# Nehemiah - A Man Who Builds in Difficult Circumstances



## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

Nehemiah 6:1-2, *"Now it came to pass, when Sanbalat, and Tobiah, and  Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had  built the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at  that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates). That Sanbalat and  Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of  the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief." 
*
The walls were finished, the breaches filled, and the frames of all of  Jerusalem's gates were repaired and ready for service. The work was  nearly done, but the time for rejoicing was not yet. A wall nearly  finished is still a wall that's not finished. 

When the work began on the wall, it was Sanbalat's mind games that were  Israel's enemy. Then, when the walls were half height with breaches  still in them, the attacks took on the form of physical threats. 

Nehemiah started to build when there was no wall at all: just the  wreckage of a ruined life, under the bondage of the enemy. Then the wall  comes up, but it's not secure yet. Then finally the wall is built.  There is now a defense against the enemy's attacks. Now Sanbalat has to  find a new tactic to come against them. 

What can Sanbalat bring against them now to bring down their walls? 

Jesus gives us the answer to this question in Matthew 13:22 when He said  that the heart defences can be overcome by,* "the cares of this world*, .  . ." . 

Once the wall is finished, a frontal attack won't work. If there are no  breaches in the wall for the enemy to sneak in, where does he go from  there? If his army is not powerful enough to overcome your defenses and  the enemy cannot enter because of the strong walls then how can he  possible bring you down? 

The answer is very simple. He will try to get you to come out to him! If  Sanbalat deceptions could lure Nehemiah out from behind his secure  walls and set up a meeting with Geshem (the world) in the plain of Ono,  then the battle could still be won and the rebuilding of God's city  would cease. 

The Valley of Ono has a special meaning -- that word -Ono - meaning is  "grief or strength or iniquity of him". In that Valley of Ono was  Sanbalat's strength found. 

We have witnessed many walls of salvation torn down by Geshem and his  deception in the Valley of Ono. Several worldly compromisers have gone  down into that valley and never came out again. They cast aside the  fact that they are there at the invitation of the enemy. Let us never  forget to realize what Nehemiah saw in this invitation. He knew that it  was all nothing more than a trap to draw him out where he could be  defeated. 

In Nehemiah 6:3 he sent his answer back, _*"And I sent messengers unto  them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why  should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" *_

To sad that many don't see the ploy of the enemy today. More and more  people are coming down off the wall to meet Geshem in the Valley of Ono  where he can finally defeat them. *Playing with the world is a very  dangerous game and one that few, if any, can win. 
*
Matthew 6:24 says, *"No man can serve two masters: for either he will  hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and  despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." *


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## MrsHaseeb (Mar 5, 2013)

The Lord Jesus bless you Nice & Wavy. This story reminds me of Balak calling Balaam to curse God's people. He kept taking him to the high places of Baal to see what angle he could use to defeat them because they couldn't be defeated unless they got out of the will of God by sinning. The devil operates on legal ground. He waits and watches and seeks an opportunity to get us out of the will of God so he can defeat us. I pray that we will all have on the full armor of God that we may withstand his wiles and devices in Jesus name.

**I need to study Nehemiah again


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## Shimmie (Mar 5, 2013)

Love this... I really love this!

Nehemiah's enemies even went to the king and tried to convince him that Nehemiah was 'offending the king by building the wall.   

YET...

The king sent a letter to Nehemiah by 'special messenger' and said these words:

'Continue'



:woohoo2:   :woohoo2:   :woohoo2:


Whatever it is that God has called you to do, whatever the enemy is doing to threaten you / to stop / to hinder/ to strike fear into you. 

God SAYS...


CONTINUE!

For God is with you and will never leave you nor forsake you.  He will be with you always, to see you 'finishi the work' and move on to the next step of glory and faith.


Continue!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

MrsHaseeb said:


> The Lord Jesus bless you Nice & Wavy. This story reminds me of Balak calling Balaam to curse God's people. He kept taking him to the high places of Baal to see what angle he could use to defeat them because they couldn't be defeated unless they got out of the will of God by sinning. The devil operates on legal ground. He waits and watches and seeks an opportunity to get us out of the will of God so he can defeat us. I pray that we will all have on the full armor of God that we may withstand his wiles and devices in Jesus name.
> 
> **I need to study Nehemiah again


The Lord bless you, sis 

The Lord has had me in Nehemiah for 2 months now.  I'm just getting to chapter 8....he won't let me read to fast.  I'm learning so much more about building in difficult circumstances.

This is such an awesome book!!!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> Love this... I really love this!
> 
> Nehemiah's enemies even went to the king and tried to convince him that Nehemiah was 'offending the king by building the wall.
> 
> ...


Amen, sis....I receive this word!!!  CONTINUE!!!!!!  Hallelujah!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

I found this website and he explains this very well.

http://www.raystedman.org/bible-overview/adventuring/nehemiah-rebuilding-the-walls
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For a long, long time the only thing I knew about Nehemiah was that  he was supposed to be the shortest man in the Bible -- through a  wretched pun on his name, "knee-high-miah." I am glad to have discovered  a great deal more about this man in the intervening years and I trust  you have too. He is one of the great characters of the Old Testament,  but perhaps not as well known as some others.

 Ezra and Nehemiah are one book in the Hebrew Bible, for they are part  of the same story. In fact, the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther all  come out of the same general period of Israel's history. They appear in  our Bible in reverse order of the chronological order in which they  took place. In other words, Esther actually happened when God first  began to move in the midst of Israel's captivity to return this nation  to the land. That was soon after the halfway mark of the seventy years  that Jeremiah had predicted the captivity would last. God raised Esther,  a young Jewish maiden, to the throne of Persia as queen. It was her  husband, King Ahasuerus of Persia, who is the Artaxerxes of the opening  chapters of Nehemiah. This heathen king gave the command for Nehemiah to  return to Jerusalem to build up the walls of the city. Perhaps that  accounts for a very interesting parenthesis that appears in this book in  chapter 2, verse 6, when Nehemiah went to the king: "And the king said  to me (the queen sitting beside him)." That queen, I believe, was Queen  Esther, the Jewish maiden who had been raised to this prominent position  by the grace of God.

  Neither Artaxerxes nor Ahasuerus are the names of this king. That is  what is so confusing. These are really titles. Artaxerxes means "the  great king" and Ahasuerus means "the venerable father." These were not  the king's given names. It may or may not be helpful to know that this  Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus are also Darius the Mede of the book of Daniel.  And then, to add to the confusion, Artaxerxes in the book of Nehemiah  is not the same Artaxerxes as in the book of Ezra. Now do I have you  thoroughly confused?

 At any rate, in the history of these people, Esther -- as an  instrument of God's grace -- was sent to the throne of Persia and so  moved the heart of her husband, the king, that he allowed Nehemiah, his  cupbearer, to return to Jerusalem. Nehemiah began the work of rebuilding  the city of Jerusalem. Some twenty-five years later, Zerubbabel  returned with about fifty thousand of the captives from Babylon, as is  recorded in the book of Ezra.

 God has reversed this order in scripture. Instead of Esther,  Nehemiah, and Ezra, these books are turned around and we have Ezra,  Nehemiah, and Esther. Scripture is never concerned simply with  chronology. It is concerned with the teaching of each book. In these  three books we have the story of the way out of captivity, back to God.  The book of Ezra begins with the building of the temple. The restoration  of the house of God is always the first thing in the way back to God.  Then comes the building of the walls, as we will see in the book of  Nehemiah. filling the need for security and strength. Finally, the book  of Esther comes as the revelation of the purpose of all this in the life  of any individual. That gives you a quick survey of these three books.

 The book of Nehemiah falls into two divisions. The first six chapters  cover the reconstruction of the wall, while chapters through 13 deal  with the reinstruction of the people. With those two you have the whole  book. Now what does a wall symbolize? One of the most famous landmarks  in the world today is the Berlin wall, dividing the city in two.  Ordinarily, though, a wall symbolizes strength and protection. In  ancient cities the only real means of defense were the walls. Sometimes  these walls were tremendously thick and high. The walls of the city of  Babylon, as recounted in the story of Daniel, were some 380 feet thick  and over 100 feet high -- massive, tremendous walls. Therefore, the city  of Babylon considered itself very safe.

Continues.........


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

What does it mean, then, to rebuild the walls of your life? Nehemiah  is the account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. And  Jerusalem is a symbol of the city of God, God's dwelling place and the  center of life for the world. In an individual life, then, the  rebuilding of the walls would be a picture of re-establishing the  strength of that life. We have all met people whose defenses have  crumbled away. They have become human derelicts, drifting up and down  the streets of our large cities, absolutely hopeless and helpless. But  God in grace frequently reaches down and gets some of those people and  brings them out to rebuild the walls. This is the picture of the way the  walls of any life, of any local church, of any community, of any  nation, can be rebuilt into strength and power and purpose again.

  The first step in this process is given in chapter 1, verse 4. It begins with a concern about the ruins. Nehemiah says:When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days;  and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah  1:4 RSV)​*You will never build the walls of your life until you have first  become greatly concerned about the ruins.* Have you ever taken a good  look at the ruins in your own life? Have you ever stopped long enough to  assess what you could be under God, and compared that with what you  are? Have you looked at the possibilities that God gave you in your  life, and seen how far you have deviated from that potential? Like  Nehemiah, you have received word, in some form or other, of the  desolation and ruin there. When Nehemiah hears this report about  Jerusalem, he weeps and prays for days, showing his intense concern. *You  will never rebuild the walls of your life until you first weep over the  ruins.*

 This is followed by confession. In chapter 1 is Nehemiah's wonderful  prayer as he confesses that the nation has forsaken God, and  acknowledges the justice of God's dealing with them. That is followed  immediately by commitment. Look at verse 11 of chapter 1. He says:"O Lord, let thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and  to the prayer of thy servants who delight to fear thy name; and give  success to thy servant today," (Nehemiah 1:11a RSV)​To do what? You see, this man has a plan forming in his mind, even  while he has been in prayer, of how to go about rebuilding the walls. He  has something definite he wants to ask. He says:"...and grant him[Nehemiah] mercy in the sight of this man." (Nehemiah 1:11b RSV)​What man? Well you have it in the next verse:Now I was cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1:11c RSV)​So here is a man who, out of his concern, and after the confession of  his heart, commits himself to a project. He asks God to begin moving in  the king's heart. *Now this is always how any return to the grace of God  must begin. We get concerned. Then we confess. Then we commit ourselves  to action and ask God also to act in our behalf, for invariably in an  enterprise like this there are factors over which we have no control,  and God must arrange them.*

Continues......


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

At a men's conference some time ago, a man told how in the early days  of his Christian experience someone had encouraged him to pray about  the things that happen on his job, in his relationships with his boss  and with his fellow employees. He said, "I didn't think praying was the  right thing to do at first. But I tried it and I saw that it worked. You  know. I thought it was quite an unfair advantage over those poor  heathen. but it worked so well that I could see that God had provided  prayer for us." Nehemiah is well aware of this -- God must move in the  areas where Nehemiah cannot. so Nehemiah prays about going to the king.  When he appears before the king, the king notes the sadness of  Nehemiah's face and asks what he wants. Since this is the very king  whose wife is Queen Esther. He already has a great concern and knowledge  of the Jews' problems. He is responsive to Nehemiah's plea for  permission to return to Jerusalem.

 The next necessary step in the program of reconstruction is courage. In verse 9 of chapter 2 we read:Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and  gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of  the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the  servant, the Ammonite... (Nehemiah 2:9-10a RSV)​*Do you recognize these names? Whenever you read of Ammonites,  Amorites, Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Perizzites, or any of the  other "ites," you have a picture of the enemy of God -- the flesh. This  satanic agency within man inevitably resists the work and the will and  the ways of God. *Here you have this same enmity; when the enemies of God...heard this, it displeased them greatly that some one had come to  seek the welfare of the children of Israel. (Nehemiah 2:10b RSV)

*Immediately courage is needed. Whenever a man like Nehemiah says, "I  will arise and build," Satan always says, "Then I will arise and  oppose." Satan makes things difficult when we start turning back to God.*  We see, also, the need for caution. When Nehemiah comes back to  Jerusalem and rides about the city at night he doesn't just start  putting bricks on top of one another. He doesn't rush out and get all  the people excited to build the walls. If he does, he would fall into  the trap of his enemies. The first thing he does is arise at night when  no one else knows, ride around the walls of the city, and survey the  ruins. He takes note of exactly what needs to be done. He makes an  honest survey of the facts. Then he begins to lay his plans. *These three  principles of reconstruction -- a display of concern, confession and  commitment, and courage with caution -- are basic to rebuilding.*

 In chapter 3 we learn how he went about this task of reconstruction.  If the walls of your life are broken down -- if your defenses have  crumbled so that the enemy is getting at you on every hand, and you  easily fall prey to temptation -- I suggest you pay special heed to the  process of reconstruction set forth in the book of Nehemiah. We learn,  first of all, that the people were willing to work; second, that they  became involved and immediately started doing something. Nehemiah, in  the wisdom that God gave him, set each of them to work building whatever  part of the wall was nearest to each of their own houses so that they  were personally involved in the work. The rest of the chapter describes  how they went about building. It all centered on the ten gates of the  city of Jerusalem. The people would be assigned a certain portion of the  wall defined by the gates that gave access to the city. As you read  through this chapter, you will find the names of these gates; the Hebrew  names have great significance. I would like to quickly describe these  for your own edification, and we can draw the lesson from each at the  same time.

Continues......


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

*First of all is the Sheep Gate*. This is the gate through which the  sheep were brought into the city to be sacrificed at the altar. The  Sheep Gate, of course, signifies the Lamb of God, whose blood was shed  on the cross for us, and, therefore, it reveals the principle of the  cross. That is always the starting place for strength in you life. You  have to recognize the principle of the cross -- the fact that God will  be moving in your life to utterly cancel out your own ego, your own  plans, and your own self-interest. The cross is that instrument in God's  program that puts the ego to death. That is where we must begin  building for strength.

*The account then moves to the Fish Gate.* Now what does the name "Fish  Gate" suggest to you? Do you remember how the Lord Jesus said to his  disciples, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men"? (Mark  1:17) This suggests the witness of a Christian. Has that gate broken  down in your life? Has the wall around the Fish Gate crumbled? If so,  this gate for defense, and its wall, need to be rebuilt again, for the  Lord Jesus said that every Christian is to be a witness for him. If this  wall is broken down, you will find that through this the enemy will  enter again and again. If you can never say a word for Christ, if there  is never any witness in your life, then this wall is broken and the Fish  Gate needs to be built again.

*The next gate is the Old Gate*. You will find it in verse six. What  does this gate symbolize? Well, I suggest that it represents truth. In  many Christians' lives this gate is broken down -- they are no longer  resting upon truth. *Truth is always old, and it is upon old things that  everything new must rest.* Somebody has well said, "Whatever is true is  not new, and whatever is new is not true." T*hese are the days when the  old truth is being forsaken. Men are rapidly throwing away what the  church has stood for. They are saying that we don't need these things  anymore. But if we allow this old truth to go, we find that the wall  crumbles and the enemies outside gain access to our soul. Truth will  never change. It was true when it was uttered. It was also true a  hundred thousand years before it was uttered. And it will be true a  hundred thousand years from now.
*
 I often think of a story about the fellow who one day went to visit  an old musician. He knocked on the musician's door and said. "What's the  good word for today?" The old musician didn't say a word. He turned  around and went back across the room to where a tuning fork was hanging.  He took a hammer and struck the tuning fork so that the note resounded  through the room.

 Then the musician said, "That, my friend, is 'A'. It was 'A'  yesterday. It was 'A' five thousand years ago and it will be 'A' five  thousand years from now." Then he added, "The tenor across the hall  sings off-key. The soprano upstairs is flat on her high notes. And the  piano in the next room is out of tune." He struck the tuning fork again  and said, "That is 'A' and that, my friend, is the good word for today."  _*That is truth. Truth is always the same. It never changes. We need to  rebuild the old gates of truth.
*_
*The next gate is the Dung Gate* – the place through which all the  refuse of the city was carried; all the rubbish, all the filth was  carried. It was taken out through the Dung Gate. *And my friend, if you  do not have a dung gate in your life, you’re in bad shape because all  the refuse in your life is accumulated and it will make you smell to  high heaven in the sight of God and man. And if this gate is broken down  so none of the rubbish can be cleansed away, this needs to be repaired.*

*The next gate is the Valley Gate*, and you can see immediately what it  suggests. It is the place of humility, isn't it? It is the place of  lowliness of mind and humbleness of heart. God has said in every page of  Scripture that he is against the pride of men. He looks for the lowly,  the humble, the contrite, and those who have learned that they are not  indispensable. They have learned to have a low opinion of themselves but  a high opinion of their God. It is this attitude that he seeks. This  Valley Gate often needs to be repaired.

*The Fountain Gate* is next. That name reminds us instantly of the  words of the Lord Jesus to the woman at the well, "The water that I  shall give [YOU] will become in [you] a spring of water a fountain]  welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) It speaks of the Holy Spirit,  which is the river of life in us -- the flowing of the Spirit of God in  our lives, to enable us to obey his will and his word.

Continues......


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## Shimmie (Mar 5, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> Amen, sis....I receive this word!!!  CONTINUE!!!!!!  Hallelujah!



Life and Fertility to your Ministry ....flows

Continuously!...

You are auto-continuous!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

*This is followed by the Water Gate*. Water is always a symbol of the Word of God. The interesting thing about this Water Gate (as opposed to  the one in our nation's capitol) is that it did not need to be repaired.  Evidently it was the only part of the wall that was still standing. It  mentions the people who lived by it, but it doesn't mention its needing  repair. *The word of God never breaks down. It doesn't need to be  repaired. It simply needs to be re-inhabited.*

*Then comes the East Gate*. The East Gate faced the rising sun, and is  the gate of hope. It is the gate of anticipation of what is yet to come  when all the trials of life and all the struggles of earth will end and  the glorious new sun will rise on the new day of God. _*This gate needs to  be rebuilt in many of us who fall under the pessimistic spirit of this  age and are crushed by the hopelessness of our time.*_

*Next is the Horse Gate.* The horse in scripture is a symbol of warfare  or, in this case, the need to do battle against the forces of darkness.  "We are not contending against flesh and blood," the apostle says, "but  against the principalities, against the powers...the spiritual hosts of  wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) This is the  battle!

*The ninth gate is the Muster Gate or, literally, the "examination  gate."* This was evidently the place where judgment was conducted. *We  need to sit and take a look at ourselves every now and then -- to stop  and re-evaluate what we are doing.*

 That brings us around again in the last part of the chapter to the  Sheep Gate,* the gate of the cross*. The cross must be at the beginning  and the end of every life. Now, in this beautiful way, the book of  Nehemiah is teaching us what needs to be done to strengthen the walls in  our lives.
 The next chapters, four through six, cover the persecution that arose  from building the city walls. As I have already suggested, when you  start to rebuild the strength of your life you will find that a force  immediately arouses itself, both within yourself and outside yourself,  and that resists God's work in your life with every influence that can  be used against you. The persecution revealed here can be summarized in  three words -- contempt, conspiracy, and cunning. The enemies tried to  mock or heap contempt on what God was doing. When they failed, they  attempted a conspiracy. They tried to involve the Israelites in a plot  that would overthrow this work. When that failed, they tried to call  Nehemiah away from his work by a very cunning scheme. But when you come  to chapter 6, verse 15, you read this wonderful sentence:So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6:15 RSV)​An amazing record!

 In the latter part of the book, chapters 7 through 13, is the story  of re-instruction. This is the way to retain strength once it is rebuilt.  In chapter 8 we have the great calling together of the people by Ezra  the priest that is recorded also in the book of Ezra. Notice the steps  here. It began with the reading of the law, chapter 8, verses 5 and 6:And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people[*this is the  way to preach*] for he was above all the people; and when he opened it  all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all  the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands; and they  bowed the their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the  ground. (Nehemiah 8:5-6 RSV)​And verse 8:And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they  gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8  RSV)​*This is nothing more or less than expository preaching. This was the  first means of retaining the strength represented by the walls.*

Continues......


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## Shimmie (Mar 5, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> *First of all is the Sheep Gate*. This is the gate through which the  sheep were brought into the city to be sacrificed at the altar. The  Sheep Gate, of course, signifies the Lamb of God, whose blood was shed  on the cross for us, and, therefore, it reveals the principle of the  cross. That is always the starting place for strength in you life. You  have to recognize the principle of the cross -- the fact that God will  be moving in your life to utterly cancel out your own ego, your own  plans, and your own self-interest. The cross is that instrument in God's  program that puts the ego to death. That is where we must begin  building for strength.
> 
> *The account then moves to the Fish Gate.* Now what does the name "Fish  Gate" suggest to you? Do you remember how the Lord Jesus said to his  disciples, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men"? (Mark  1:17) This suggests the witness of a Christian. Has that gate broken  down in your life? Has the wall around the Fish Gate crumbled? If so,  this gate for defense, and its wall, need to be rebuilt again, for the  Lord Jesus said that every Christian is to be a witness for him. If this  wall is broken down, you will find that through this the enemy will  enter again and again. If you can never say a word for Christ, if there  is never any witness in your life, then this wall is broken and the Fish  Gate needs to be built again.
> 
> ...



Oh My Goodness, Sis.  

I'm loving these 'GATES'.    

This messsage really ministers... thank you so much for 'sharing' this.

Continue!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

After this, the people celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacles, when  Israel dwelt in booths made of tree boughs to remind them that they were  simply strangers and pilgrims on earth. Next was the remembrance of the  lessons of the past. In chapter 9 you have Ezra's tremendous prayer,  when he recounted what God had done in the life of this people. *It is  always good to stop and remember what God has taught you in the past.  That is always a sure way to preserve the strength that God gives you. * Following this prayer, the people signed a covenant and agreed that they  would do what the law demanded. *They covenanted; they resolved that  they would take the step of obedience*. I can tell you out of my own  experience as well that you will never be able to retain the strength  that God gives you until you are ready to be obedient to what he says.  You must obey him whenever you hear and know what he wants.

*In the eleventh chapter is the recognition of gifts among the people.  There are the Levites, the gate keepers, the singers, and various  others who ministered in the temple. Similarly, in the New Testament we  are told to discover the gifts that the Spirit has given us and to put  them to work. "Rekindle the gift of God that is within you," Paul wrote  to Timothy. (2 Timothy 1:6) If you want to retain your strength, start  using what God has given you.*

 Then, in chapter 12. in the dedication of the walls, the people  gathered and marched around them with instruments, singing and shouting,  playing and rejoicing, and crying out with great joy. *There is nothing  that will add more to your strength in the Lord than to express the joy  of the Lord in your life. *

 The book closes with the matter of resistance to evil. *Your strength  will be maintained if you will take the attitude that Nehemiah took for  God. He was ready to say "No! to the forces that would destroy what God  was doing in his life. *Look what he had to do. In chapter 13, verse 7,  having gone back to Babylon and returned to Jerusalem, he says:I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah[this man  was first mentioned in the beginning of the book as an enemy of the  Jews], preparing for him [the enemy of God] a chamber in the courts of  the house of God. (Nehemiah 13:7b RSV)​He had allowed Tobiah to move right into the temple! What did Nehemiah do? He said:I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. (Nehemiah 13:8 RSV)​He went in and threw Tobiah's furniture out into the street. And that  isn't all. He found that the priests had been cheated, so he restored  the money that belonged to them. Then he discovered that throughout the  city the people were violating the Sabbath. They were bringing in  merchandise and selling it in the streets. In verse 19 he says:When it began to be dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the  sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that  they should not be opened until after the sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:19a RSV)​He kept them all out of the city. Then he discovered that some of  them were waiting outside the doors all night, hoping that someone would  come out and do a little business. So what did he do?I warned them and said to them, "Why do you lodge before the wall? If  you do so again I will lay hands on you." (Nehemiah 13:21a)​Then he discovered yet another problem. The people were still  intermarrying with the forbidden races around them. Nehemiah became  violent. In verse 25 he says:I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and  pulled out their hair[What a man!]; and I made them take oath in the  name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons,  or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves." (Nehemiah  13:25 RSV)​But that still isn't all. He found that one of the fellows who was  his foremost enemy, who had done more than any other to oppose the  building of the wall, was Sanballat the Hornonite. In verse 28 we read:And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest,  was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite;[So what did he do with  him?] therefore I chased him from me. (Nehemiah 13:28 RSV)​*Now perhaps you feel that Nehemiah was too severe. But here, you see,  is a man who has learned that there can be no compromise with evil. He  has learned one of the greatest lessons that the Spirit of God can ever  teach anyone: to say no when it needs to be said.*

*It was on this very note that the Lord Jesus began his ministry in  Jerusalem. As he came into the temple and found it filled with the money  changers, who were defiling the house of prayer, he made a whip of  cords and drove them out of the temple. There is nothing gentle about  that! Here is a man who is thoroughly angry with sparks flying from his  eyes, and yet he is perfectly justified in what he does because he is  resolutely saying no to that which defiles the temple of God.* *Those who  have made a mark for God throughout the history of the church have been  those who have learned to say no and have said it at the right time. *You  read the story of the Covenanters, of Martin Luther, of John and  Charles Wesley, of all those who have moved against evil in the world,  and they were always men or women who had learned to say no. They stood  against anything that defiles the temple of God.

 Now these are the ways by which strength is maintained in our lives  also. As we come to the close of this book we see that the walls of  Jerusalem stand once again and God's testimony is re-established in this  city.

*Prayer:**
Our Father, we thank you for this look into your word, into the truth  that affects our own lives. We pray that we, also, may learn as  Nehemiah did to be disciplined, courageous, confident in you, and  willing to say no, willing to be absolutely ruthless against the forces  that would undermine and sap the vitality of our lives in you. In Christ  s name, Amen.

*Copyright © 2010 by Ray Stedman Ministries — This material is the sole  property of Ray Stedman Ministries. It may be copied for personal  non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge.  All copies must  contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to www.RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet.  Please direct any questions you may have to webmasterrayStedman.org.


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

I am blowned away by God!  He constantly keeps teaching and I'm constantly learning about who He is and what He wants from His people!

This is a life changing message!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 5, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> Oh My Goodness, Sis.
> 
> I'm loving these 'GATES'.
> 
> ...


These GATES have changed my thinking about some things and I am HAPPY!!!!!

You are welcome, sis....God has been revealing so much to me over these past 2 months that I am blowned away....literally.


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## Leigh (Mar 5, 2013)

MrsHaseeb said:
			
		

> The Lord Jesus bless you Nice & Wavy. This story reminds me of Balak calling Balaam to curse God's people. He kept taking him to the high places of Baal to see what angle he could use to defeat them because they couldn't be defeated unless they got out of the will of God by sinning. The devil operates on legal ground. He waits and watches and seeks an opportunity to get us out of the will of God so he can defeat us. I pray that we will all have on the full armor of God that we may withstand his wiles and devices in Jesus name.
> 
> **I need to study Nehemiah again



Me too.  I used this exact example to someone about 6 or more months ago to help them and now it applies to me dealing with that same person.


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## Shimmie (Mar 6, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> I am blowned away by God!  He constantly keeps teaching and I'm constantly learning about who He is and what He wants from His people!
> 
> This is a life changing message!





Nice & Wavy said:


> These GATES have changed my thinking about some things and I am HAPPY!!!!!
> 
> You are welcome, sis....God has been revealing so much to me over these past 2 months that I am blowned away....literally.



This message / God's Word never gets old.   

And these Gates, will never have rusty hinges... 

Continue to Continue !

_"Lift up your heads, O' ye Gates, and be ye lifted up and the King of Glory will come in."    _


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## Leigh (Mar 6, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:
			
		

> After this, the people celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacles, when  Israel dwelt in booths made of tree boughs to remind them that they were  simply strangers and pilgrims on earth. Next was the remembrance of the  lessons of the past. In chapter 9 you have Ezra's tremendous prayer,  when he recounted what God had done in the life of this people. It is  always good to stop and remember what God has taught you in the past.  That is always a sure way to preserve the strength that God gives you.  Following this prayer, the people signed a covenant and agreed that they  would do what the law demanded. They covenanted; they resolved that  they would take the step of obedience. I can tell you out of my own  experience as well that you will never be able to retain the strength  that God gives you until you are ready to be obedient to what he says.  You must obey him whenever you hear and know what he wants.
> 
> In the eleventh chapter is the recognition of gifts among the people.  There are the Levites, the gate keepers, the singers, and various  others who ministered in the temple. Similarly, in the New Testament we  are told to discover the gifts that the Spirit has given us and to put  them to work. "Rekindle the gift of God that is within you," Paul wrote  to Timothy. (2 Timothy 1:6) If you want to retain your strength, start  using what God has given you.
> 
> ...



And Amen!!


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## sweetvi (Mar 6, 2013)

Wowwwwwwwww.  I read this a couple of months ago and just to see a deeper meaning!  Wow I did not even know how uncompromising those people were for God. We as Christians have strayed away from that.  We are afraid to stand firm on God's word and are more concerned with pacifying people.   I'm sorry I'm directing this to me!  Thank you!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 6, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> This message / God's Word never gets old.
> 
> And these Gates, will never have rusty hinges...
> 
> ...


Amen, sis...amen!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 6, 2013)

Leigh said:


> And Amen!!


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 6, 2013)

sweetvi said:


> Wowwwwwwwww.  I read this a couple of months ago and just to see a deeper meaning!  Wow I did not even know how uncompromising those people were for God. We as Christians have strayed away from that.  We are afraid to stand firm on God's word and are more concerned with pacifying people.   I'm sorry I'm directing this to me!  Thank you!


 You are welcome, sis!


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## Missy25 (Mar 6, 2013)

This is an awesome Word!


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## Highly Favored8 (Mar 6, 2013)

Wonderful  posts


What stood out to me the most is 

"God must move in the areas where Nehemiah cannot." 

God must move in the areas where you/I/We cannot"

Thank you Abba Father.


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## Laela (Mar 6, 2013)

wow..and yea and Amein to this Word, N&W! Great message... *still reading*


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Mar 6, 2013)

Last year we studied this at my church in fact, we lived it, in that there were renovations being done in our church of which we the members did mostly ourselves and some of us did come off the wall, long story short it was a learning experience for us all.

Thank you for this.


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## AtlantaJJ (Mar 6, 2013)

I was reading such a good book based on the Book of Nehemiah titled:

Rebuilding the Real You: The Definitive Guide to the Holy Spirit's Work in Your Life  by Jack Hayford

But I stopped, just because I got distracted. It is time I pick this back up because it's exactly what I need right now.  

Thank you!!


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## momi (Mar 6, 2013)

Thank you for sharing this... 


"A wall nearly finished is still a wall unfinished" - I plan to add this to my prayer time and ask The Lord to show me any areas in my life that are unfinished...


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## Laela (Mar 6, 2013)

_Commitment_.... _continue_... _don't give up_.. all resonate for me.   I'd heard a sermon a couple of years ago on Nehemiah that is very similar to this and will go listen again. Thank you Lord, Your Word never gets old! Faith comes from hearing, not 'having heard'


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## Loving (Mar 7, 2013)

Boomarking this to read timely at a later date. Based on the little that I read though, this is excellent material. Thank you!!!!


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## felic1 (Mar 7, 2013)

Thank you for this. I will read this again.


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## Kurlee (Mar 7, 2013)

thanks for this!


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## Laela (Mar 10, 2013)

This ..right here...this... is about plans concerning the wall, not plans to defeat any enemies. Nehemiah already knew God was on his side concerning enemies, and that only God can stop the work; so his focus was the wall... his back was against the wall...  _Hallelujah_!   



Nice & Wavy said:


> *Immediately courage is needed. Whenever a man like Nehemiah says, "I  will arise and build," Satan always says, "Then I will arise and  oppose." Satan makes things difficult when we start turning back to God.*  We see, also, the need for caution. When Nehemiah comes back to  Jerusalem and rides about the city at night he doesn't just start  putting bricks on top of one another. He doesn't rush out and get all  the people excited to build the walls. If he does, he would fall into  the trap of his enemies. The first thing he does is arise at night when  no one else knows, ride around the walls of the city, and survey the  ruins. He takes note of exactly what needs to be done. He makes an  honest survey of the facts. Then he begins to lay his plans. *These three  principles of reconstruction -- a display of concern, confession and  commitment, and courage with caution -- are basic to rebuilding.*


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## Nice & Wavy (Mar 11, 2013)

Laela said:


> This ..right here...this... is about plans concerning the wall, not plans to defeat any enemies. Nehemiah already knew God was on his side concerning enemies, and that only God can stop the work; so his focus was the wall... his back was against the wall...  _Hallelujah_!


You got it!!!!  Hallelujah is right!!!


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## Laela (Dec 28, 2014)

Me too, we heard a great end-of-year Word from Andy Stanley on this



MrsHaseeb said:


> ***I need to study Nehemiah again :*-)


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