The Distractions Outside (Building Lives #4)

We just finished singing a song about God never letting us down. And all I could think, standing up here, is that there are probably people in this room who cannot honestly sing those words right now.

Maybe you are in the middle of a health crisis, or a financial one, or a broken relationship — and it genuinely feels like God has let you down.

And you know what? If you are only looking at the short term, you are right. The problem is that short term is all we can see. We only see what is happening here and now.

This week my mother-in-law called. She lost her great-aunt, who was ninety-six. You hear that and think, what a long life. She died because an arsonist set the house on fire. And I imagine the family is wondering whether God just let them down.

This past Friday night a family in our church texted to say that their son-in-law — he races cars on weekends — had his car catch fire. He is now at the university hospital with twenty-five percent of his body covered in second- and third-degree burns. They may well be wondering the same thing.

And then pile on what is happening in our country right now: the conversations over abortion, the shooting in Buffalo that was racially motivated, the war in Ukraine. There is so much going on that we could look at it all and say, Where is God? He is letting us down. I thought you were good. I just sang it on Sunday.

So I feel like we need to take a moment and remind ourselves that just because we are not seeing it in the short term does not mean he is finished.

He is not done with the man in that hospital bed. He is not done working in the children and grandchildren of the woman who died in that fire. He is not done in Ukraine. He is not done in Buffalo. He has not let us down.

Let us pray before we come to the Scriptures.

Heavenly Father, we lay our hearts and minds before you, because there is so much trouble in this world. Some of us feel it and are living it right now. Some of us have loved ones fighting through it. And then we see what is happening in our world.

Help us not to be people of blind faith who ignore things and pretend. But help us be people of deep faith — who do not look for easy answers, but who genuinely trust you. Because when we look at the totality of history, we see that you are good, and that even when the worst things come our way, the story is not finished. And even when this life ends, if our faith is in Christ we get eternity with you and all the joy that brings.

So in the middle of trial and struggle, be present. Remind us that you are with us, that you are an omnipresent God, that you love and you care — and that even when in your wisdom you choose not to work things out the way we want, you are always working all things for the good of those who love you, who know you, and who have been called according to your purposes.

We join with the family here in praying for their son-in-law. May this journey of skin healing and recovery become a spiritual journey too — that he would cry out to you, cling to you, and let you carry him through it, so that when it is all over he can tell people that you are good.

I pray for the families devastated by the shooting in Buffalo — that in the middle of their pain and their anger, knowing these people were targeted simply because of their skin color, you would bring comfort. Use your church to wrap its arms around that community. Let your gospel go forth, so people see that you love and value all humans because your image is in them. Raise up believers there to be your hands and feet, so that through this horrible tragedy, what Satan intended for evil, people would be able to say weeks and months and years from now that you are good.

And as we come to the Scriptures, let us lay our burdens before you. Let us not put on a show and pretend nothing is going on. Whatever weighs us down, let us hand it to you right now, so our hearts and minds are fully open to receive from you. I believe you want to do something great in us because you are calling us to let you do something great through us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Recurring Bad Dream

A couple of weeks ago I had a bad dream. Not a nightmare — there was no evil, terrifying creature chasing me. By God’s grace I do not really have nightmares. But I do have a recurring bad dream, and it caught me off guard because I had not had it in years.

Even though it recurs, the details change every time. But the theme is always identical.

I am trying to get somewhere — usually to church on a Sunday, because I need to be here to preach. And all kinds of things happen to prevent me from getting there. It might be my car. It might be a computer problem. Someone catches me in the lobby. I get a phone call. Everything comes crashing in at once, and as much as I try to be nice and work through it, I am still trying to get to the pulpit — and I never arrive. The distractions derail me from getting where I am supposed to be.

Those of you who interpret dreams are probably thinking, you must feel like you’re going to let everyone down. Yes. You are probably right.

But the reason I bring it up is that for some people, that is not a bad recurring dream. That is life.

They are trying to get somewhere. Probably not to a pulpit, but somewhere. They are trying to become a certain kind of person. They have a goal and they are going after it — and all these distractions come in and derail them.

There are people who dream of a particular career and get derailed by substance abuse. There are people who aspire to be a certain kind of parent or spouse and let themselves get distracted by their phones and social media. There are people who dream of becoming an overseas missionary, or planting a church, or starting a nonprofit — something to help change the world — and end up derailed by the naysayers and the haters.

Today we are going to watch Nehemiah and the people face distractions from the outside. We get to meet the antagonists of the story, and they are going to do anything and everything they can to derail the rebuilding of the walls.

My hope is that as we study, we will see what kept them from being derailed — and learn how to apply it in our own lives, and as a church family, so we stick to the mission God has given us.

Meet the Antagonists

We are in Nehemiah 4 today, but the antagonists get introduced back in chapter 2.

All good stories have tension. That is what makes them memorable and draws us in, because we long to see the tension resolved. And a classic way to build tension is to have good guys and bad guys. Nehemiah is our protagonist. Now we meet the antagonists.

Nehemiah 2:10 says: “But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.”

Sanballat is described as a Horonite. Some scholars believe he was from a region called Beth Horon, a few miles from Judah — so he is from the general area. What Nehemiah does not spell out is that Sanballat was the governor of Samaria, a region just north of Judah. There were apparently several generations of men known by that name. Remember, the Persian Empire is ruling, so he functions as a governor under that empire. But he was powerful and influential.

Then we meet Tobiah. His name is actually Hebrew — it means Yahweh is good. So Tobiah is likely a fellow Jew. But notice he is called an Ammonite, and it turns out he was governor of Ammon, another region in the area.

Sanballat and Tobiah had clearly built a working relationship. They were allies. And they were opposed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Why? Sanballat grew up in the region — surely he would want to see Jerusalem restored. And Tobiah is a Jew — surely he would want his people’s city to have walls again.

Because a city with no walls is a city they can walk into and do whatever they want. This is about power and influence. If they want to bring soldiers in and take something, they can, because there are no walls to stop them and no army to resist them.

So when they hear that the king has named Nehemiah governor of Judah and that his project is rebuilding these walls, they have a serious problem with it. And they set out to distract the people and stop the project.

Distraction One: Mockery

“Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?’ Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, ‘Yes, what they are building — if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!’”

I am sure the soldiers standing around all started laughing. Those Jews are never going to pull this off.

Now you may be thinking, so what? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It is only mocking and jeering.

The problem is that mocking and jeering works.

I have shared this story before, so if it sounds like a repeat, it is — but it fits perfectly. When I was in fifth grade, short, nerdy little me found out that a girl in my class liked me. She was cute enough and popular enough that she would not lower my social standing. So fifth-grade me decided that I suddenly liked her too. I had barely noticed her before, but hey — a girl likes me, so I like her.

It was February, so I decided to give her a valentine. I wrote it out, essentially inviting her to be my girlfriend, slipped it into her locker, and could not wait to hear back.

The problem was that her locker mate found it first, showed it to all their friends, and they ruthlessly teased her for liking short, nerdy little me.

Suddenly she did not like me anymore. And I did not get my first girlfriend.

Jeering and mocking and insults work. They can manipulate people into doing what you want.

Some of you have been through some version of it. Maybe you were teased about an interest, or about a person you liked, or about something as trivial as a sports team — and the teasing was ruthless enough that you got quiet about it. Suddenly you do not let anyone know which team you root for. You do not let anyone know what you are actually into. You keep it invisible. And sometimes you abandon it altogether, trying to protect your reputation.

Sadly, many people do exactly this with their faith. They get teased for what they believe, so they keep quiet. Their faith becomes invisible. And some abandon it.

Nehemiah’s First Response: Prayer

Thankfully Nehemiah and the people were stronger than fifth-grade me. They did not give in to the mockery. They stood strong.

Keep reading past verse 3 and you see Nehemiah hear about the mockery, and his first response is to pray.

It is an interesting prayer. He essentially asks God to turn the things they are saying back on them. I do not know that I have ever prayed a prayer like that, and I am not sure I ever will.

So why does Nehemiah pray it? Remember what this book is actually about. This is not really about walls. It is about the protection of the Jewish people and the fame and glory of God. The jeering is aimed at the people and at their God. So because Nehemiah is seeking to protect both, he prays: God, stop them in their mockery. Make them a mockery.

And then in verse 6 we see Nehemiah and the people pick up right where they left off and keep working.

Distraction Two: Threats of Violence

That makes Sanballat and Tobiah even angrier. Verse 7:

“But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, and they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.”

And verse 11: “And our enemies said, ‘They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.’”

This is not an empty threat. This is not a big sister telling her little brother that if he touches her last french fry she will kill him. This is an insult with teeth. This is an insult backed by a sword. They are serious.

How They Responded: Pray and Post a Guard

Now watch how Nehemiah and the people respond. Verse 9: “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.”

Notice they do two things.

First, they pray

The very first thing they do is pray. If you have been tracking with this series, you have seen that praying is always Nehemiah’s first move.

In chapter 1 he is living in Susa, the capital of Persia, serving as cupbearer to the king. He finds out the walls of his people’s city are still rubble after more than a century, and he immediately prays. In chapter 2 the king senses something is wrong and starts asking questions, and we see Nehemiah offer a quick whispered prayer right in the middle of the conversation. In chapter 4 he hears mockery, and he prays. Now they are threatened with violence, and he prays.

If you follow Jesus, I think this is a beautiful pattern. No matter what situation you find yourself in — horrific news like we have heard this week, a health crisis, or even something good like an award or a promotion — your first response should be to pray.

But if you are like me, it is not. I will be honest: when I heard about the shooting in Buffalo yesterday, my first response was oh man, that’s awful — and I scrolled to the next post. I did not stop and pray.

And yet 1 Thessalonians 5 instructs us to pray without ceasing. That does not mean you quit your job, get divorced, and disown your children so you can sit and pray full time. It means that as you go about life — as you work, as you do your marriage, as you parent, as you exercise, as you do whatever — you talk to God. You converse with him.

Nehemiah has reached a place in his faith where no matter what comes at him, his first instinct is to talk to God.

Now, some of you hear that and feel like a failure. I must be a terrible Christian. I want you to know that God did not write the book of Nehemiah to beat you up because you do not measure up to the protagonist. God gave us Nehemiah’s response to prayer as an invitation for you to start praying.

So when you suddenly realize, as I did yesterday, that you did not stop and pray — do not beat yourself up. Thank the Holy Spirit for reminding you, and take that moment to pray. And the more often you respond that way, the easier it gets. It becomes more like breathing. And you become a little more like Nehemiah, so that when you hear these things, prayer is your first response.

Second, they set a guard

But notice that is not all they did. They did not pray and then say, all right, it’s all up to you, God.

There are strands of Christianity that will tell you that if you do anything at all, you clearly lack faith — that real faith means you pray, lift it to God, then step back and let him do what only he can do.

That is not what Nehemiah and the people do. Verse 9 again: we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection.

You have heard the old line: pray as though it all depends on God, work as though it all depends on you. That is exactly what we see here. Skip to verses 16 and 17:

“From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.”

Their first response is prayer, and they pray as though it all depends on God. And then they go to work as though God intends to use them to answer that prayer. Maybe God will use you.

So praying does not mean giving up and saying, it’s all in your hands now, God. Praying is saying, God, strengthen my hands to do what is needed.

And notice: they adjusted the plan

They are trying to get walls raised. When the threat comes in — we will invade and kill you all — they do not throw up their hands and run for their lives. They adjust. They get shields. Half stop working to stand guard. Some carry a load in one hand and a sword in the other.

Yes, things got slower. But they did not quit. They did not give up.

What This Means for You Personally

So what do you do when outside distractions come to derail you?

1. Pray

We have already covered this, so I will not belabor it. But that is step one.

2. Listen

You are probably assuming I mean listen to God and his Holy Spirit, or listen to wise counselors and mentors. Those are good and right — but that is not who I mean.

This is going to sound strange. I want to encourage you to listen to the naysayers. To your critics. To your antagonists.

That does not mean you have to do what they say. But sometimes your critic unknowingly embeds a truth that will help you.

Years ago, when we lived in Cedar Rapids, I worked with people from several churches to start a citywide young adult ministry aimed at reaching college students and young professionals — helping them find Jesus and follow him. Not that different from what we do here.

In our first year we met in the basement of the church where I worked. And one day I was walking through the mall and saw an old piano bar sitting empty. It had closed down. I started looking at it and realized there was already a stage, there were booths, there was an external entrance as well as an interior one.

And I thought: this would be a perfect coffee shop. Our ministry should do it. We could gather here on Thursday nights. We could run small groups during the week. People could come get coffee and have spiritual conversations. We could even provide jobs.

I got extremely excited and started sharing the idea. And one person looked at me and said flatly: that’s probably the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.

Two problems. First, this was before I understood that you have to separate yourself from your ideas — I fully identified with this one. It was my baby. So he had just insulted my child. Second, I am not a confrontational person, so having someone say that boldly to my face felt like they were saying, you are stupid, I cannot believe you thought of this, you should probably leave ministry entirely.

Yes, I overreacted internally. Do we not all?

Two weeks later I was sitting with our entire leadership team, and we talked the idea through. And as we did, we realized it was not the right step. We were still getting our feet under us. A leap like that could have killed the ministry. Now was not the time.

It turned out my critic — who probably did not have my best interests at heart — was right. There was a nugget of truth in it: this isn’t the right thing. Do I think it was the stupidest idea in the world? No. But my critic said something I genuinely needed to hear.

Your critics may unknowingly be helping you. They may not have your best interests in mind. But if you are secure enough in who God is and what he has done for you through Christ, you can actually hear criticism, strip away what was designed to tear you down, and find the nugget.

Now, the reason we do not see this step in Nehemiah 4 is that Nehemiah already heard so clearly from God in chapter 1, and then watched God provide miraculously in chapter 2, that he knows exactly what they are supposed to do. He does not need to entertain the possibility of a hidden nugget in Sanballat and Tobiah’s words. He can ignore them, because he already has clarity.

So if you have that kind of clarity from God — you know exactly where you are going, who you are called to be, and what it takes to get there — then by all means skip step two. Please do keep listening to the Holy Spirit and to wise mentors and counselors and people who are for you. But if you do not have that clarity, and criticism is coming your way, there may be something in it that helps you.

3. Refocus

I do not say “focus,” because when you began chasing that job or that vision of who you wanted to be, you had focus. What happened is that outside distractions came in and made everything blurry. You are confused. You are not sure how to keep going.

So you need to take time and refocus.

That is what Nehemiah and the people do when they learn violence is on their doorstep. What are we trying to do? Rebuild walls. If armies invade, we obviously cannot keep building — it is hard to build with a sword in your back. So let us arm the people. Half will guard while half works, then we will switch.

They refocused. And when you refocus, you regain clarity. Clarity is what gives you the discipline required to accomplish the thing. Clarity is what gives you the motivation to keep going.

4. Persevere

Which leads to the fourth step. Nehemiah and the people regain their focus, make the adjustment even though it slows things down — and they keep going. They do not stop.

So pray. Listen. Get your focus back. And then keep going. Do not give up. Just because obstacles have appeared in your way does not mean the story is over. As we prayed earlier, God can work all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. So seek after God, pray, run to him — and as you trust him, keep going. If he needs to move you in a different direction, he will.

What This Means for Us as a Church

I think the same four apply to us together: pray, listen, refocus, persevere. And God in his grace has already given us plenty of practice.

Many of you know our mission is to invite the spiritually disconnected to find and follow Jesus — and that following Jesus means helping people live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved. The pathway we have built for that is gather, grow, give, go.

When we were meeting at the veterans post, we had a great facility. New building, very nice. It worked wonderfully for us. And then the board sat us down and said they had weddings almost every Saturday night and it was too hard to get the space clean by Sunday morning, so they could not let us meet there the following year.

Outside distraction. What now?

So we prayed. We had conversations. We listened. And then we went back to the question: what are we about? We are about helping our community find Jesus and follow him, and the way we do that starts with gathering. So we needed a new place to gather. That search led us to the fairgrounds.

And then we had to do it again when the fairgrounds turned out not to be a long-term fit. Pray. Listen. Refocus. What are we about? Helping people find and follow Jesus, beginning with gathering. So we need another place to gather. That journey led us to this building.

I could go on. There have been other moments where outside distractions forced us through that same process.

I believe God allowed those things into our lives in only eight years of existence because he knows there may be outside distractions coming that will try to derail us.

We are trying to take spiritual ground. We are trying to help people understand that there is a hell, that their sin binds them to it, that there is a way out, that God loves them and wants to rescue them, and that he has already done everything necessary — and now it is simply a matter of giving their life to him.

That makes our adversary angry. Just as Nehemiah was building walls, we are building lives. And as we build lives, our adversary wants to distract us.

I do not know how he will try. It could come through people in our community. It could be other churches turning against us, though right now we get along with all of them. It could be cultural pressures. It could be any number of things designed to prevent God from continuing to work.

By God’s grace, we have been practicing. So we will keep praying, keep listening, keep refocusing, and keep persevering in helping people find Jesus and follow him.

Next week we will talk about the internal distractions. This week we need to recognize that there are outside ones, and our adversary would love to derail the work of God.

And that is a real part of why we would love to be rid of the worry over buildings. It does not eliminate every distraction, but we do not want to start over yet again — searching for another location, going through all of it a third time. That is part of why we are pursuing this capital campaign to purchase this building: to eliminate one more distraction so we can keep our focus on the mission God has given us. That is why we are asking you to give above and beyond what you already give — sacrificial, willing, cheerful gifts — so we can continue doing ministry through this place and be a blessing to our community.

But the Real Model Is Christ

The reason I think we should do this individually and as a church is that I see it lived out in Christ himself. Our example is not ultimately Nehemiah. Our ultimate example, our motivation, the one we look to, is Jesus.

Many of you were with us the past couple of years as we studied the book of Mark. Right in the middle of it, Mark 10:45 gives us Jesus’ own statement of his mission: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

That is what he was about. He was not here as an earthly king to be served. He came to serve. And the primary way he served was not by healing people, or feeding the five thousand, or teaching — it was by giving his life as a ransom. He paid off sin. God created us in his image; sin came and stole us away; Jesus paid the cost to purchase us back and restore us to the Father.

And the way he would give his life was through the cross.

Paul writes in Philippians 2 that being found in human form, Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross — and therefore God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So Jesus knew the reward at the end of that road: exaltation above all things.

And that is exactly what Satan offered him as a shortcut

In Matthew 4, Jesus is tempted. The first two attempts try to get Jesus to prove he is the Son of God. He does not give in. So Satan comes a third time — and this time offers a shortcut.

Verses 8 and 9: the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and says he will give all of it to him if Jesus will fall down and worship him.

In other words: You do not have to go through the cross. You do not have to go through the pain. You do not have to go through death. I stole all of this away when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and I am willing to hand it over. You can have the authority. You can have the prestige. You can have the glory. All you have to do is bow down and worship me as though I were God.

You and I might not find that tempting. But Jesus knew where he was ultimately headed — that at his name every knee would bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. And Satan is saying, I can give you that, and it is a shortcut, and it will spare you enormous pain.

Instead, in verse 10, we watch Jesus refocus — on the Father, on the Scriptures — and return to his purpose. He knew why he had come. He came to give his life as a ransom. And so he was willing to persevere. He was focused. He had clarity. And that is what carried him through.

Come to the Table

I cannot think of a better way to worship and celebrate him than through communion — coming to these elements and remembering who he is and what he did, and giving all of ourselves to him.

Because when I look at Christ and see how he persevered, it helps me see how I can persevere. Seeing his focus on the Father helps me put my focus on the Father. Watching him do what he did helps me keep leading, keep pastoring, and keep loving despite the hurt and the pain.

So if you follow Jesus, come to this table. Come and worship him. Come and ask him for the strength and courage to persevere and do what is needed.

If things have gotten blurry in your life right now, this is your chance to ask him for clarity. If you have been listening to the naysayers a little too much, this is your chance to listen instead to the Holy Spirit and your heavenly Father. If you find yourself wanting to give up — on your faith, on your family, on life — this is your chance to come and bow before the one who gave his life for you. You are precious. You matter to him.

So bask in his love right now. Let his love heal you and surround you. And as we worship in music and in prayer, may you be reminded that he is good — and that despite what life tells you, despite what the naysayers say, despite what the antagonist has been whispering, he will never let you down.

So come and worship. Come and surrender. Come and cry. Come and laugh. Come in remembrance of him.