“Overcoming Opposition”
Nehemiah 6
Sermon Series: “Change Your World In 52 Days”
Introduction: Verse 15 of chapter 6 records the miracle of the completion of the wall. God had done a supernatural work through them. However, Nehemiah and God’s people experienced opposition to the mission in chapters 2, 4, 5, here in 6, and 13 in the future. They had to overcome opposition in order to complete God’s mission, and we will have to overcome opposition as well in order to fulfill what God is calling us to do. Remember what Craig Groeschel says about this, “Remember that we often face opposition because we are doing something right instead of something wrong. The closer you get to doing what God wants done, the harder your enemy will fight to stop you.” Here are some lessons we can learn about “overcoming opposition” from Nehemiah.
Main Idea: We ultimately overcome opposition by obediently completing the mission God has given us (v. 15-16).
We can complete the mission God has given us in the face of opposition by:
1. Having the discernment to avoid deception (v. 1-4). Nehemiah’s enemies wanted to deceive him in order to harm him, but Nehemiah was too discerning to fall into their trap. We must also use discernment to avoid deception from enemies of God’s mission. Here are some questions to ask to help us be discerning: -Have they shown themselves to be trustworthy? -Are they friends wanting to help us or enemies wanting to harm us? -Will what they are asking us for advance or hinder the mission? -Are they being a distraction to what we know God is calling us to do (if it wasn’t of God the first time, it still isn’t the fourth time)?
2. Having the wisdom to properly respond to false accusations (v. 5-8). False accusations are hurtful, but they are a part of ministry. There is no formula for dealing with them, but here are some ideas: -Go to Jesus with it. -Seek godly counsel. -Do not fire back hastily or seek revenge (Romans 12:17-21). -Examine what they are saying prayerfully and see if there is any truth to it. Make something right if needed. -Learn from it if at all possible (turn our critics into coaches). -Be secure in who we are in Jesus and respond accordingly. -Be gracious instead of prideful, realizing we are sinful so that if someone is falsely accusing us that they are just accusing us of the wrong thing. -Respond to the accusation if needed but ignore if at all possible. -Stay focused on the mission and get back to work instead of making it about us personally.
3. Having the courage to face intimidation (v. 9). Here are some thoughts on overcoming fear based on Nehemiah’s example: -Ask God to strengthen us. -The thought of not completing the mission must be worse than the thought of whatever we are facing. -We must fear God more than people or things. -Know that the King of Kings is with us and trust in His power, promises, and faithfulness.
4. Having the conviction to not compromise the Word of God (v. 10-14). A false prophet named Shemaiah tried to convince Nehemiah to go into the temple and meet with him with the enticement of keeping Nehemiah safe. Nehemiah refused because it was a violation of Scripture for a non-priest to go beyond the altar of burnt offering at the temple (Numbers 18:7, 2 Chronicles 26:16-21). We overcome opposition by standing on the Word of God instead of compromising and disobeying.
