author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to Nehemiah 4. Nehemiah 4.

Remember the context of this book. It's about doing a job. Nehemiah heard about the walls of Jerusalem. He heard about them when he had a cushy job in Persia as the advisor and cup-bearer of the most powerful man on earth. The news broke his heart, and so he went to prayer. He prayed that God would give him the opportunity to make this right.

God granted him an opportunity to speak to Artaxerxes about it - even though Artaxerxes had signed an edict stopping the work. Nehemiah spoke and God worked on Artaxerxes heart - and when Nehemiah was done, he was on his way to Jerusalem with orders from the king and all the resources he needed to do the work.

But that doesn't mean it would be easy - last week we talked about the opposition to the work. There were large groups of people who didn't want the walls to go up, and those people resorted to all kinds of dirty tricks and even to violence to try to stop Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem.

So we talked about that last week and we talked about he forms of external opposition that were used: mockery, force and lies.

But I told you that there was also internal opposition to the work. There were forces inside of Jerusalem trying to stop what God wanted to do. And so today I want to talk about that resistance that Nehemiah had to overcome to build the wall.

Remember, God has called all of us to a work. God has something for all of us to do. You will not do the work without external opposition. There will be people on the outside who are fighting against what is right. You can count on that.

But most of the time, the thing that stops us is not external opposition - it is internal opposition.

In Nehemiah 4 and 5, we see three forms of internal opposition that Nehemiah and the jews of Israel had to overcome to do something.

The first thing they had to overcome was...

1. Rubbish

Look at chapter 4 verses 1- 2 with me:

[!bible] Nehemiah 4:1-2 - KJV

1. But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
2. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Do you notice what Sanballat said at the end there? He said that there were heaps of rubbish.

Look at verse 10 of this same chapter.

[!bible] Nehemiah 4:10 - KJV 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.

Rubbish, if you aren't familiar, is a very British way to say "trash" or "garbage." My grandmother almost never called garbage or trash anything other than "rubbish." I remember being at her house one time and watching her get really excited because the trash hadn't been pulled to the curb and "the rubbish men are coming, the rubbish men are coming."

Here in our text it tells us that there was "much rubbish..so that we are not able to build the wall." Basically, before the wall could be built, they had to move trash. The place the where the wall was had become a trash dump - and that trash had to get cleared before the wall could go up.

Yesterday, I put together a bunk bed for Darci and Addie. It was something I was planning on doing for awhile. It's been in the garage for nearly a month. The reason it took so long is because their room is just packed to the gills with toys and clothes - and it's very hard to put something new together when you are fighting against clutter.

And so here is the lesson for us: sometimes it is very hard for us to do what God wants us to do - because our lives are full of rubbish - trash and clutter - that we have allowed to accumulate.

Remember the parable of the seeds? One of the seeds fell on the wayside, and the birds snatched it up. One fell in rocky soil, where it couldn't take root and the sun burned it up. One seed fell among thorns, and the thorns choked it out. One seed fell on good soil and brought forth much fruit.

You could think of the rubbish in our life like the "thorns and thistles" they choke us out.

Do you have any garbage in your life? Do you have any rubble? Do you have any trash that you have just tried to ignore? You have to clear the trash.

Maybe your rubbish is bad habits. You start doing something that seems harmless enough. Everyone is doing it - and pretty soon it controls you. It enslaves you - and you cannot even think about building for God.

Maybe your rubbish is addictions. A food addiction. A porn addiction. A phone addiction. A gossip addiction. An addiction to pills or alchohol. You know God wants you to do something - but any hope of doing it is choked out by that addiction.

Maybe your rubbish is bad ideas. You are getting your ideas from the world - and not from Christ. You are getting your ideas from talking heads on television, or from non-christian books and not from the Bible.

Maybe your rubbish is pride. You just won't humble yourself. You won't admit you are wrong. You won't get your hands dirty.

There are many things in our life that could count as rubbish that keep us from accomplishing anything for God. And I think we have to do what Nehemiah and the men did here in this passage - we have to roll up our sleeves and get working and do the double work of removing the rubbish and building for God.

Before I move on to the next thing, let me say one thing here that I believe will help you with the rubbish in your life.

In 2 Peter 1 verses 5 and 6 it says:

[!bible] 2 Peter 1:5-6 - KJV 5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

One of the things every Christian should be actively working at adding in their life is "temperance." Temperance is also in Galatians and is listed as a fruit of the spirit.

Temperance is just an old fashioned word for "self-control." It is defined as "the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites."

This might not seem like a spiritual question - but it absolutely is - are you a disciplined person? Do you have discipline in your life?

Do you discipline your sleep? Do you discipline what you eat? Do you have discipline in how you move and exercise? Do you have discipline in how you spend your time?

That is something Christians are supposed to be growing in. Are you more disciplined today than you were five years ago? How about 20 years ago?

If you are going to accomplish what God has for you, if you are going to remove the rubbish - then you have to be disciplined, you have to have temperance in your life.

So the first internal opposition Nehemiah and the men at Jerusalem had to deal with was "rubbish." The second one they had to deal with was...

2. Fear

Look at Nehemiah 4 starting in verse 11.

[!bible] Nehemiah 4:11-14 - KJV 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. 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. 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.

The enemies - Sanballat and Tobias and them - they were leveling threats. And this almost stopped the work because the people were overtaken with fear.

There were people who lived outside the city walls in the suburbs, and ten different times they came to Nehemiah and said "We need to go home or we are going to get killed."

Sanballat and Tobias didn't need to lift a finger to get them to stop - they just needed to make threats. That was enough for some people.

Remember when God wanted the children of Israel to go into the promised land. They sent in the spies. What caused them not to go? It was fear. Fear paralyzed them. Fear turned into unbelief and kept them in the wilderness for forty years.

Do you remember what they were afraid of? More than anything it was the giants. They were afraid of the giants in the land.

Then, when they entered the land forty years later, one guy - literally the oldest guy int he whole group - Caleb - he took care of the giants himself. The giants were a non-issue.

Or remember what David said when he went into the land of the Philistines? He said "surely Saul will kill me." But God had delivered David from Saul over and over again.

So often we let the threat of things stop us from doing what God has called us to do - and those things are things God can take care of no problem.

How did Nehemiah respond to this fear? They did take precautions. They armed everyone. They setup watches. We talked about that last week.

But mostly, Nehemiah inspired them by reminding them of two things - and they are the same two things we need to be reminded of:

First, he reminded them of God. He said Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible. Nehemiah told them that God had this covered. That God could protect them.

If God be for us, who can be against us? Is there anything to hard for the Lord? These are the questions we should ask ourselves when we are paralized by fear. We need to stop looking at our circumstances and turn our eyes to God.

The second thing Nehemiah reminded them of was their cause. He said fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. Nehemiah reminded them they weren't just building walls - they were fighting for their land and their families.

What did David say when everyone else was afraid of Goliath? Is there not a cause? When we are faced with fear that threatens to stop us from doing what God wants us to do, we need to remember our God and remember our cause.

So we've talked about two kinds of internal opposition so far - rubbish and fear.

There is a third one that we see in Nehemiah 5 and that is...

3. Financial pressure

Lets read the first 13 verses of this chapter:

[!bible] Nehemiah 5:1-13 - KJV

1. And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
2. For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.
3. Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
4. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.
5. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
6. And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
7. Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
8. And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.
9. Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?
10. I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
11. Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
12. Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.
13. Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

Let me try to quickly explain what was going on in these verses:

For two months, it was every hand on deck building the wall. Everyone was hard at work doing this important job. And well, that meant that people with tenuous finances were put at risk. (How many of us could afford to work for free for two months?)

This exposed some cracks in the society that probably had been there all along.

The rich people in the land, rather than helping to this cause, took advantage of the poor people and offered them loans or usury. Then as collateral for those loans, they took their children to be their servants.Other people who were a little better off had to mortgage their land - just to have food to eat.

On top of all of this - the tax man still wanted his cut - and so the problem was just severe financial pressure.

So when Nehemiah heard about this - he got very angry. By the way - one of the times in the Bible when it is right to be angry is when rich people are taking advantage of poor people. (Remember when the Prince of Peace went into the temple courtyard with a whip and started turning over tables?)

Nehemiah took drastic action. He called out these rich people. He brought them before the people and demanded that they give back some of the money they took and that they restore the lands back to the poor. He even made them swear they would do this in front of the priests.

So you might think that rich people are the problem. But God isn't against riches.

Look at the last part of this chapter:

[!bible] Nehemiah 5:14-19 - KJV 14. Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. 15. But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God. 16. Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work. 17. Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us. 18. Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. 19. Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah, in writing this, points to his own example here and we learn somethings about him.

We learn in verse 14 that Nehemiah was the governor of the land. Artaxerxes didn't just give him letters, but gave him an official position.

As the governor, he was entitled to some privileges. He had a governor's mansion he lived in, and he would have to entertain people in it regularly. So the customary thing was for him to take a tax from the people so he could afford the governor's lifestyle.

But Nehemiah wouldn't do it. He wouldn't tax the people for this. He took care of feeding people out of his own pocket.

Now, notice this: it says here he killed an ox every day and six sheep every day. For 12 years. Do the math.

How many oxen is that Brother Birkey? That's 4,380 oxen. How many sheep is that Brother Adam? That is 26,280 sheep.

That is quite the grocery bill. What does this tell us about Nehemiah - he was a very rich man, very blessed by God - and he was an extremely generous man. He used the things God had given him to be generous to others and to serve his mission.

So having money wasn't the problem. It was people's attitude about money that was the problem. You can either use the money God has given you to be a blessing or you can try to oppress people to get more.

Does the Bible tell us to get money? Absolutely.

[!bible] 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 - KJV 11. And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12. That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

The Bible tells us to get money and tells us how to get money. We are to work with our own hands. That's God's plan for us.

Look at Ephesians 4:28

[!bible] Ephesians 4:28 - KJV 28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

If we work with our hands, we will have to give. You cannot be generous if you don't have in the first place.

So, back to the message here. Financial pressures almost divided the jews and kept them from building the wall.

And the same thing can happen to us. We can let class divides divide the church and stop us from doing God's work. The rich can despise the poor. The poor can despise the rich.

It was all over the New Testament. James 2. 1 Timothy 6. 1 Corinthians 11. God put these people together to do something and class divides just about pulled them apart.

So we have to guard against that. We have to guard against envy. We have to guard against jealousy. We have to guard against sloth. We all have to work with our hands so we have to give.

author: Ryan Hayden

• Recap: God’s work faces internal enemies—rubbish, fear, and financial struggles. Nehemiah overcame them by clearing the clutter, trusting God over fear, and leading with generosity.
• Challenge:
  • What’s stopping you from finishing God’s call? Clear one piece of rubbish, face one fear, or give one act of generosity this week.
  • Like Nehemiah, let’s say, “Think upon me, my God, for good” (5:19), and keep building.