BACKGROUND:
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and other enemies heard that the wall was completed and that the only thing remaining was to set the doors in the gates, those “wall opponents” again attempted to halt the work. This time they were more subtle; their sole object of attack was Nehemiah himself. By removing him from the scene or by at least destroying his credibility with the Jews, they reasoned that they might be able to defeat the work. Each of their three attacks on him was different, but each was designed to take his life or discredit his effectiveness as a leader.
This first attack was more subtle than the others. Sanballat and Geshem invited Nehemiah to meet with them in one of the villages on the plain of Ono. The plain of Ono was named after the town of that name. It was near Lod about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem, about 6 miles southeast of Joppa. As seen on the map “Postexilic Samaria and Judah,” near Ezra 2, Ono was near the border of Samaria, Sanballat’s home province. On the surface it appeared that Sanballat and his cohorts wanted to have a peace conference, but their hidden motive was to harm Nehemiah.
Nehemiah suspected foul play. Why would they want him a day’s journey away from Jerusalem? Then he could not oversee the work, and by outnumbering him they might do him harm. Though he could not prove his enemies’ motives at the moment, he chose a method that would eventually demonstrate whether they were sincere. He simply sent messengers to tell them he was involved in a great (important) project and could not leave it unsupervised. By responding in this way Nehemiah was not openly questioning their motives. In fact he was giving them an opportunity to prove their motives were sincere, if they had really wanted to make peace.
Sanballat and Geshem’s response tipped their hand. Rather than countering with an offer to meet with Nehemiah in Jerusalem, four times they sent... the same message and Nehemiah responded four times with his same refusal.Nehemiah could have impatiently attacked their motives on their third or fourth request. But he patiently waited it out till they revealed their motives. And this they did with their fifth response, which involved their second scheme.
When Nehemiah’s enemies realized he would not leave Jerusalem and meet with them, they tried another tactic. They put pressure on him, trying to force him to meet with them in the plain of Ono. Sanballat sent his servant to Nehemiah with an unsealed letter. The letter reported an alleged rumor that Nehemiah was trying to set himself up as the king of the Jews, which in turn would be a threat to Artaxerxes (the king).
This letter was insidious in several ways. First, the letter made it seem as if they had Nehemiah’s welfare at heart. The letter implied that their reason for conferring with him was to protect him.
Second, and more basic to their motive, they were attempting to get Nehemiah to respond out of fear, Third, the letter may have contained an element of truth. Possibly some well-meaning religious leader in Judah had interpreted Nehemiah’s presence as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah-King.
Nehemiah’s bold response demonstrated his trust in God. He outrightly denied the accusation. He told his fellow workers that the letter was designed to frighten them into thinking their wall-building would bring Artaxerxes’ wrath down on them. Then, as Nehemiah regularly did, he prayed, this time asking God for strength.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
The quickest way to stop a movement is to knock off the leader. That’s what’s happening here in Nehemiah! His enemies are doing things here to stop his leadership. Jesus talks about when the shepherd is removed, the flock scatters. That's true today in our churches. When Satan wants to cripple a church, he takes on the leadership. Not just the pastor and those ministers, but the church leadership -- the lay leadership. You need to realize that if you want to be a leader, some people aren't going to like you. And they're going to attack you. Some people are going to try to make you fail. How you handle those attacks, those personal attacks, determines what kind of leader you're going to be.
One of the basic lessons of Nehemiah is that leadership is essential for any project. With the right leadership they were able to accomplish in 52 days what for 90+ years people had been saying, "It can't be done!" When you get the right catalyst, things go into action. What kind of person does it take to pull off a major project? What kind of person does it take to accomplish the impossible? Two things. What do you need, as a leader, to succeed in the face of overwhelming odds against you?
#1. A compelling life purpose.
This is the very first element of leadership. A cause. A vision. A dream. An objective. A goal. It's something that pulls you towards that goal. It doesn't drive you, it draws you. You have to have a compelling purpose.
That's why, when they came back in v. 3, and said "Nehemiah, we want you to leave the wall and come out and have a little party with us. You've been working on the wall too long. Come talk to us, Nehemiah." Nehemiah said, "I am carrying on a great project." Nehemiah was very single minded. That was one of the characteristics why they were able to accomplish the impossible in 52 days. He said I'm going to do this. I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to keep the main thing the main thing. I'm carrying on a great project.
Is there any great project -- an overall compelling purpose -- in your life? What motivates you to get out of bed everyday? Besides making money. What motivates you to live the rest of your life? What motivates you to keep on going?
Until you have a compelling purpose for your life, you're just existing. Nehemiah said, I have a great project! Another way to think about this sublject is to ask yourself the question - What are you exchanging your life for? Jesus said, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" When you give your time for something, you're giving your life. That's what life is made up of -- your time.
We tend to think that the most important thing we can give people is our money. But money can be replaced. But when you give people your time, that's irreplaceable. The mark of a great leader is first of all, to have a compelling purpose -- an over arching goal in life that motivates me to keep going. Paul says, "Love compels me to keep going."
Leadership Law: Great lives are produced by a commitment to a great cause. Great people are just ordinary people who have made a great commitment to a great cause. That cause draws them out of themselves and makes them more than they could be on their own. You need a compelling purpose for life.
I submit to you, that the most compelling purpose in life, the greatest cause that you can give your life for is the kingdom of God. There's nothing greater that you can invest your life in. That's going to last for eternity. Most of what we invest our life in won't last 20 years much less for a thousand years. I challenge you to say, whether you have 5 years left or 50 years left, you'll invest it in the kingdom of God.
If you want to be a great Christian, make your life count, have a compelling purpose invest your life in five things: loving God, loving people, going and making disciples, getting plugged into a local church, helping people come to know Christ and to grow in Christ. (Matthew 28:16-20) There is no greater cause than that.
CHARACTERISTIC #2. A consistent prayer life
Nehemiah was a prayer-addict. His first response to everything was pray. No matter what happened, he first prayed. That's the number one thing you do when you're slandered. #1 thing you do when you are afraid, when you are up against it, #1 thing you do when you start the day. A few years ago, Sharon read a book called “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” In there, the author, who is also the pastor at Brooklyn Tabernackle church in New York – Jim Cybalia - says, that a church that prays is a church that can change the world.
Luke 18:1 says, "Jesus told his disciples that they should always pray and not give up." Circle "pray" and "not give up". In your life you're always doing one or the other. You'll either pray or you'll give up. When the heat is on, when the pressure is on, you'll either pray or you'll panic. You need a continual prayer life if you’re going to be difference maker. Evaluate your self this morning.
You need a compelling purpose that is so over arching in your life, that you're not distracted by the trivial. The game "Trivial Pursuit" describes a lot of people's lives. If you would go back and do an analysis of your life, in what area is Satan trying to sidetrack you from the best? Satan will often use good things to keep you from the best.
What is it that's taking up your time in life so that you don't have time for the things that are really important in life? What things are important? Loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. Worship and ministry. If you're too busy to worship, too busy to have a quiet time -- you're too busy. Evaluate yourself right now. What is the compelling lifer purpose for you? Is that what God wants?
Evaluate your prayer life. How consistent is it? How continual is it? Do you pray or panic? One of the great lessons of this entire book is everything rises and falls on leadership. Our church -- every church - needs leaders desperately. I challenge you to commit yourself to become a leader at COV. "I'm not going to set on the sidelines. I don't know what I can do, but I'll do what I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today. Lord, I'm willing to follow you anywhere, any time, any place and do any thing you ask. I may not have a lot. I may have only one talent, not fifty, or fifteen or even five, but I want to use that one talent for Jesus' sake." There is no greater purpose in life than God's kingdom. I challenge you to say, "Whether I have a day left, a week left, or a year left -- however much time You give me -- I want to make a great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission." If you'll commit yourself to those two verses, doing what they say, you'll be a great Christian. Great people are just ordinary people who make a great commitment to a great cause.
Lord, I pray today that You would raise up a generation of Nehemiah's here at COV, people who are leaders, godly leaders, who have a compelling purpose -- the kingdom of God -- who have a clear perspective on what's really important in life, a continual prayer and courageous persistence. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
I love you guys. Stay FAithful. Stay the course.
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