A Man and a Mission: Nehemiah
During this month of January, Pastor Dan has begun the new year with a series of sermons from the book of Nehemiah. On January 7, 2024, Pastor Dan preached about Nehemiah’s God-Inspired Vision to build a wall around Jerusalem. His challenge to the congregation was “Pursue Your Calling”. (Nehemiah 1:1-4)
On January 14, 2024, he preached about how Common People were part of Nehemiah’s project from the Spiritual Leaders to professional businessmen, like perfumers, to notable families, disgraced families, and even women. All of these were involved in building the wall. His challenge to the congregation that week was “Don’t Underestimate the Impact of a Few, Fully Committed to a Purpose”. (Nehemiah 3)
Yesterday, on January 21, 2024, Pastor Dan preached about how Resistance is Fruitful. He taught that anytime anyone tries to do something for God, they will face resistance. He explained how Sanballat, the Governor of Samaria, Tobiah, a Persian Official, and Geshem, King of Kedar all tried to stop Nehemiah. They brought resistance in several different forms: disruption causing confusion (Nehemiah 4:8); demoralization and threats (Nehemiah 4:10-11); dismay/fear (Nehemiah 6:9); and distraction (Nehemiah 6:2 and 6:10-12). However, Nehemiah and the people prepared to meet the resistance physically (Nehemiah 4:16a) and spiritually (Nehemiah 4:20).
Pastor Dan gave the following recommendations for “Reacting to Resistance”:
Remember whose fight it is (Romans 8:31b)
Expect casualties (Matthew 24:10-13)
Stay on target (Nehemiah 6:9b)
He posed the question: What if the resistance you are experiencing is God’s conformation that you are doing something right?
Pastor Dan also said, “Overcoming resistance leads to reward.”
This series will continue in a couple weeks. You can find the video recordings of these messages on the church youtube channel — youtube.com/@gfcofephrata5041