Jun 21, 2021
We invite you to join us as we continue in our series, “The Road to Revival”. We have already determined that the road to revival is paved with prayer. But what else can we expect as we start our journey toward greater dependence upon God?
Today’s teaching service, “Breaking Down Barricades on the Road to Revival”. Our scripture verse today is Nehemiah 4: 1-15.
1) Strategies of Barricades – Let’s look at some of the barricades that we can expect.
A) Criticism from the world (Nehemiah 4:1-3) – We can see from these verses in Nehemiah that he encountered sever opposition when he started obeying the plans of God.
Here is another verse that addresses this issue:
John 15:18-20 – “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”
B) Distractions from the flesh – Not only will we encounter opposition from the world but we will also have to deal with the battle of our flesh. Our flesh is never going to want to take the narrow road of obedience, it will always seek the broader path of destruction.
C) Threats from the devil – We can see from Nehemiah 4:7-8 and 11-12 that the enemy was working on trying to not only stop the work of God, but also to destroy the people of God. However, Jesus did not leave us without weapons, remember James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” There is also this great promise in John, 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
2) Victories over Barricades - Now we come to the good news of how we can overcome the barriers that we will encounter in our faith journey.
A) Confidence thru prayer - Romans 8:31,35,37 – “If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
B) Vigilance in prayer - Nehemiah 4:9,13 – “We prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. . . . And in the lowest parts of the open spaces in the wall, I stationed the people with their swords, their spears, and their bows.”
C) Boldness from prayer - Nehemiah 4:14-15 – “And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.”
Our prayer is that this teaching will help you as you seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.