Nehemiah: Opposition by Nigel Ring

It was 600years before Jesus was born. The Jewish people were told that if they were obedient, God would bless them. They were held captive for 60 years by Babylonians, then taken by the Persians to Susa. 90 years later in the Book of Nehemiah, the story starts. Sin kept them captive for 150 years. Susa, in modern days is Iran. Nehemiah grew up in Susa and he was the cup bearer. He was trusted by the king. The seed of building the walls sat in him and grew and grew. The King asked him why he was so sad. He prayed and then responded to the King that he would like to go and rebuild the City Walls. 10 years before, sanballat and Tobiah had got Artexexes to reverse the original refusal to build anything – reverse his will. The King changed his mind and asked what can I do for you. Nehemiah asked for letters of passage and timber from the forestry’s. A few weeks later he arrives and tells no one that he is there. He goes to investigate the city wall. He comes back and calls the leader of the city and shares his plan. You can feel as he shares with them and the response is not positive. They changed their minds and said God is with us. There were about 30,000 people living in Jerusalem: carpenters, builders, gold workers, perfume makers and so on. The wall was 6m high and maybe 8m wide. The wall was about 1.5km long. Nehemiah 3:5 The Nobles would not stoop to serve the Lord. Nehemiah said take no notice of them and they defended the wall. They did not take off their clothes and they worked and guarded the wall. Nehemiah taught them. He led by example. Get involved with the people. Good leadership is leading by example. The Nobles had no story’s to tell because they were too proud to take part. To rebuild the city was much more than walls. A church is more than the building. It’s the people. Establish the people of God. He choses to forget our sins when we repent. If we are too proud, we remain in bondage. They never fully entered in because of pride. How long did it take 52days = 7½ weeks. Crossroads is a unique church. God has a purpose for this church. There are gifts and skills God wants to use if you have a heart to be involved. The church is to be salt and light – 24/7, the leaders are to do so, with all their hearts. Do not be like the Nobles - being proud. Give yourself completely to God.