Nehemiah - Building and Battling A Series for the New year Discouraged in the Battle (Neh 4:10-12) Nehemiah 4:10-12 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. 11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. 12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you. Just as expected, the adversary didn’t give up. And things would have been okay except the workers got discouraged. They were tired. It looked like they weren’t making any more headway. And the enemy was still giving them fits. Consider the type of people that were busy in the work. Keep in mind that we have the same kind of people in the ministry of the church as well. There were the priests who worked at the sheep gate. That was their area of responsibility so that’s where they worked. Nehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. There were lots of common people, just like you and I. But there were also rich people and doctors as well: Nehemiah 3:8-9 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. But the interesting thing is, in comparison to how many workers there were on the wall, not many names are actually mentioned. And of the names that are recorded, we know very little about them. They were just the average persons doing a great work for God! But when it came time to lift bricks or mix mortar, the rich and poor stood side by side in the task. The wall was a common goal and everyone worked together. No one man could do the work alone! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Each person worked in an area of his own concern. Each labored in an area that was nearest to their own homes. But even with all that planning, even with all that unity, even with all the excitement, there were still those who would not lift a hand to help: Nehemiah 3:5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. They would not help. Maybe they thought they were too good for manual labor. Maybe they felt that they should be supervising and not sweating. In my humble opinion, they were just as worthless as the enemies that sat outside the gate. And to be honest, I have seen this sort of thing happen far too often in churches. I’ve even seen folks who get these big ideas which will require labor on somebody else’s part, but they themselves don’t do anything to help. Folks, we all have a part, we can all do our part, but there will always be those who may be with us but simply will not work! “According to researchers, all the work in most churches is actually done by 20 percent of the congregation. The other 80 percent, tend to act like spectators: they are minimally involved and attend infrequently or not at all. (https://www.christianpost.com/news/churches-dilemma-80-percent-of-flock-is-inactive-51581/) The Existence of Discouragement (Neh 4:10) The Source of Discouragement (Neh 4:10) Dealing with Discouragement (Neh 4:13)
The Existence of Discouragement (Neh 4:10) Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed… Any time we try to do a work for God there will be discouragement. I have faced it. You have faced it. And we will face it again. That was true when Nehemiah built a wall and it will be true while we build our church. In Nehemiah’s case, the harder they worked, the worse the problems became. He had to listen to sarcasm, mockery, criticism, and conspiracy. All of this led to discouragement. And the whole design of discouragement is to rob us of our strength and desire to do the work. And then, we can’t reach the goal. Imagine this- you are a highly successful, innovative business man, and one day, a raging fire burns six of your factory buildings two the ground, and guts seven others, costing you $106 million dollars. Insurance will only cover 30% of the damages. What would you do? This is exactly what happened to Thomas Edison in 1914 (dollars of damage adjusted to today’s value). Edison responded to the fire by proclaiming he would resume manufacturing within ten days and began mapping out his rebuilding campaign immediately. While others saw the fire as a huge devastation, Edison saw it as an opportunity and saw the possibility of new direction and improvements in his factory design. Keep in mind that everything that comes into our life is for God’s glory and our good: Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. So the things that we face, the closed doors, the missed opportunities, the struggles, the limitations - these are all God’s methods of redirection and confirmation. They cannot hurt us because God says it is all designed for our good. The Source of Discouragement (Neh 4:10) Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. Now, let’s pause for a moment and look back to the very beginning and what was the situation? Nehemiah 1:3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Nehemiah 2:13-14 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
So what is happening here? They have been working and working and it seemed like they weren’t making any progress. They were looking for immediate results and the results weren’t coming. All of a sudden, it wasn’t about the will of God anymore. It was about results. They got their eyes off the real goal and on the wrong things. This is a problem that even the best of us can experience: Matthew 14:25-32 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Nehemiah’s workers couldn’t see past all the trash! I can understand that feeling! I feel that way sometimes when I am trying to clean out my office! Trash and discouragement are best friends. But the situation always looks worse when we quit in the middle. Why? Because we are left with the feeling that no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to finish the job. And that is exactly what they experienced. What was it that they said? “we are not able”. Had they forgotten about God’s strength? Had they forgotten about the will of the Lord? They forgot that we serve a God who is not only willing but also able to strengthen us in our time of need! Adversity from outside the ministry is bad enough. But it is much more devastating when it comes from within. Once the tribe of Judah got discouraged, they began to speak words of discouragement to others. “We are not able”. They began the job with a trust in God’s ability but somehow they had begun to think they were doing it all themselves. Then, after they started looking at their own abilities, they realized they couldn’t do it! A discouraged saint is useless in the work. But what is even worse is that he is is often an infection, a hindrance, to others. But a discouraged worker is not the enemy. They do not need chastening. They need encouragement. They need someone to come along and help them refocus on the will of God, His promises, and then sent back into the fight! The people of Judah were an important and highly respected tribe. It was the tribe from which later Jesus would be born: Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. It can be very difficult when discouragement comes from such a highly respected source. But there is a chain of command. And if the Captain of the Lord’s Army says we need to do something, it doesn’t matter what the sergeants have to say on the matter. Folks, God’s commands are His enablements. If God wants us to do something, He gives us the ability to do it. But discouragement was not the only thing that hindered them: Nehemiah 4:11-12 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. 12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you. They began to fear the enemy. Initially, they were all mouthy with the enemy, “Hey, this is our city and our business. You have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” But now the enemy is starting to wear on them. Nehemiah 4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. Isn’t that typical? We begin by saying, “if God be for us, who can be against us?” And the next thing you know, we are saying, “But what if they do this or that?” Look, I am all about being wise when dealing with the adversary. But we must not make the mistake of thinking the enemy has any power or authority to bring their threats to pass. But we are more than conquerors in Christ: Romans 8:37-39 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must remember that if we do God’s work God’s way then we will succeed! Dealing with Discouragement (Neh 4:13) Nehemiah 4:13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. What is a leader to do when he knows what the Lord wants and yet the people are too discouraged to see it for themselves? What did Nehemiah do? Well, he did a couple of things. First, he regrouped them according to families. The defense of their families would push them forward. They weren’t working for themselves, or even Nehemiah. They were doing this for their families! And then secondly, Nehemiah reminded them that the LORD was their protector and provider: Nehemiah 4:14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. Sometimes a believer gets disillusioned. Sometimes a believer gets tired. So what needs to be done? Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. A good leader helps the people keep their eyes on the Lord. The size of the opposition doesn’t matter. We have a big God! He is great and terrible and is fighting for your families and your homes! Some of us need to get busy rebuilding the walls around our homes. And at this point, you might even think it is impossible. But remember the LORD. Get your eyes back on the LORD and not on the trash that is cluttering up your life. And once we get our eyes back on the LORD, we can get back to building and battling. And that’s exactly what happened in Jerusalem: Nehemiah 4:15-17 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. 16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. God does not expect us to have a martyr’s complex. He does not expect us to be completely passive in our own defense. But He also doesn’t want us to get distracted from building because we are too busy battling. We must never get so involved in defending the work of God that we stop working. They watched and they worked all at the same time. There will never come a day when we can quit serving the Lord. Nehemiah 4:21-23 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. 23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing. The end result of getting refocused on the will of God was that the people basically recommitted themselves to the cause. They came out of the other side of discouragement having learn a valuable lesson - stay focused and don’t listen to the enemy. They began to work with a greater separation from the enemy. Nehemiah 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you. But now they are all living in the safety of Jerusalem. Therefore, discouragement actually helped them become a more unified people. Conclusion Discouragement will come. Expect it! Do not fear it. In fact, when it comes, use it to become even more useful by responding correctly! It can motivate you to regroup your efforts. It can challenge you to refocus on the task. It can challenge you to recommit to the cause.
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