Facing Opposition with Faith (Pt. 2)

0:51After his conversion, William Wilberforce became convinced that God had placed him in Parliament to work for the abolition of the slave trade and eventually for the abolition of slavery itself. He knew he'd be opposed because a huge portion of the British economy depended on the slave trade. He was constantly opposed by members of Parliament, by businessmen, even by the royal family. His life was threatened on multiple occasions. But finally, in 1807, Parliament voted to end the Slave trade, and then just before he died in 1833, Parliament voted to abolish slavery altogether.

1:38Wilberforce's story is a good illustration for us because, as Christians, it reminds us that opposition is not only certain, it's going to be constant. He faced constant opposition in his life for this great aim of abolishing slavery. And today in Nehemiah 6, we're going to be seeing that Nehemiah's adversaries are back at it again, opposing him relentlessly. We saw two chapters ago back in Nehemiah 4 that opposition is certain, and so we have to face it with faith.

2:12Well, today's passage and message are going to pair well with that, because what we're going to see in Nehemiah chapter 6 today is that opposition is constant, so we must learn to face it with faith. So let's take a look at the text now in Nehemiah 6. You can see here in verse 1 that the wall is nearly complete. There are no breaches now left in it. The only thing left to do is to set up the gates, the doors and the gates, rather.

2:42Nehemiah's adversaries seem to understand at this point there's no stopping the reconstruction of the wall. That ship has sailed, but they can still put a stop to Nehemiah's influence, and they hope that they can do that for good. So in verse 2, they ask Nehemiah to meet the... Them out in this place in the middle of nowhere, the plain of Ono. And that request seems harmless enough at first. It sounds like they're just saying, hey, come out here, we want to talk, we want to negotiate with you, this is a peaceful thing. But Nehemiah realized right away that they could only have two aims, potentially to persuade him to stop working on the wall or to kill him.

3:25Well, he wasn't going to stop working on the wall, and he didn't want to stop living. And so he just told them very directly, I'm not going to meet you there. That's not going to happen. But they won't let it go. Four times, the text says, they continued to write to Nehemiah asking him to meet them out at the plain of Ono. I mean, I think probably at somewhere along the line, he just turned on the autoresponder.

3:50I am currently away from my office right now, working on the wall. If you need immediate assistance, I don't know what to tell you. So the whole lure Nehemiah out into the open to assault him and kill him, that plan failed miserably, so they've got to change strategies. That's what they do in verse 5. You see, in verse 5, they employ this new tactic. They send an open letter. An open letter was an unsealed letter that, when it was carried by a messenger, it could basically be read by anyone because it was not sealed. And that was the point.

4:24Anybody that the messenger came into contact with as he carried the message all across the country. Could ask to see the contents of the letter. That's exactly what they wanted. It was like a public social media post back then. Anybody could read it. And they hoped that people would read it. So in the letter, you see, they make several different accusations. And they say that Geshin the Arab and that other people among the nations, there's this whole other people are talking contingent there. He says that these people have been saying these things about Nehemiah. The first accusation is this: he intends to rebel.

5:02That's why he's rebuilding the wall. The second is that he wishes to become their king. The third accusation is that he has set up false prophets to proclaim him king. And they wrap up the letter by saying, if you don't meet with us, essentially, we're going to tell the king about all these things. And so there's a threat contained at the end of the letter. Well, this is a brilliant strategy when you think about it. Nehemiah, of course, has been totally loyal to the king his entire life.

5:38But he's been gone for six months. Susa, the capital, is a thousand miles away from where he is now. And the king, King Artaxerxes, is a paranoid king who comes from a long line of paranoid kings. And it's only natural to assume that if he starts to get wind, That Nehemiah maybe intends to rebel and set himself up as king, and he's placed these prophets there to proclaim him king. It's only natural that even though he is his cupbearer and that he's built up all this goodwill over the years, that he's going to start to wonder: are these accusations true?

6:18It's really a brilliant plan. So, who could blame Nehemiah for wanting to go and set the record straight, for wanting to go and clear his good name? Who could blame him for wanting to put a stop to these ugly rumors and to actually confront his accusers? It almost seems like the obvious thing to do. Just like it seems obvious to us on social media, of course, you answer the people. Of course, you answer the haters, right?

6:47But that's not at all what he does. What does Nehemiah do? How does he respond to all of these accusations? Well, first, look at verse 8. He categorically denies everything that they're saying. He says, no such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind. See, he knew that these charges were just a scare tactic to get him to stop working on the wall. That's all they were. So he categorically denies the charges. The second thing he does is in verse 9. Look at the next verse.

7:25He prays, but now, O God, strength. Strengthen my hands. The enemies were hoping that all of these accusations would make their hands drop from the work. But Nehemiah prays, O God, strengthen my hands. Nehemiah's courage, as we've seen through the first six chapters, is an obvious strength. We can all admire his courage, but he's also a man of prayer, as we've seen. And what I want to focus on right now is the content of his prayer, because I think we have so much to learn from what he prays in this moment in his life.

8:07In trials, our first prayer, and often our only prayer, is, God, please take this away. Please make this trial stop. Please make this suffering stop. That is often our first prayer. And more often than not, that's our only prayer that we pray. Well, why is that? Why is it that we tend to pray that way when we experience opposition and trials and suffering? I think that a primary reason is that our modern Western society has taught us that opposition and trials and suffering are only a bad thing to be avoided at all costs.

8:55That's the message that we hear. I mean, think about it for a minute. How many products... How many services? How many treatments are based on the fundamental presupposition that suffering is only a bad thing that is to be avoided at all costs? So many of them. Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that suffering is only a good thing. I'm not saying that we should seek out suffering in our lives. I'm simply saying that to view suffering as only a bad thing, that is to be avoided at all costs, is an unbiblical view of suffering in opposition.

9:38Look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5: Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Look at James chapter 1. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

10:24And finally, look at 1 Peter chapter 4. Remember, Peter is writing to Christians that are scattered. All throughout Asia, who are being persecuted by Emperor Nero. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

11:04You see, friends, to view suffering and opposition and trial as only a bad thing that is to be avoided at all costs is simply not a biblical view of suffering. Nehemiah had a broader view than that. He believed that opposition was certain. He believed that opposition was going to be constant. He did not view suffering in his life or opposition in his life as only a bad thing that was to be avoided at all costs. And so, when he was opposed, he didn't pray, God, please take this opposition away from me. Please make my suffering stop.

11:43Instead, what did he pray? O God, strengthen my hands. That's what Nehemiah prayed. And friends, as we face suffering and opposition, we have to learn to pray. The same thing for strength and courage and faith. In verse 10, the second section here, Nehemiah goes down to the house of this man named Shemiah. And the text doesn't say for sure, but he seems to be a priest who is also a prophet. And at first, it seems like he's a friend of Nehemiah's. He's learned of this plot to kill him by night. And so he tells Nehemiah, I've learned of this, and I'm concerned for you. So what you need to do is take my advice. We need to run into the temple. We need to barricade the doors, lock them, and then you'll be safe inside.

12:41Seems like he's a friend who's concerned for him. But there are two big problems with his proposal. The first is that what he's proposing is illegal. Not in terms of Persian law, but in terms of God's law. You see, Nehemiah is not a priest. So he can't go into the temple, barricade himself in there, and essentially live there until the trouble stops. He's not a priest. He can't do that. But the second problem, especially given the context of what we've seen in Nehemiah, is that his proposal is cowardly.

13:21You may remember a couple of chapters ago when they were experiencing such fierce opposition. In Sanbalat and Tobiah and Geshem, they sent word to the city. And they said, we're going to come and we're going to fight against it. We're going to kill people and cause confusion. And Nehemiah steps up in the midst of that and he says, I want you to not be afraid. I want you to remember God who is great and awesome. He will fight for you. And so you fight. You fight for your wives. You fight for your children. You fight for your brothers. You fight.

13:55So Nehemiah has just said all of this stuff. He's just given them this bold charge. So, how could he then, when his own life is threatened, run into the temple like a coward and barricade himself in there? He says, Such a man as I can't do that. And what I want you to see here is that when there are things in our lives, they're scary, when our lives are threatened, when our livelihoods are threatened, it is tempting to find any solution, whether it is biblical or unbiblical, whether it is courageous or cowardly, we are tempted to find any solution to those problems.

14:42I have no doubt that Nehemiah was afraid. This was a scary thing. His life is being threatened by some really bad people. But we have this great example from Nehemiah's life. We have a great example from Jesus' life, our Savior. Nehemiah demonstrates. Demonstrates great courage in spite of the fact that he is afraid. I have no doubt that he's afraid. Anybody would be. And we know that on the night before Jesus was crucified, when his life, his earthly life, was about to come to an end, he sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was so distressed and anxious about what was coming.

15:24So I think a lot of times we look at people in the Bible or we look at people that we know who are really faithful people and we think of them as courageous and we think to ourselves, these people aren't afraid of anything. But friends, it doesn't take courage when you're not afraid. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing what is necessary in spite of the fact that you are afraid. And that's what Nehemiah does here.

15:55Now, when we get to verse 12, you see the ridiculous irony of the whole situation. Remember, back in verse 7, what they were doing is they were accusing Nehemiah of hiring false prophets to proclaim him king in Jerusalem. Not only did Nehemiah not do that, but that's actually what these guys have done in this very situation. They have hired Shemiah. And according to verse 14, here, not just Shemiah, but all of these other false prophets as well. To speak against him and make him afraid and try to get him to sin by going against what God has commanded him to do.

16:40They've hired all of these false prophets. And, church, we have to understand that part of the constant opposition that we're going to face as believers comes in the form of false prophets. Now, when I say false prophets, so many of you think there aren't false prophets today. That's something that was in Bible times, in the Old Testament, or at least in the first century. There aren't false prophets still around today. But, friends, there are. False prophets are everywhere.

17:10I want you to look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7. He says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. See, the reason that we don't think that false prophets are around anymore is because of what Jesus says right here. They don't come to you dressed as wolves, showing their true colors. They come dressed as sheep. They're not wearing a sign that says, warning, false prophet. That doesn't happen. So Jesus says, the only way you're going to know a false prophet. Prophet is by their fruits. What does he mean?

18:06The fruits of a false prophet are the same as the fruits of any person. It's the combination of their teaching, what they say, and their lifestyle, how they live their life. So, anyone whose teaching and lifestyle does not match up with God's Word is by definition a false prophet. It's a person that is going to lead you astray. And what do false prophets do? They tell you what you want to hear, even if it's not the truth.

18:36That's what a false prophet does. They tell you what you want to hear, even if it's not the truth. So they say things like, look, your safety has to be prioritized over everything else. Do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever makes you feel good. You don't need to consider God's word before making those decisions. You make whatever decisions seem right to you. That's what false prophets tell us. They tell us what our itching ears want to hear. Look at 2 Timothy 4. Paul says, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

19:30So, if your pastors, if your mentors, if your friends never challenge your thinking, your beliefs, your assumptions, your decision-making, that should be a red flag for you. When we read the Word of God, so many times our thinking and our beliefs and our assumptions, our decisions, they're challenged. Why are they challenged? Because God tells us, my thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. So, we're not surprised then when we come to God's Word and our thinking, our beliefs, our assumptions, our decisions, those things are challenged. So, therefore, anyone who is speaking the truth to us from God's Word, we should only expect that from time to time, at least, they're going to challenge our thinking, our beliefs, our assumptions, and our decisions. If they're speaking the truth to us, they're going to say some hard things.

20:41So, if you're choosing pastors, if you're choosing mentors, if you're choosing friends based on the fact that they're never going to challenge you, you're putting yourself in a very dangerous position. Look at what Proverbs 27 says. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Friends will wound you at times. They love you enough to tell you the truth, even though it hurts, even though it's hard for them to say. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. An enemy is going to tell you what you want to hear. They're not going to wound you. They're not going to challenge your decision-making or your thinking.

21:37We have to beware of false prophets. Because, see, friends, opposition is constant for the Christian. False prophets are everywhere. And they don't always look like Sanbalat. Sometimes they look like Shemiah. It's hidden. It's hard to see. That brings us to this last section, verses 15 through 19. And you see here in verse 15 that despite all the opposition that has been faced, just six months after Nehemiah first learned of the destruction of the walls, just 52 days after he arrived and they started working on the wall, they complete it. They finish rebuilding the wall. And look at what happens to their enemies. Look at what it says here, verse 16. All our enemies heard it. All the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem. Why? Why did they fall greatly in their own esteem? Look at what it says. For they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

22:52They weren't impressed with the quick work on the wall. Anybody can do a construction project. They were amazed because it was so obvious that God had worked through them to accomplish this. See, Nehemiah and the Jews prayed and then they attempted a great thing for God. And because they prayed and attempted this great thing that carried a great deal of risk, everyone around them could see the greatness of God through that. Church, our generation has learned to idolize safety.

23:32We are perhaps the most risk-averse generation in the history of mankind. Every product has a safety warning on it. Parents schedule and monitor every single moment of their child's day. We've been taught that all of our neighbors are strangers and all strangers are bad. Swing sets have been. Removed from playgrounds because kids might have fun on them. Should we be surprised if there are few Nehemiahs today, few men and women and children who are willing to attempt great things and, yes, even take great risks for God?

24:23Isn't it telling that when one of our friends or a fellow church member comes to us and says, I'm praying about going to the mission field, our first response is not, praise the Lord. It's, but won't that be dangerous? My point is not that we should reinstitute swing sets on playgrounds, although we should, without apology and without delay. My point is that our culture, the culture that we are being raised in and that most of us have grown up in for a long time, it is actually a stumbling block in the way of doing great things for God.

25:11When we attempt great things for God, when we take great risks for God, as Nehemiah and the people did here, everyone around can see the greatness of God clearly displayed. And so I want to challenge you today, where do you need to step out in faith and attempt a great thing for God? I understand that there are risks involved in going to your classmates, your neighbors, your friends with the message of the gospel. There is a risk that you could lose that relationship. But is that risk worth it? Is that risk worth it so that they can hear the good news about spending eternity in heaven with God as opposed to spending eternity in judgment?

25:57Yes. Yes, I think we would say that. But that and so many other decisions in our life are risky. And so I want to challenge you to ask yourself the question: where am I being called to step out in faith and do something great for the Lord? To attempt something great as these people did? You will face constant opposition because that is what's promised us in Scripture. And that's what we see here at the end of the chapter as well. In fact, at the end of the chapter, we're actually given some insight as to why Nehemiah, humanly speaking, is experiencing so much opposition in his life. It's because two Israelite families compromised and they allowed their daughters to marry Tobiah, one of the adversaries, and his son.

26:53They compromised. And so now they were and had to be at some level in support of. Of their extended family instead of Nehemiah and instead of God's agenda for Israel. Friends, that's what happens when we make compromises in our lives. I don't think that Shechaniah and Meshulam, these two men, I don't think that they really thought down the road of where compromises were going to take them because very few of us ever do. We don't make a compromise and then say to ourselves, you know what? If I make this compromise today, I'll probably make another compromise tomorrow and another one next week and another one next month until I get to the point where I'm really not obeying God in any area of my life.

27:47Very few of us stop to think about that. We don't consider that reality. And I bet these two men didn't either. How did they get to the point where they allowed their daughters to marry men who hate God? Friends, you don't worship and serve the Lord all your life and then one day wake up and allow your daughter to marry a man who hates God. Tobiah hates God. The Ammonites hate God. That's the tribe that he's a part of.

28:28You get there because you. You make little compromises all along the way until giving your daughter away in marriage to a man who hates God no longer seems like a big deal to you. That's how you get there. Compromise will take you farther than you ever wanted to go. Compromise might end up with you opposing God and his people as it does here. Friends, from the moment that Nehemiah set foot in Jerusalem, he was opposed. But he was ready for the opposition because he knew it was certain and he knew it would be constant. And in the same way, Jesus, our Savior, was opposed from the moment that he was born. King Herod tried to have him put to death. Satan tempted him right at the outset of his ministry.

29:22For all three years that Jesus ministered on this earth, the religious leaders were trying to trap him in his words, and then they finally persuaded Pilate to put him to death by crucifixion. Jesus was opposed all of his life, and yet all of that opposition was part of God's plan to save us from our sin through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. I want you to look on the screen to Acts chapter 4. If you're familiar with the book of Acts, you know that Peter and John have just healed this lame man by the power and grace of God, and then they were arrested for it and for preaching the gospel. So, after commanding them not to preach anymore, they released them, and now we arrive at this text. Look at the screen. When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voice together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our Father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, listen to this, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

30:55And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. You see, Jesus was opposed his entire life in ministry.

31:30But that opposition was all part of God's plan. His death was predestined by the Lord so that on the third day he could rise from death, victorious over sin and its consequences, so that we could have life in his name. But just as Jesus was opposed, so all of his followers were opposed, and that's what Jesus promised. If they've hated me, they'll hate you as well, he said. And so they're experiencing opposition. James, John rather, and Peter have been arrested. They've been commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore. What are they going to do? What are they going to pray? Do they pray, God, take away the opposition, take away the suffering?

32:17No, they pray this. Look again at the screen. Look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. That's what they pray. They pray, O God, strengthen our hands. If you're not yet a believer in Jesus, what you have to realize is that there are really just two choices: you can go through this life unopposed, enjoying the favor of man. And then be opposed by God for eternity. Or you can receive Christ by faith, and you will be opposed every day of your life on this earth. But you will also enjoy the favor of God for eternity.

33:19Jesus himself said, What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? I pray that you'll repent and believe and receive Christ by faith today. You will be opposed, but it will be worth it. If you're already a follower of Jesus this morning, then we have to learn to pray like Nehemiah and like these believers in Acts. That in the face of opposition, we would pray, not, Lord, take the opposition away, but God, give me courage and faith in the face of that opposition. May it be so. Let's pray.

34:01Father, we begin with a confession that we so often shrink back when we're opposed. We're scared of people and what they'll think of us, what they'll do to us. We don't seem to have the kind of courage that Nehemiah possessed and that Jesus our Savior possessed. But we know, God, that those things are ours in Christ Jesus. He has given us all things. And so, God, we pray this morning for faith to stand in the midst of opposition and to pray, oh God, strengthen our hands. Give us courage and boldness to continue to preach your word.

34:54And so I pray for that. I pray that you would grant us boldness in the face of opposition. And Father, I also want to pray for all of the men and women and children who are here today who are suffering in some way. As we said, suffering isn't all bad, but it's not all good either. And Jesus, you even prayed that if it were your will, that the cup would pass from you. And so we pray for our brothers and sisters this morning who are suffering. We pray that you would encourage them, comfort them, build them up, and help them to remember that you have not left them or forsaken them and that you never will. I pray that you would minister to those who are suffering today.

35:45Thank you, God, for your word to us this morning. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information, Information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.