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“Target The Lead Vessel” • 1.20.19
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
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The chapter before us concludes a series of messages that have exposed to us
the tactics of the enemy of God's people. It began with a direct attack upon
God's people in chapter 4.
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The enemy will mock our efforts to build what God has called us to. He will do
what He can to sow confusion, to disturb us in the work. Finally, he will seek
to overwhelm us with discouragement.
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In chapter 5, the enemy takes a
break and allows the sin within to take over! The people of God sinned against
one other by exploting each other for financial gain.
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Today, we will witness the enemy's overt return, as he focuses upon the leader
of the nation himself. The target of the attack is Nehemiah himself!
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In every work of God, beginning with a marriage, a family, an employment, a
placement in a specific neighborhood, or a church, there are leaders that lead
alone, that the Lord has called.
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What will the enemy attempt to keep God's person from performing the duties
related to their call? He will begin by first with "Distraction."
Text
• Nehemiah
6:1,2 : "Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the
rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no
breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to
me, saying, 'Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.'
But they thought to do me harm." - Notice the timing. The restoration of the
wall was nearly complete. Save for a few giant entry doors that needed to be
hung, Nehemiah and the people of Israel had performed a monumental feat!
- Can you imagine the joy and relief that this
brought to the people? There is nothing better than finishing a project,
especially when that project has been difficult.
- With only a few days left, one could assume
that everyone, including Nehemiah, began to exhale. The people are beginning to
feel at ease, satisfied with the work that has been done.
- With the end in sight, Sanballat and his
cohort return to the story at a pivotal time with a new round of attack. We may
think we are over the worst of it, but our enemy is never finished!
- These men were relentless and when one form
of attack failed, they looked for another way to work against the work of God,
this time, by focusing their attack upon Nehemiah himself!
- Sanballat, the governor of Samaria and Geshem
the Ammonite sought out a meeting.
- There is no attached agenda. The supposed
purpose is vague, though the place is very specific, as they wish to hold this
meeting in the plain of Ono.
- I'm sure it's lovely this time of year, but
it's also forty miles from Jerusalem! It wasn't a desolate place, but it
certainly wasn't safe for Nehemiah.
- Had Sanballat and Tobiah been genuine in
their desire to meet, they would have simply come to Jerusalem. Nehemiah knew
what was going on. "They thought to do me harm!"
- The KJV calls it "mischief." Their
entire goal was to lure Nehemiah away that they might at least injure, but
hopefully kill him and the work that he was leading. Verse 3.
•
Nehemiah 6:3,4 : "So I sent messengers to them,
saying, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the
work cease while I leave it and go down to you?' But they sent me this message four
times, and I answered them in the same manner." : Nehemiah refuses to play their game. He sends his messengers to
decline their request with a bit of a dagger twist into their hearts.
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"You probably don't recognize this, but I'm in the middle of a great work
here! If I leave it to meet with you, it probably won't get done!"
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You can almost hear the holy sarcasm dripping from Nehemiah's tongue! He knows
that they will stop at nothing to suspend the progress of the wall. It was
killing them to know it was nearly done!
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By the way, what a great way to answer the enemy. He wants to distract you from
the Lord's work. He wants you to come away from your primary responsibility.
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When Nehemiah calls this work "a great work," he is not pointing to
his own prowess or asking them to be impressed with the technicality of his
undertaking.
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The work is not great because of the scope, but because of the person that has
ordered it! The Great King of the Universe, the Lord of Glory, has assigned you
a work.
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Whatever He has called you to do is a great work indeed, and prayerfully, you
see it in that light because if you do not, the enemy has a way into your
heart.
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The enemy would love nothing more than to call you away from the boring, time
consuming, wall building that you are performing, to engage in something much
more satisfying to your flesh!
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How many of us have worked ourselves into a frenzy over what is good and not
had enough energy to put toward what was best? This is always an important
distinction to keep in mind!
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Perhaps you need that reminder: The wall that you are working on, the actual
call of God upon your life means that there are lesser appointments that cannot
be kept!
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How wise of Nehemiah to realize that the work would cease if he went to address
them! His rebuff however didn't stop them.
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Sanballat and Tobiah, in typical enemy like fashion, would not take "no"
for an answer! They kept pestering him, persistently seeking to distract
Nehemiah from his work!
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They came back four times with the same request. Nehemiah's answer didn't
change despite the increased pressure. His first answer was sufficient. He
stayed on point. "Let them keep asking!"
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If it was wrong to be distracted the first time, it will be wrong to be
distracted the fourth time! Why does the enemy continue with such an assault?
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Because unlike Nehemiah here, we are prone to wander from our post. As we think
about it, the second time, we think it'd be nice to take a break.
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The third time we begin to wonder what it's like over in the plain of Ono.
"I bet they don't have rocks to move or doors to hang over there!"
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By the fourth time, we believe that if we were over there, the grind we are
experiencing here would be replaced by a veritable luxury vacation over there!
It's best to keep to our initial answer!
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Nehemiah's resolve caused Sanballat and Tobiah to change their methodology.
Verse 5.
•
Nehemiah 6:5-7 : "Then Sanballat sent his servant to
me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported
among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel;
therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may
be their king. And
you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying,
'There is a king in Judah!' Now these matters will be reported to the king. So
come, therefore, and let us consult together." : If the enemy cannot distract, expect him to "Defame." This is seen by
Sanballat's use of the "open letter."
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An open letter is an unsealed letter, addressed to a certain person, but publically
known in an effort to force action to stem the tide of negative public
response.
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Nehemiah was now exposed to what the rest of the region was thinking about him!
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As you can see, the letter is filled with conjecture and the sources were
hardly credible. Listen to the language. "It is reported."
"Geshem says."
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Sanballat has built his entire case against Nehemiah using the neighboring and
largely, unfriendly nations as his source. He at least admits that he is acting
on rumor and speculation.
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The enemy never needs to hold to high journalistic principles. In fact, he
prefers innuendo, half truths, accusation, rumor and slander!
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He's happy to publish his opinion and his vitriol without any invitation for or
any rebuttal. All of this rumor allegedly betrayed Nehemiah's motive.
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"You are planning a rebellion against Persia!" Look at his
accusation: You and the Jews! The world controlled by the enemy, never believes
in spiritual motive. There is always a power play!
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This is quite a stunning accusation, particularly because it was Persia's King
who appointed Nehemiah to be the Governor! What an awful rebellion that would
be!
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Had the King of Persia received and believed this accusation, it could well
have meant death to Nehemiah and the crushing of the Jewish people! These are especially
dangerous accusations.
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Sanballat assumes that Nehemiah would set himself up as the King of Judah
because that's what he would do! He threatens to tell on Nehemiah!
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It actually sounds much more childish in the NLT."You can be very sure that this report will get back to the king, so I
suggest that you come and talk it over with me." Verse 8.
•
Nehemiah 6:8,9 : "Then I sent to him, saying, 'No
such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.' For they all were trying to make us
afraid, saying, 'Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be
done.' Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands." : The facts of the case were clear. Sanballat was acting upon
complete fiction! There wasn't a shred of truth to these reports.
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The rumors were mere fantasy, in fact, an invention that came out of
Sanballat's heart.
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The KJV says, "thou feignest them out of thine own heart!" Sanballat
made all of this up to stir up trouble, all in the hopes of inspiring fear.
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The NLT puts it this way: "They were just trying to intimidate us,"
with the hope of causing their hands to sink down, to keep them from finishing!
Once again, Nehemiah knows what to do.
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He lashes out at Sanballat with a public defense! Nope. He gets a crowd
together to rally against him? Wrong again! Nehemiah storms into his prayer
closet!
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Nehemiah knows that the world wanted his hands to be weakened, so he prays to
the One that could actually increase his resolve and strengthen his hands!
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That is the heart that needs to be cultivated in each of us! What God wants
done through our lives must be fulfilled by the power that He is willing to
give us!
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If God wants it done, we must presume that He will give us the power to
complete it! When the discouragement and the active warfare from the enemy
ramps up, so should our prayer life!
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Nehemiah resolved that the enemy was not going to win and he kept praying until
that was the case. The enemy isn't finished. Verse 10.
•
Nehemiah 6:10,11 : "Afterward I came to the house of
Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer;
and he said, 'Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and
let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed,
at night they will come to kill you.' And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such
as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!'" : If you won't be distracted and if you can't be defamed, perhaps
you will be "Derailed!"
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Sanballat and Tobiah were unable to lure Nehemiah from his work or intimidate
him into quitting. Maybe they
could induce him to compromise himself in another, more spiritual way.
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Enter in Shemaiah who seemingly summons Nehemiah to visit him under false
pretenses.
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We'll find in verse 12 that Shemaiah
was considered a prophet and it figures, seeing that his name means "heard
of God!"
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He had a good name and deep Jewish roots as the author mentions both his Father
and Grandfather. It seems he'd be a credible source.
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The NKJV alone mentions that he was a "secret informer." The actual
word refers to him being restrained or confined.
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He was "shut up" in his home for some reason which is why Nehemiah
visits him at his home.
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Shemaiah wastes no time in prophesying a word of doom! He proposes that they go
together into the Temple and hide inside in order that they might avert an
assassination attempt!
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This was an imminent threat that would be carried out that very night!
"There isn't any time to waste! We have to go hide right now!" Can
you feel the pressure Nehemiah must have felt?
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"I don't have any time to waste. This has to be resolved right now."
Ah, the beauty of panic!
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Instead of panicking, Nehemiah reasoned: "Should such a man as I
flee." Nehemiah knew who he was in the context of this temptation to fear.
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Nehemiah was a leader. He knew what the action of fleeing alone would
communicate! It would speak volumes to the people of God that they should also
give into their fears!
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What a contradiction to all that Nehemiah had been preaching! His actions would
have cancelled out all of his words. Do you know who you are?
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You are a Father, a husband, a boss, an employee with a responsibility to lead
people to Christ! You are a Mother, a wife, a neighbor, an employee, a friend
with the same responsibilitly!
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Should you give in to temptation, how will that play with those who are
watching you? For Nehemiah, this didn't just not play well, it would have been
a direct act of sin!
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Nehemiah was a great leader and a governor, but he was not a priest! Only
priests were allowed into the Temple of God.
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He wasn't going to go in even if there were threats against him! He wasn't
going to break God's laws to save his life!
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The best plan is always the one which trusts the Lord to provide deliverance!
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The worst plan is the one that contradicts the rest of God's Word! That never
works out well! Verse 12.
•
Nehemiah 6:12-14 : "Then I perceived that God had not
sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah
and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act
that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they
might reproach me. My
God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the
prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid." : Nehemiah knew that Shemaiah was speaking from his own resource.
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It doesn't matter what kind of name a person has or the pedigree that precedes
him. If what he says contradicts what God says elsewhere, he is to be outright
refused!
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This goes for the actual content as well as the "spirit" of what is
said. Let me explain. First, with regard to content. God will never call you to
be His special exception.
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The rest of the people in God's Kingdom are not allowed to involve themselves
romantically with unbelievers. But you have met the one that is "super
close" to the Kingdom!
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God's people are commanded not to be drunk with wine. But you love a little
beer from time to time! You are not the exception. God does not change His Word
to match your heart's desire!
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You had better learn to be content with God's content! That is our true north!
But then, there is the spirit that must also match. Nehemiah had been given a
fear filled prophecy.
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It was confusing to him to be a man such as he was and be told to do what a man
like him should never do! Nehemiah knew instinctively that this wasn't the Lord
and we know it scripturally!
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II Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has
not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and a sound mind. I Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God
is not the author of confusion, but of peace!
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When God speaks to us through His Word, there will be power to act, a sound
mind and a peaceful heart!
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On this basis, Nehemiah rejected the "ministry" of Shemaiah and came
to realize that the man was a hireling the entire time! He had been paid to
prophecy this to Nehemiah!
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Nehemiah, had he given into fear, would have put himself in a position to sin
and then Sanballat and Tobiah would have had actual grounds to accuse him!
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Rumors and speculation will work, but actual sin works better! The world that
is opposed to Christ absolutely loves it when a leader falls!
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Before you sin, they will encourage you and help you to sin. After, they just
laugh and mock!
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The world can't wait to reproach, insult, blaspheme, the Name of God, even
though it is never God that fails! Nehemiah calls upon God to remember his
enemy's plots.
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We've heard of Sanballat and Shemaiah, but there were many other prophets and
prophetesses that sought to bring fear into Nehemiah's heart. Lord, don't let
them off the hook! V. 15
•
Nehemiah 6:15,16 : "So the wall was finished on the
twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our
enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they
were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was
done by our God." : Let those words sink in.
"So the wall was finished!"
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The people now had protection from that which threatened them and provision for
the full expression of their hearts toward the Lord! All of this was done in
just under 2 months!
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The people of God worked through threats, exhaustion and discouragement. There
had been few breaks and there had been no peace. Now, they could actually
exhale and celebrate.
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The same couldn't be said for their enemies. Their mission had failed! When
they stepped back to consider everything that had happened, they increasingly
understood their inferioriy.
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The word "disheartened" seems to indicate an understanding of how far
they had fallen from their goal. They were aware of how ineffective they had
been and it wasn't simply their bad planning.
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They came to understand that the work of building the wall had been
accomplished by God Himself! There was no other explanation! This is
reminiscent of the final words of Pharaoh's army.
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Remember the famed "battle" at the Red Sea? Pharaoh's captains said,
"Let us flee from the face of
Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the
Egyptians." (Exodus 14:25b)
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The people had done the work, but God had given them strength, wisdom and
patience to complete it! Verse 17.
•
Nehemiah 6:17-19 : "Also in those days the nobles of
Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. For many in Judah were pledged to
him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son
Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Also they reported his good deeds
before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me." : Did you think the enemy was finished? Don't be so hasty! If the
enemy can, he will distract you by expending energy upon lesser appointments.
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If that doesn't work, he will defame you with half truths and slander. Maybe,
you will allow him derail you by panic into a sinful display of contradiction.
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If all of that fails, he will "Divide"
from you the interest of those that are supposed to be working alongside of
you!
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It turns out that there was a marital tie between the elders of Judah and
Tobiah. Loyalty was divided between Nehemiah and this powerful ally of the Governor
of Samaria!
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Tobiah was talking out of both sides of his mouth! He kept feeding the elders
his goodwill letters, speaking of himself in good ways, which caused the people
to report that to Nehemiah.
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"You would really like Tobiah Nehemiah. He does some very good things."
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All the while, Tobiah had earned the trust of the elders to the degree that
they kept sharing privileged information with him about Nehemiah!
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He used this information to write his own intimidating letters to Nehemiah! What
a scoundrel and what a ploy! How many of you have seen this as you lead your
children?
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Your children come home and are impressed by a new source of authority which
contradicts your own. "Do you know what they are allowed to do over
there?"
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Our children have no concept of nuance, they have no concern for context. They
see only the superficial and they are bedazzled.
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How about when your spouse hears of a new way to manage money. Their
counterpart in another relationship gets to spend this much a year on this type
of expenditure. "Why can't we?"
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The list goes on and on. Nehemiah saw Tobiah's true colors. A leader looks
beyond the superficial and recalls the true nature of the new incursion.
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The best leaders know to be careful with outside sources and will never yield
or deviate from what God calls them to, despite those that might want to run
after it!
Conclusion
- Nehemiah
refused to be distracted by the enemy. His character kept him from being
rightfully defamed. He did not give into panic when the enemy sought to derail
him, nor did he yield to division.
- What a great
example and a wonderful picture of our Lord! The Bible tells us that Jesus set
His eyes upon joy of redemption and endured the cross!
- They could
find no reason to murder him, though they defamed his Name. When His panic was
greatest, He kept going despite having to look through blood stained sweat!
- All of this
so that He could rebuild the structures that were torn down in our lives, that
He might be the Shepherd of our souls, the voice that stands above every other!
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