Western Hills Christian Church: “You are family here!”

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Text: Nehemiah 5:1-19

I.  Nehemiah’s situation (Nehemiah 5:1-8)

1. What are some of the problems that Nehemiah faced?
   (high taxes,high interest rates against his countrymen, countrymen became indentured slaves) READ Nehemiah 5:1-5
2. How did Nehemiah react?
   (with anger, he thought about the situation,assessed the people who were guilty & addressed the issue promptly) READ Nehemiah 5:6-8
3. What was Nehemiah’s example? (Nehemiah 5:1-5)
   (dealt with living a life that was absolutely beyond reproach)

II.  Nehemiah’s example.

1. Be true to God’s Word.
2. Avoid worldliness
3. Moral standards.

III.  Nehemiah’s motives.
Nehemiah feared God more than he feared man. See: Hebrews 10:13 & James 1:22

Conclusion
Read: 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10

1. Have the proper attitude toward God.
2. Have the right motive to remain faithful to God.
3. Rely upon the power of God to help us overcome our weaknesses.

Text: Nehemiah 4:11-23

I.  Renewal by the opposition. (Nehemiah 4:8,11-12)

A concerted effort
A convincing effort

1. We will all be vulnerable to Satan’s attacks at some point in our life (Nehemiah 4:12)
   See: 2nd Timothy 4:16-17
2. We must be careful not to live close to the enemy

II.  Reason for the opposition (Nehemiah 4:7)

III.  Reaction to the opposition ()

1. Evaluation
2. Courage
3. Focus

IV.  Resist the opposition (Nehemiah 4:16)

Principle: Never leave the work for the battle.
Notice the balance in Nehemiah 4 between the building and the battle?

Conclusion:

How can we resist the opposition?

1. By being armored for warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18)
   
2. By rallying together (Nehemiah 4:20)

Our God will fight for us.

NIV Study Bible Book Introductions: Nehemiah

Sermon can be downloaded to your PC from here by RIGHT clicking with mouse and selecting “Save Target As” for the Internet Explorer browser or “Save Link As” for Firefox browsers.

Text: Nehemiah 4:1-9

I.  Signs of opposition (Nehemiah 4:1-3)

1. Ridicule
2. Powerful
3. A cover for those against you

II.  How to overcome opposition (Nehemiah 4:4-9)

1. Through prayer (See: 1st Peter 2:23)
2. Praise (See: Acts 16:22-33)
3. Work & prayer (Nehemiah 4:9)

Conclusion
What holds us back when confronted with opposition?

Do we see God as being big enough to overcomes the opposition?

Do you have a mind to work and a heart of prayer?

Text: Nehemiah 1:1-4

I.  Nehemiah looked beyond the walls of complacency. (Nehemiah 1:1-3)

Are we willing to look beyond our walls of complacency?

II.  Nehemiah looked beyond the walls of compassion. (Nehemiah 1:4)
     (See: Matthew 23; Matthew 9; John 11 & Psalm 56:8)

Compassion is an expression of our willingness to involve ourselves in the lives of others.

III.  Nehemiah made himself available to God. (Psalm 56:8 & chapter)

1. Available to communicate with God.
2. Available to witness for God.

Conclusion
What is holding you back from breaking down your wall? Is it:

• Apathy
• Availability
• Fear
• Self-centeredness

God specializes in using ordinary people just like you and I to accomplish his work.