clothes 42:54 because they are ready. 42:56 The fourth point, the final one, 42:58 Nehemiah encouraged his people in God, 43:02 encouragement for the people in God. 43:05 And in that he took a two pronged approach. 43:07 He said, do not be afraid. 43:11 Nehemiah 4:14, "And I looked, 43:13 and arose and said to the nobles, the leaders, 43:15 and the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. 43:18 Remember the Lord, great and awesome, 43:21 and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, 43:23 your wives, and your houses.'" 43:25 That key phrase, do not be afraid 43:28 appears at the start of every great moment 43:30 in salvation history. 43:31 Moses, when the Egyptians were coming against them. 43:34 Exodus 1,4 he said, "Do not be afraid. 43:37 Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." 43:40 Moses again at the end of his life 43:41 when he passed the baton over to Joshua. 43:44 He said, "Do not be afraid and don't fear them." 43:48 Joshua and Caleb when taking over Canaan. 43:50 "Do not fear them," 43:52 the Lord speaking to Joshua when he's taking over, 43:55 "Be strong and of good courage. 43:56 Do not be afraid." 43:58 David when he passed the throne to Solomon, "Do not be afraid." 44:02 And the second thing he said to the people was 44:05 our God will fight for us. 44:08 Nehemiah 4:20, 44:09 "Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, 44:11 rally to us there. 44:13 Our God will fight for us." 44:15 Are you in a battle? 44:17 Are you wrestling with opposition right now? 44:20 Know that the Lord will fight for you, 44:24 that our God, your God will fight for you 44:28 and you do not have to be afraid. 44:30 Amen. Amen. 44:32 Good lesson, Jill. 44:34 Well, here we've got Nehemiah 44:36 who has finished the building of the wall in 52 days 44:40 and, of course, you know, he was the king's cupbearer 44:44 and he had received the letter to allow this. 44:47 But what happens is, 44:50 I am gonna look at Chapter 6 and they finished the wall 44:55 but the gates have not been hung yet 44:59 and his adversaries are so frustrated, 45:02 they cannot launch a full out 45:05 military assault against Nehemiah, 45:09 because the Jews have the protection 45:11 of the Persian king. 45:12 So the walls been rebuilt and now they want 45:16 to prevent the gates from going up 45:18 and so what they're kind of thinking is 45:20 if they can deceive Nehemiah, 45:23 lure him into a trap, get rid of the leader, 45:26 maybe they can stop the work. 45:28 So let's look at Nehemiah 6:1, 45:31 "It happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, 45:35 and the rest of our enemies 45:37 heard that I had rebuilt the wall, 45:39 and that there were no breaks left in it 45:41 although at that time 45:42 I had not hung the doors in the gates, 45:45 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, 45:48 saying and let's back up, 45:52 these were the mockers that you were talking about. 45:55 And they are now renewing these attacks 46:00 and they say, 'Come let us meet together 46:04 among the villages in the plain of Ono," 46:06 that's the enemy territory. 46:09 "But they thought to do me harm." 46:12 He recognized their true intent. 46:15 "So I sent messengers to them saying, 46:18 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. 46:23 Why should the work cease 46:26 while I leave it and go down to you?'" 46:29 You know, it's interesting. 46:31 Herein Nehemiah had been the cupbearer, 46:34 which we discussed in an earlier lesson 46:37 was a high political position. 46:39 I mean, some cupbearers were the chief administrators 46:43 of the king's kingdom. 46:46 And here he'd had this high political position. 46:50 Now he's been building this little wall, 46:53 around this little city. 46:55 And that's the great work. 46:57 You know, think about that for a minute. 47:00 Nehemiah considered the work of God as being great. 47:05 He realized that it was the honor of God's name 47:11 that was at stake in Jerusalem. 47:13 And that's what we've got to remember. 47:15 So verse 4, he said, 47:17 "They sent me this message four times," 47:20 trying to get him to come to the plain of Ono, 47:23 "I answered them in the same manner. 47:24 Then Sanballat sent his servant 47:26 to me as before, the fifth time, 47:28 with an open letter in his hand." 47:32 Now, an open letter usually meant, 47:37 I mean, most letter official letters 47:39 were typically rolled up, they were sealed, 47:42 they were private, 47:44 but an open letter suggests information 47:47 for public knowledge. 47:49 So it comes with this open letter 47:52 trying to blackmail Nehemiah 47:55 because this letter is a source of intimidation to Nehemiah 48:01 accusing him of treason 48:05 against King Artaxerxes. 48:08 And that's the same accusation that got Artaxerxes 48:13 to stop the work before, remember? 48:16 So he says, verse 6, 48:19 "In it was written: 48:20 It is reported among the nations, 48:22 and Geshem says, 48:24 that you and the Jews plan to rebel." 48:27 Was there a plan for rebellion? 48:28 No, this is just a false accusation. 48:31 He said, "Therefore, according to these rumors, 48:34 you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king." 48:41 Now, this is kind of amazing because you think about it, 48:45 Artaxerxes had allowed Nehemiah to go 48:49 because he had this relationship of trust, 48:53 but he was expecting Nehemiah to return, right? 48:57 So now they're saying falsely accusing, 49:00 "Hey, you want to be king." 49:02 And this is something that this, 49:06 this report could have intimidated Nehemiah 49:12 because that's a serious allegation, 49:14 if that hadn't gotten back to the king, 49:16 it could have started a war. 49:18 So, and it says in verse 7, 49:22 "You have also appointed prophets 49:24 to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, 49:27 'There is a king in Judah!'" 49:30 All of this are lies, right? 49:32 "Now these matters will be reported to the king. 49:35 So come, therefore, and let us consult together. 49:40 You know what? 49:42 When people come against you with horrible accusations 49:46 and you know they're lies, 49:48 boy, you just want to show up 49:50 and set him straight sometimes, don't you? 49:56 It hurts, but for Nehemiah 49:58 this could have been life threatening 50:00 because the king could, 50:01 if this went to the king, you know, 50:03 and it's being read in front of everyone so, 50:06 but he's not intimidated. 50:07 Look at verse 8, "Then I sent to him, saying, 50:11 'No such things as you say are being done, 50:16 but you invent them in your own heart.' 50:19 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, 50:23 'Their hands will be weakened in the work, 50:26 and it will not be done.'" 50:28 And then break out into this prayer. 50:31 "Now therefore, O Gods, strengthen my hands." 50:36 So I love it. 50:39 Nehemiah is unflappable even among, 50:43 you know these serious allegations 50:45 don't faze him, he trusts in God 50:48 and it increases his efforts. 50:50 So verse 10, 50:52 "Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah 50:57 the son of Delaiah, 51:00 and all those people, who was a secret informer; 51:04 and he said, 'Let us meet together 51:06 in the house of God, within the temple, 51:07 and let us close the doors of the temple, 51:10 for they are coming to kill you Nehemiah, 51:13 indeed, at night they will come to kill you.'" 51:17 So one of you said earlier, I think it was you, Kenny. 51:21 You were talking about the attacks 51:23 can come from within. 51:24 Well, see, these guys were unsuccessful 51:27 at the attacks from the outside. 51:30 So they planted a traitor inside. 51:34 Now they are attacking from the inside 51:37 and Shemaiah was a false prophet. 51:42 He urged Nehemiah flee into the temple 51:45 to save himself from the assassination 51:47 and shame himself up in the holy place. 51:50 Well, John, what would have happened 51:51 if you have done that? 51:52 It would have raised questions 51:54 about his reverence for God, his courage. 51:56 I mean, in fact, it was against Jewish law. 52:00 So, Shemaiah, I can't... 52:04 How do you say that? 52:05 Shemaiah, whatever. 52:09 This is what I didn't know this before. 52:12 He was the son of a priest. 52:14 The priest had been an intimate friend to Nehemiah. 52:20 So this is his friend's son 52:23 who is trying to get him to do this, 52:26 but Nehemiah sees through this religious ruse 52:30 that was intended to intimidate and discredit him. 52:34 And he says in verse 11, "Should such a man as I flee? 52:39 Who is there such as I who would go into the temple 52:44 to save his life? 52:45 I will not go in!" 52:46 See only the priest can lawfully enter the temple 52:50 and he could have been executed for this action. 52:53 I love this little quote 52:55 from the Sabbath School panel, a quarter. 52:57 He says, "When God set up the sanctuary services, 53:01 he instituted the priesthood 53:03 in order to keep the sanctuary holy and special 53:07 in the minds of the people. 53:09 He allowed only the priests to perform the duties 53:12 inside the temple." 53:13 Now get this. 53:15 "On our own, we have a hard time 53:17 seeing the holiness of God. 53:20 Therefore, God made provision to help the Israelites 53:23 come in to the presence of God with reverence." 53:29 Well, we need that lesson nowadays. 53:31 Nehemiah knew that temple courts 53:35 were for everyone but not the inner rooms. 53:39 So verse 12, 53:40 this is the conclusion of the matter. 53:43 Nehemiah says, "Then I perceived 53:46 that God had not sent him at all, 53:51 but that he pronounced this prophecy against me 53:54 because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 53:57 For this reason he was hired, 53:59 that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, 54:03 so that they might have cause for an evil report, 54:08 that they might reproach me." 54:11 Wow. 54:12 This is a powerful lesson. 54:14 It is. 54:15 I mean, it is kind of, 54:16 we thought, oh man, Nehemiah and Ezra, 54:20 what could we gain from them but we are getting a lot, 54:22 and we are just getting started, 54:25 just ending lesson number four. 54:27 So I'm gonna give each of our panelists 54:28 an opportunity to summarize what you may have not said yet. 54:32 Mollie, I'll begin with you. 54:34 Well, I talked about being encourager, 54:36 the difference, you know, if you're discouraged, 54:39 how God will always bring you courage. 54:41 And He usually does that 54:43 through His Word number one now, 54:45 but also through people. 54:47 So I would just like for each of us 54:50 to make a decision today 54:52 that I'm gonna be an encourager. 54:54 If you see those around you that are down, help them out. 54:59 Bring the word of encouragement to them, 55:00 even if it's a scripture from the Word of God, 55:03 let people know that if God before you, 55:07 who can be against you. 55:08 Amen. Pastor Kenny. 55:10 Well, I thought about, 55:11 you know, any time we need help, 55:13 we can be praying for it, keep your eyes open, 55:16 because the enemy also will send help. 55:19 And it's not the kind of help that you might want. 55:21 But God will give you spiritual insight, 55:24 to be able to see what they're up to. 55:27 You know, I've experienced it personally, 55:29 I'm sure each one here has too. 55:31 So just to keep our eyes open. 55:32 The Holy Spirit will impress us what we need to say, 55:35 what we need to do to get the work done 55:36 that He's commissioned us to do. 55:39 As long as we make the throne of grace, 55:41 you know, our constant dependence. 55:43 Amen. 55:45 All it's gonna be well between us and God. 55:46 Amen. Amen. 55:47 Here's a quote from Patriarchs and Prophets, 55:50 page 644 that I wanted to read 55:52 and ran out of time before, I read it now. 55:54 "The opposition and discouragement 55:56 that the builders in Nehemiah's day 55:58 met from open enemies and pretended friends, 56:02 is typical of the experience 56:04 that those today will have who work for God. 56:07 Christians are tried not only by the anger, 56:10 contempt and cruelty of enemies, 56:13 but by the indolence, inconsistency, 56:16 lukewarmness, and treachery of devout friends and helpers. 56:21 So praise the Lord. 56:22 Even if you feel like you are being tried and attack, 56:25 the Lord is on your side. 56:27 Amen. 56:28 My lesson was doing a great work and you know, 56:32 one thing I want to say not, 56:34 sometimes Satan will try 56:38 to keep us busy, 56:41 B-U-S-Y is bondage under Satan's yoke, 56:45 too busy to do the will of God. 56:48 And Nehemiah recognized that his work 56:52 in following God's directing was more important 56:57 than what he had done before. 56:58 But more than that, 57:00 I just want to say this 57:01 sometimes Satan will get us busy 57:03 doing good work, 57:05 and we miss the greater work, 57:08 the Martha and the Mary syndrome 57:10 sit at Jesus' feet. 57:12 That's the greater work. Amen. 57:13 In Isaiah 59:18-19 57:16 powerful counsel in these times, 57:18 "According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, 57:22 fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies, 57:26 the coastlands He will fully repay. 57:29 When the enemy comes in like a flood, 57:32 the Spirit of the Lord 57:34 will lift up a standard against him." 57:37 Remember that, the Lord is in charge of His work. 57:40 And remember these things, 57:41 all progress takes place outside of the comfort zone. 57:46 And finally, do not allow 57:48 the fear of opposition to be greater 57:50 than the excitement of dedication. 57:53 Our next lesson is gonna be 57:55 violating the spirit of the law, 57:56 lesson number five. 57:58 Thank you for joining us on this episode of lesson four. 58:01 And may the Lord bless you as you stand firm 58:04 in the face of opposition. |
Revised 2021-06-04