NO TURNING BACK: AN UNWAVERING FOCUS

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1 Texts: Neh.4: 1-15 (6, 15); Lk.9: 62 Sermon Outline Introduction Opposition and discouragement Selected Bible Examples Conclusion Introduction Lord Nelson, who was born in Norfolk in 1758, became a reputable flag officer in the Royal Navy. He was renowned for fighting and conquering several battles, especially the Napoleonic wars. He fought in the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the French War at the battle of the Nile, the battle of Copenhagen and the Battle of Trafalgar where he died. In the course of fighting the Battle of Copenhagen, Lord Nelson s superior officer, Sir Hyde Parker, hoisted the flag signalling retreat. Nelson intentionally put his telescope to his blind eye and said, I do not see it. If he had surrendered when it looked like defeat, he would not have captured twelve Danish ships. I don t see defeat. Do you? When fighting the battle of perspective, Satan will hoist his flag, attempting to discourage you. You must ensure you do not forget to put a blind eye to the telescope - refuse to see the retreat flag, keep going forward! It is often said that nothing good comes easy. The efforts geared towards the achievement of some defined goals are often met with opposition and discouragement. At times, the opposing forces and sources of discouragement are envisaged at the planning stage of a project, depending on the nature and magnitude of the project and the goals to be achieved. More often than not, opposition, challenges and sources of discouragement are not identified prior to the commencement of project execution. The big question is: how do we deal with opposition, discouragement and negative circumstances that may arise at some point in our Christian journey? Opposition and Discouragement Opposition and discouragement are twin forces in the context of preventing, forestalling or significantly curtailing the success of a godly project. Nehemiah started experiencing opposition and discouragement right from the moment he decided to embark on the good work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. The first hurdle to cross was the difficulty in approaching the king to ask for leave of absence as he was the king s cupbearer: one who ensured the safety and quality of the king s food. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, for I was the king's cupbearer. (Neh.1: 11). This was capable of discouraging a feeble mind, but Nehemiah prayerfully turned it into an opportunity. Nehemiah was immediately faced with opposition upon his arrival in Jerusalem. Twice in Chapter 2 of the book of Nehemiah, the Bible records the opposition championed by Sanballat and Tobiah. SOLA_ADEOSUN_GREATBARR_COC_ Page 1

2 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel... but when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?" (Neh.2: 10, 19). These three Samaritan government officials felt that the re-building of Jerusalem was a threat to their position as the authority of the Samaritans was in charge of the land since Judah s exile. The growth in opposition from two champions (in verse 10) to three champions (in verse 19) is worthy of note. Chapter four catalogues the negative elements that do propel opposition. But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish--stones that are burned?" Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall (Neh.4: 1-3). Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion (Neh.4: 7+8). And our adversaries said, "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease (Neh.4: 11) In every situation of opposition and discouragement, one of more of the elements mentioned are usually at play: fury, indignation, mockery, anger, conspiracy, attack, confusion, kill (murder). Before examining these pessimistic tendencies in turn, I will, at this juncture, highlight that the focus of opposition and discouragement is to stimulate the cessation of a noble work or project. And our adversaries said, "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease (Neh.4: 11). The scriptures tell us about the work of the flesh: Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal.5: 19-21). As Christians, we must be careful to ensure we do not oppose spiritual growth and advancement in line with the authority of the scriptures. It is obvious from the warnings to the Galatians that the negative traits shown by Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem are directly part of the works of the flesh. The constituents of the fruit of the Spirit are in no way close to the aforementioned vices. SOLA_ADEOSUN_GREATBARR_COC_ Page 2

3 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another (Gal.5: 22-26). We should lend good support to, and passionately encourage good works aimed at salvation just like Aaron and Hur supported and held the hand of Moses in order to assure Israel s victory against Amalek at Rephidim (Exod.17: 1-13). Selected Bible Examples Examples abound in the Bible of cases of opposition and discouragement but we would examine just two. This twin evil originated from Satan and they have been with man since the Garden of Eden. The serpent was in clear opposition of God s instruction and he succeeded in discouraging the first woman from obeying God s law: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis.3: 1-5). We all know the outcome of this encounter. The devil was able to distract the first man and woman from their focus on God. This unfortunately attracted not just a far-reaching consequence, but an eternal and pervasive consequence! In obedience to God s instruction, Moses sent 12 men who were heads of the children of Israel to spy out the promised land of Canaan. Of these 12 men, 10 (i.e. 83%) returned with a very discouraging report concerning the land and God was seriously displeased: Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numb.13: 27-33). SOLA_ADEOSUN_GREATBARR_COC_ Page 3

4 The evil report brought by 10 0f the spies was not only discouraging, but in sharp opposition to God s promise and intention. God had said time and over again that He would give Israel the land of Canaan. Amplifying such evil and distressing report was tantamount to lack of trust in God and underestimating God s capability of fulfilling His promise! In addition, it is significant to point out that those who were pessimistic about being successful in achieving the goal of inheriting the promised land were greater in number than those who were optimistic and focused Compare 10 men against 2 (i.e. 83% against 17%)! How many times have we bowed to pressure from pessimists and human elements of discouragement simply because they are more in number? We need to remember that one with God is majority. What was the result of this discouraging report? The people contemplated turning back to Egypt! So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them." And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they" (Numb.14: 1-12). How many times have we thought of going back into the world of sinful pleasure, when faced with difficulties and adversities? Lord s wife looked back to Sodom and Gomorrah and became a pillar of salt. Conclusion At a point during the ministry of Christ, many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (John.6: 67-69). The realisation of the truth of this passage propelled the unknown composer of the song below (though attributable to Sundar Singh, to put the lyrics together. SOLA_ADEOSUN_GREATBARR_COC_ Page 4

5 Our dear Lord and Master was unequivocal when He says:... "No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Lk.9: 62). An easily discouraged soul is not worthy to be in the Kingdom of Truth. We must be ready to brush aside opposition and move on. We must keep on keeping on. We must keep going and growing. We must keep adding the Christian graces so as to make our calling and election sure. The writer of Hebrews aptly warns us: Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion (Heb.3: 12-15) Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul (Heb.10: 35-39). GOD SAID IT, THAT SETTLES IT, I BELIEVE IT, AND THE BIBLE IS PERFECT! SOLA_ADEOSUN_GREATBARR_COC_ Page 5