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Neh. 4:7-14
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. As we return to our study on spiritual rebuilding, we are confronted with the threats of Sanballat and Tobiah to stop the work! It is helpful to consider why threats often work.
- THREATS ARE DIRECTED AT THE HEART OF A PERSON! Read Psalm 139:1-4; Luke 6:43-45; and Heb. 4:12, 13. Those passages all teach we have no secrets from God. They also teach that who and what we really are begins in our heart. Threats attack who and what we really are! When Satan wants to stop a person’s forward progress for God, he attacks in the heart! How does an attack on the heart work? 1. It attacks a a person’s heritage. Whether physical or spiritual heritage is at stake, any attack hurts us deep inside. An attack on a person’s heritage is an attack in their heart! 2. In Nehemiah’s case the attack was also on the Jew’s harmony. The implication was they had lived in rubble so long, they couldn’t possibly unite as one to accomplish a project of such magnitude! The truth is, if God is directing the project, and He was, magnitude is miniscule! Jesus said, “with God all things are possible.”
- THREATS ARE A DISPLAY OF POWER! Sanballat and Tobiah used their leadership positions for self-exaltation. They used threats to intimidate those “under” their reign of terror. The more personal the threat, the more powerful it seems! If we believe the person threatening us can really hurt us, we tend to react to defend ourselves. Often when our loved ones are threatened, we compromise what we know to be right to win the favor of the one threatening us. We often do the same thing to protect our reputation, don’t we! It is interesting to know that many times those who threaten us don’t really have the power they think they do. In the Christian threats are often used by ungodly leaders who haven’t yet learned to trust God. Therefore, they are insecure in themselves and must use threats to keep others from exposing their insecurity. See how all of this is a downward spiral! The best way to handle a threat is like Jesus did. He prayed for the person doing the threatening to become a man or woman of God.
- THREATS DISTRACT US FROM OUR MISSION! Remember, Satan’s number one goal is to destroy us. He does that by separating us from God. He separates us from God by getting us to take our eyes off God and put them on ourselves. Satan knows where we are most vulnerable and is a master at attacking us there. Some of Satan’s most effective work is among Christian leaders. I mean Christian husbands and fathers who neglect their spiritual leadership responsibilities at home. As Paul says, “If a man can’t lead his family, he can’t lead the Church.” We all know children who can recite more sports stats, TV channels, movie stars, singers and the like, but have no idea what John 3:16 says; worse yet, they have no idea where John’s Gospel is. What are you teaching your children and grandchildren? Threats are part of everyone’s life. The question is – how do you handle them?
If we can help you with any question or any other spiritual matter, call us at (574) 643-9419.
