Rebuild With Perseverance

At the beginning of this chapter, the king sent out Nehemiah to go and rebuild. When the king sends someone out he also provides the protection that will be needed for the journey.  “Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.”  It was as though the king’s name was at stake if it fails. So the king made sure that was not going to happen.

This was not the first time King Artaxerxes showed favor to a man of God. In fact it was this same king that had previously sent Ezra to rebuild the temple.  He gave Ezra silver, grain, oil and everything he needed to purchase materials for rebuilding the temple.  As he arrived at Jerusalem, there was no one welcoming him. No one really took notice of him. Yet he begins to take notice of them and the conditions in which they lived.

At first he told no one of his intent to rebuild the city. Perhaps the reasoning for not revealing his plan was because he was unsure if the city could be rebuilt.  After his inspection Nehemiah rallied everyone together  Nehehmiah 2:17-20  17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

The people of Jerusalem were motivated by all that Nehemiah had spoken to them. They had all looked upon the rubble before but no one rose up and said let’s rebuild until now.  Side note-sometimes it take a man or woman of God to begin to declare things in order to see change take place. What would happen if you begin to declare the Word of the Lord in your situation? How might people get motivated to make a change?

Even so, they were convinced that they had the favor of the king but more importantly God was on their side.  Notice it was the words of the people of Jerusalem that said “Let us rise up and build.”  And it was the people of Jerusalem that “strengthened their hands” for the good work.
Many people get motivated as they experience the presence of God, or hear the word of the Lord during a church service. They leave the service with clear direction and a sense of “I can conquer the world.” And rightly so.  When we come together and experience His presence we are changed no longer the same. We are motivated to do something about our current rubble. We are motivated to start rebuilding our lives.

By assembling together our hands are strengthened in a sense. We feel invincible.  Surely the people of Jerusalem would have felt this way. Not only they had the king on their side but they had the King of Kings on their side.  However, it is not long after arriving at Jerusalem that Nehemiah and the people begin to face opposition.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

How many of you can relate to this. As soon as the Word of the Lord leaps inside of your spirit and ignites you, encourages you, gives you a clear path for your life, that there is someone or something that will try to prevent you from walking that thing out.  Perhaps you were encouraged and challenged last week as my wife begin to talk about the need for prayer in your life. You were motivated to begin to pray even fast for your family and/or city, then Monday morning came…And all of your desire, all of your passion to do that which was right is blown right out of the window.  In the case of Nehemiah his opposition came from a man named Sanballat and his counterpart Tobiah.

1.  Persevere Past Your Past

This guy Sanballot was a Moabite living in the land of Horonaim.  Just a little back story on the Moabites, If we go all the way back to Abraham’s day. Abraham had a nephew named Lot. Lot lived in a city that was so wicked that God had destroyed it with fire and brimstone.  After God had destroyed all of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s two daughters plot to continue their father’s lineage by getting him drunk and then sleeping with him.  Lot, though he was drunk, committed incest with two daughters. Thus resulting in the man Moab and the tribe of Moabites with his first daughter and Ben Ammi and the tribe of Ammonites with his second daughter.  In other words these two guys Sanballot (tribe of the Moabites) and Tobiah (tribe of Ammonites) had a past in their family of sinfulness.

I believe because of their past they were blind to the things of God.  If they had believed in God surely they would have been overwhelmed with joy that Nehemiah had come to rebuild the city of God’s chosen people.

Some of you have a past in your family of sinfulness. Perhaps you are the first generation in your family that has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life.  Maybe generations before you had nothing to do with the things of God. Just as it was in the case of Sanballat and Tobiah.  Every time you respond to the Word of the Lord with enthusiasm as did the men of Jerusalem, there comes this annoying reminder from your past.

You begin to think of who you are and where you came from and what you were taught and how those things are conflicting with your level of faith that you are currently experiencing.  One example comes to mind, it is on the subject of relationships. Because you have seen nothing but failed marriages either in your family or among your friends you have decided to avoid the pain totally by choosing not to marry. Totally missing out on the blessings that God has for your life.

You have a choice.

Will you persevere past your past or will you allow your past to dictate your future?

With Nehemiah He was not going to let these two clowns who represent the past detour him from rebuilding Jerusalem.  Don’t let your past detour you from what God wants to build in your life.

2.  Persevere When Facing Your Failures

These two guys not only represent the past but they also represent failure.  Going back to 17b
Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”  Derision is the feeling that people express when they criticize and laugh at someone or something in an insulting way.  Guess who was at the front end of hurling insults, criticizing and laughing at the people of Jerusalem whose wall were destroyed.  If you said Sanballat and Tobiah then you have answered correctly. How irked they must have been after their failed attempts to stifle the rebuilding of the city when this man named Nehemiah, backed by the king, rallied the men of Jerusalem to rebuild.

They failed at this point in the story and they would fail later on in the story as they used various tactics in their attempt to disrupt the Jews’ work.

• sought to harm Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:2);
• intimidate him with false reports (verses 5–6);
• deceive him with false prophets (verses 7–13);
• and influence the nobles of Judah (verses 17–19).

None of these tactics worked nor did they disrupt the rebuilding process.  These guys were utter failures because they found themselves trying to stop God.  Nehemiah was not intimated by these failures he just kept on building.  Neither should we be intimidated by our past failures we should allow God to keep on building in us.  What do I mean, God has begun a good work in your life. After you have given your heart to the Lord there will come moments where you will fail as a Christian. Its ok don’t beat yourself up, repent and realize it happens to the best of us.

Instead of allowing that failure to determine the outcome of your life, you seek his grace. Too many people give up after failing once before.  2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Nehemiah did not allow these failures to stop what God was doing, neither should we.

3.  Persevere When Facing Opposition

19b they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing?
Perhaps even in your own life you have been asked “what is this thing that you are doing?”

Why are you going to church every Sunday?
Why do you pray so much and read your bible like you do?
Why don’t you hang out with us anymore?
Why do you give of your Saturday to hope serves?

We cannot expect those who have not tasted of His goodness to understand why we do what we do. Though our answer is simple, God is building something new in me.  20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”  Only one person can stop the work that God has started in your life and that is you.

Will you persevere past your past, though your failures, through your opposition?

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

He is committed for His name