Dangers Distractions and Deceptions Troy Appleton Nehemiah 6

Dangers, Distractions, and Deceptions Troy Appleton

Nehemiah 6: 10 -19 – “Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night. " 11 But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in. " 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid. ”

Nehemiah 6: 10 -19 (Continued) – “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid. ”

Dr. Edward Young – “I don’t think that when Martin Luther threw the inkpot at the devil he hit the devil. Luther hit the devil not so much with that inkpot as with the things that he wrote and preached. The devil was spending, I think, an undue amount of time with Martin Luther, which means that Luther was being faithful to Christ. The reason why the devil lets most of us get by without bothering too much about us is that we are not causing him enough trouble. But when we are faithful to Christ, then the devil gets very concerned. ” (In the Beginning, Banner of Turth, Edinburgh 1976, pg. 92)

Samuel Rutherford – 17 th Century Scottish Pastor – “The devil’s war is better than the devil’s peace. Suspect dumb holiness. When the dog is kept out of doors, he howls to be let in again. ”

Satan Attacks – “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, ” – Ephesians 6: 11 – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ” – 1 Peter 5: 8 – “Then the dragon was in rage at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring – those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. ” – Revelation 12: 7

Satan Deceives – “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. ” – 2 Corinthians 11: 13 -15

Thomas Brooks (17 th Century Puritan) – “Beloved, Satan being fallen from light to darkness, from felicity (happiness) to misery, from heaven to hell, from an angel to a devil, is so full of malice and envy that he will leave no means unattempted, whereby he may make all others eternally miserable with himself. He being shut of heaven, and shut up “under the chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6), makes use of all his power and skill to bring all the sons of men into the same condition and condemnation with himself. ” Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, Banner of Truth Trust

Nehemiah 6: 1 -19 – Satan’s Strategies: The 4 I’s – Nehemiah 6: 1 -4. Satan uses intrigue. – Nehemiah 6: 5 -9. Satan uses innuendo (slander). – Nehemiah 6: 11 -14. Satan uses intimidation. – Nehemiah 6: 15 -19. Satan uses infiltration.

John Paton (19 th Century Scottish Missionary to the New Hebrides) – “The cannibals! You will be eaten by the cannibals!” – To this John Paton replied, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to eaten by worms. I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer. ”

Bible Verses of Infiltration and Deception – “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. ” (Matthew 7: 15) – “For false Christ and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. ” (Matthew 24: 24) – “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secret bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ” (2 Peter 2: 1) – “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. ” (2 Timothy 4: 3)

Dethroning the Idols – Mike Gooheen – “…while material abundance is a worthwhile pursuit, it should never become the ultimate goal of human society. When we make economic prosperity our supreme aim, we engage in idolatry. The problem today is that the West, under the economic and technological forces that were unleashed by the Enlightenment, has made material progress the measure of everything. Our standard of living has become the way we judge whether we have made a worthwhile contribution to our society. At the end of each year in Canada, we are judged on how large our GDP was. We don’t think in terms of the number of people who remained faithful in marriage, or whether husbands were more loving to their wives, or how many friendships we made, or whether we played sports more fairly. We don’t get any of that; we are judged according to economic growth measures. The whole of Western society is driven by this materialist vision. When we personally subscribe to that goal of material prosperity, it becomes our ultimate aim, and we are guilty of idolatry…”

Dethroning the Idols – Mike Gooheen (Continued) – “…all of the culture is driven by the one goal of material prosperity and the economic forces necessary to get there. Sadly, this affects all aspects of society including education. Education is now one of the drones around economics where the whole goal of education is seen in terms of helping kids get good jobs. ”

J. C. Ryle (19 th Century Evangelical Bishop) – “He that has trained his children for heaven, rather than for earth – for God rather than for man – he is the parent that will be called wise at last. ”