Faith Baptist Church

Dancing With Wolves
                                    Nehemiah 5:1-13  (#8- Nov 5)             

Nehemiah chapter 5. 

Look at this picture carefully.  What do you see?

*Does anyone see a sports car?   If you do, you really have a vivid
     imagination; there isn’t one there!

What do you see? (Someone shout it out.)

 *Does anyone see an Indian? Raise hand!
 *How about an Eskimo?
 *Maybe someone sees both!

Being a difference maker has to do with perspective.  It isn’t that you mysteriously see things that no one else sees; it’s just that you see them in a way that others don’t!

Perspective is the essence of what it means to be a Christ followerer!  Look at this dynamic verse:  (Read it with me).

         “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
          these things shall be added to you.”

That’s about perspective!

Living for Jesus demands a biblical perspective on the evil one and his methods.

Nehemiah no sooner has his bags unpacked when Sanballat, a powerful neighbor, shows up at the wall.  He and his buddies are Hades bent on stopping the construction.

Sanballat is mentioned four times in chapters 1-4; Six times in 6-13—  His name does not appear once in this chapter. What he could not do through ridicule and intimidation, the Jews themselves did!

The situation is so serious, so menacing that Nehemiah pulls the workers off the wall…building stops until verse 16!

In chapter 4, we identified one of the most important principles in all of Scripture concerning Satan’s methods. Up through verse 8, Satan works from the outside  (as a roaring lion).  In verse 9, he moves to the inside  (as a subtle serpent.)

The first inside job was the dagger of discouragement.   In Chapter 4:10, Judah, the most influential, visible tribe is stabbed through the soul with it. We saw Nehemiah’s 6-part response…praise the Lord, discouragement was surmounted; the word continued!

The next ploy of the subtle serpent is worse than the first…Difference making means having a right perspective on ourselves. It’s understanding, and being alert to, our natural, fallen tendencies, and the ways they rear their ugly heads. Some one said, “If human depravity were blue, we’d be blue all over.”

In this scene, Nehemiah is confronted with one of the most devastating eruptions of our fallenness…The work of God is stopped by selfishness. 

Someone described it simply as…

         “…putting myself at the center of everything and insisting on
          getting what I want when I want it.”

I don’t really need anyone to describe to me; I know what it is, and it’s such a raw spot that I try to deal with it by pointing out someone else’s battle with the monster.  Humor helps me to take the edge off.

Greg Zarat, a father from Mission Viejo, CA, tells this story:

 “When I bought my new Lexus Sport Coupe, my two sons asked
 me who would inherit if it I met my demise. I pondered the
 question, then told them if I passed away on an even day, the
 son born on an even day would get it. If it happened on an odd
 day, the one born on the odd day would get it. 

 A few weekends later, while river rafting with one of my sons,
 I was tossed out of the boat. As I floated in the rapids, I
 heard my son yelling, ‘It’s the wrong day! It’s the wrong
 day!””

Linus and Lucy are sitting on the couch talking.

“I think there’s something you should know,” Linus says.
”What’s that?” Lucy replies.
”The world doesn’t revolved around you!”
Looking absolutely mortified, Lucy says, “You’re kidding.”

Are we surprised in this culture of self-absorption to learn from a recent survey of high school students that…

     …75 percent saw their careers as “very important”
     …Less than 25 percent said they would be willing to expend
             any effort to make their communities better places, (and)
     …Only a small minority would be willing to serve in the armed
           forces even if the country were under threat or attack.

Thomas Merton said it best:  “To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell.”

An old Flip Wilson clique said, “The devil made me do it.”  Don’t flatter yourself! It’s you babe…In all of the glory of your fallenness!

I truth is, I’d much rather talk about discouragement or Sanballat! I’m like the guy who wrote the editor of a small town newspaper. The paper published a list of the Ten Commandments without comment.  He wrote:

               “Dear Sir.  Please cancel my subscription to your newspaper.
                It’s become far too personal!”

The is much to too personal!

Selfishness shows up in a hundred ways…The work of God at the wall is stopped in one way— Nehemiah is confronted with the money issue.

November is always stewardship month at Faith, and right out of the shoot …here we are…I had no idea when I started this series.  Who’d a thunk it?

Each year I emphasize financial counselor Ron Blue’s classic definition:
   
          ”Stewardship is the use of God-given resources for the
          accomplishment of God-given goals.”  (Say that with me.)
               
Are you aware that Parker Brothers had introduced a new version of “Monopoly.” Listen:

    “If you take a ride on the Reading Railroad, you’d better bring your
     Visa. Parker Brothers’ flagship board game…doesn’t take American
     Express and it soon might not even take cash.  A new release of the
     game in Great Britain replaces Monopoly money with mock visa
     debit cards and a card reader that will add or subtract from the card
     balance. If the game sells well, Park may release it across the
     pond.”

The work of God stopped because certain people would not share in the sacrifice;  in fact, some took advantage of the situation. 

In his little book on Nehemiah, Warren Wiersbe has this comment:

       “Often when a church enters into a building program, all sorts of
        problems start to surface that people didn’t even know were there.
        A building program is a demanding time that tests our faith, our
        patience, and our priorities; and while it brings out the best in
        some people; it can often bring out the worst in others.”  (p. 62)

This crisis came just before the completion of the wall…it’s August or September…It’s harvest time!  According to 4:22, Nehemiah asked the workers to stay in Jerusalem; to continue working on the wall.  Talking about faith and sacrifice…They did it!

This created a shortage of field workers…which negatively impacted the harvest…!  Families could actually go hungry in the winter! They did it!

At harvest time, Jewish creditors showed up, requiring payment of capital and interest on loans!   The workers simply don’t have it!

There is a four-pronged crisis:

… (There’s a) food shortage— (Called “a famine” in verse 3)
…Some had grain (which they were selling to their Jewish “brothers”)
…Others, not wanting to mortgage their property, had to borrow money
    from the brothers to pay property taxes to King Artaxerses. (verse 4-
    Refers to “the King’s tax”).
 
Historians tell us that Artaxerxes was infamous for his tax system that enriched Suza, the capitol city, and impoverished the provinces. The tax rate was normally 20 percent, and at times ballooned to 40 percent.

A little boy whose family had fallen on hard times overheard his parents praying. His dad was telling the Lord that they had no money for food or anything else.  This little boy decided to write to God. He wrote:

        “Dear God,

         My daddy is out of work, my mom is sick, my little sister broke her
         arm, the rent is over due.  We have no money for food. Please
         send us $100.00 today.

He put it in an envelope, addressed it “To God In Heaven,” put a stamp on it, and dropped it in the mail.

His letter went to the dead letter office in Washington, where it was processed. An employee, intrigued by the delivery address, opened and read it.  Touched by the boy’s honesty and faith in God, he took $5.00 out of his wallet, put it in an envelope and sent it to the return address.

When the little boy got the money he wrote another letter to God. He said,

    “Dear God, Thank you for the money. But the next time, please don’t
     sent it by way of Washington, they keep 95 percent of it.”

The situation got so bad that to repay their creditors, the people had to sell their children into slavery.

Verses 1-5 read like the Wall Street Journal.  There is a strike!

 Verse 1 begins, “And there was a great outcry of the people and
      their wives against their Jewish brethren.” 

The Hebrew word rendered “outcry,” is used in Exodus 3, of the
people’s response to Egyptian oppression.

Someone said, “Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

There is something about the old nature, that when others are vulnerable, our some basic commodity is scarce, it leaps to capitalize on the situation.

Several years ago, when there was a winter shortage of auto antifreeze, one of the news programs did an interview with a guy who had bought up a warehouse of it—mountains of cases of antifreeze— and was just sitting on it, waiting for the prices to escalate.  He was obviously quite proud of his business savvy.

The Puritan who owned the only cow on the Mayflower sold milk at the inflated price of two pence a quart. He may have argued simple economics— Supply and demand.

However, the next Lord’s Day, when the topic of the sermon was  usury—the sin of charging exorbitant interest—this brother was forced to sit on a stool before the congregation as a living example!

You see it in government!
You see it in the marketplace!
You see on the playground!
    (and) in the church!

The culprits were “brethren,” a term found 5 times in the first 14 verses.

Ezra records that when a remnant returned to Jerusalem 13 years earlier, many of them were wealthy.  They are now using God-given resources for the accomplishment of their own selfish goals, profiting from the crisis!

Nehemiah approaches like timid Barney Fife, right?  “Guys, if it’s okay with you…”   Verse 6— (Read 6-7a)

There are times when it’s a sin not be get angry!  I’m afraid we have given the kids a picture of a insipid, cowardly Christianity that’s more like Mr. Rogers than Jesus!

Nehemiah is not a politician who asks, “Is it popular?”  He isn’t a diplomat who asks, “Is it safe?”  He is a leader who asks, “Is it right?”

As they say in the country, he as mad “as a wet hen.”  Not only at the blatant selfishness, but at the disease of disunity, and thrashing of community it had ignited!  Satan works to divide! Let’s get mad at things that threat our unity! 

But he didn’t walk through town with his AK-47 blazing!  “After serious thought…”  The Hebrew text says, “my heart consulted with me.” He knew the importance of timing and emotional control, and balance.  A good thing done in a bad way is a bad thing.

He makes three accusations:

1. “You are charging interest to fellow Jews.”  That’s wrong! (Verse 7)

2. “You are enforcing the permanent slavery of brothers (Jews). That’s
     wrong! (Verse

3. You are losing your distinctiveness in the eyes of the surrounding
    nations. That’s tragic!  (Verse 9)

I have a friend who is witnessing to a guy at work.  He said recently,  “My friend is interested, but says he doesn’t know if this Christianity bit is real.” 

How is he going to know?  Sunday sermons won’t do it. 

Steve Brown tells about a church in Orlando where each member signs this code of conduct:

          “I will not drink, but if I do I won’t get drunk. But if I do, I will not be
           drunk in public. But if I do, I will not pass out.  But if I do, I will fall face
           down so my name tag won’t show.”

If you are a Christian, it’s more than a name tag. 

In verse 10, Nehemiah puts his testimony on the line.  He says, “I am loaning money and grain, but I am not taking advantage.” Write “MA” beside that verse— It stands for “moral authority.”

What we are witnessing is the application of OT discipline; Nehemiah’s process is very similar to NT principles of Church Discipline.  In verse 7a, there is private accountability, and without waiting for a response, he calls a public meeting, “I called a great assembly against them.” 

”That doesn’t seem fair.  Maybe they will repent; he seems quick on the trigger to me.”  Repent or not, it’s got to be public.  Do you know why? The sin is public.   Everybody knew what was happening.

The principle:  Private sin is to be dealt with privately; public sin is to be dealt with publicly.

He says in verse 11—“Restore now to them…”—  Get this right!

Verse 12 is a drum roll moment in the building of the wall and the history of the nation.  Humanly speaking, the work of God depended upon their response. 

*Will they respond from wounded pride?   “Well, we’ll just move to 
      another city where people mind their business.” “Honey, let’s
      hold our tithe until we see how this is going to pan out.”

*Will they try to intimidate the leader? “Who died and left you boss
     anyway?  You don’t have any faults, uh?”

Ah, look at their response—Verse 12— “So they said, ‘We will restore it; and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

“And Nehemiah said, ‘Gee whiz guys! That’s nice of you—Everybody back to the wall…” Right?  Wrong!  He calls the priests foreword and did the strangest thing…he grabbed the corner of his coat and shook it in front of them!  

”He has snapped; he’s gone off the deep end…to much stress I guess. Somebody call 911.”  What is this?

I’m pointing out Four Timeless Principles.

1. God is pleased when we handle our money wisely.

    Jesus says that Christian giving is THE barometer of our love for
    Him.

2. Prolonged Personal Sins Take A Heavy Toll On God’s Work In Your
    Life.

    It’s like a slow poison, that eats away the core of your integrity,
    your confidence, your testimony, your effectiveness, your emotional and
    spiritual health.

3. Correcting Any Problem Begins By Facing It Head-On.

Most of us are pros at avoiding the truth.   Because it’s painful to confront sin in our lives, it’s easier to dodge it.

What does it mean to “face it head on?” Let at the text.

  A. V10— Confronting sin means determining to stop it.

              “let us leave off this usuary (the interest.”

  B. Make specific plans to correct the situation as quickly as possible—
      V11

  C. Declare Your Plans For Correction In A Promise Before God—V12

           Nehemiah called on the priests to witness

  D. Realize The Serious Nature Of Your Vow To God—V13

       That’s what the coat-shaking deal is about.  One writer says, “Such
       gestures were thought to empower a person’s words and the
       assure that God would enforce the pronouncement.”

       God says, “If you fall back into this…God is going to shake you like
       this…”

4. Correction Is Carried Out Most Effectively When You Make A
    Promise In A Context Of Accountability—Verse 13    This vow was made in the presence of others; private decisions are
       easily forgotten.      This vow was made in the presence of others; private decisions are       easily forgotten.  A small community in northeastern PA built a little red brick building that was to house their…

    This vow was made in the presence of others; private decisions are       easily forgotten.   in northeastern PA built a little red brick building that was to house their……police department,
…fire department,
…(and)city hall.

They couldn’t have been prouder of their new facility; it was a result of sacrificial giving and careful planning.

There were more than 6,000 people were there—nearly all of the town’s residents—at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, It was the biggest event of the year!

Within less than two months, however, they began to notice ominous cracks on the side of the building, snaking down through the new brick. 

…Then, someone noticed that the windows weren’t closing all the way.

…Then the doors jammed. 

…Eventually, the floor shifted forming ugly gaps in the floor covering and
    corners.

…The roof began to leak.

Within a few months, the town showplace had to be evacuated, to the embarrassment of the builder, and the disgust of the taxpayers.

An outside firm was contacted; an analysis found that the blasts from a nearby coal mine were slowly but effectively destroying the building.

Imperceptibly, down beneath the foundation, there were small shifts and changes taking place that caused the whole foundation to crack. You couldn’t feel it or even see it from the surface, but quietly and down deep there was a weakening.

A city official finally placed a sign across the door of the building:  “Condemned: Not Fit For Public Use.”  Ultimately, the building had to be demolished.

If only the below-the-surface, subtle shaking had been detected, the building would not have been built there at all!

Nehemiah missed the imperceptible shaking caused by selfishness, but once it was detected, he took swift, effective steps to avoid tragedy.

I don’t need to spell out the personal application of the story.  Small things, imperceptible at first, have the power to topple…

…your integrity,
…your testimony,
…and your effectiveness of your service for the Lord.

The Jews repented and the people affirmed them with a hearty, collective “Amen.”  In the OT it is an expression of worship, associated with praise to God!   

May God help us—He is helping us—to be an affirming fellowship.  When one of the brethren is caught in the snare of the flesh and the evil one, may we continue to rush…

 …to rescue,
…to love,
…forgive,
…to restore,

and to shout the praises of God, because we, too, have tasted his amazing grace.

And all God’s people said, “Amen.”