Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 28 September 2023 TOPIC: Lessons From The Life Of Nehemiah (IV)

 


BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 61, Isaiah 62, John 3, John 4


FIRE SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 4 (KJV)


1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.


2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?


3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.


4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:


5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.


6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.


7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,


8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.


9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.


10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.


11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.


12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.


13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.


14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.


15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.


16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.


17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.


18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.


19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.


20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.


21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.


22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.


23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.


MEMORY VERSE: “The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.” – Deuteronomy 28:7 (KJV)


MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES:

One with God is majority.


PRAISE AND WORSHIP:


PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY:

I decree upon your life that every good project you lay your hands upon shall be duly completed, in the Name of Jesus.


MESSAGE:

Nehemiah maturely handled opposition and managed the crisis situations around him. His resilience in the face of opposition and absolute trust in God made his fellow countrymen to believe in him and to follow him. His enemies, Sanballat Tobiah and Geschem, the Arabian, didn’t want him to succeed.


How did Nehemiah counter them? He didn’t waste time talking to or, contesting with them in words or in action, but went to God in prayer at each time of their manifestation (Nehemiah 4:9, 14-15, 20). On their invitations, he could discern their evil intentions and simply responded with, “I am doing a good work.” This means, “I don’t have the time for irrelevant things. I can’t leave this work to attend to frivolities.” He completed the work and they had no portion in it as it was spoken (Nehemiah 2:20).


A social reformer, he restored order to the community (Nehemiah 5:1-12). He never extorted the poor, neither used his positional authority to manipulate the people. He made Ezra the Scribe, to read out the Book of the Law and the Commandments of the Lord which many never heard of, as a result of the falling away of their fathers to follow other gods. He resolved the problem of inter-tribal marriages. The people heard the words of God and they humbly confessed their sins and repented of them (Nehemiah 8-9).


Nehemiah was no doubt a godly role model, a man with unique and all-round leadership abilities, worthy of emulation. An exemplary planner and a patriot, he was persistent in prayer and persevered through hard times. He understood 1 Peter 5:8,” Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom to devour.”


Do you want to go far in sustainable leadership? Learn from Nehemiah. Do you seek to succeed in your undertakings soaked in prayers? Learn from Nehemiah. Above all, he was a man of integrity and stood for righteousness. He stood for the truth and was contented with little. All through the book of Nehemiah, he had a clean slate, no bad records! He was a positive-minded person. He stood with God and God stood for him. He can do the same for you, if only you will be obedient and humble.


PRAYER POINTS:


MORNING


O God, strengthen my hands to do a good work for Your Kingdom, in the name of Jesus.

Enemies of my divine accomplishments, fall down and die, in the name of Jesus.

Power for divine vigilance and watchfulness against the roaming adversary, possess me by fire, in the name of Jesus.


EVENING


O Lord, draw me closer to You and increase my prayer fire, in the name of Jesus.

Spirit of excellence in leadership, come upon me now, in the name of Jesus.

Help me, Lord, to live a life of positive and godly impact on others, in the name of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, make me a worthy example to others, in the name of Jesus.

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