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Six Strikes and You're Out! Oh, the hazy, lazy days of summer! Two favorite pastimes for many in these days are fishing and baseball. Did you ever hear about the Sunday School teacher who asked little Johnny if he thought that Noah passed a lot of time on the ark by fishing? Well, Johnny quickly replied and said, "I doubt it—you can't do a whole lot of fishing with just two worms!" Even when it comes to worms, "more" is better! So what about baseball and those six strikes? Well, recently, baseball's 2006 All-Star game was played just 35 miles from here in Pittsburgh, PA. The pre-game local hype was unbelievable, but by the next day, you would have thought it had never happened—hardly a word about it; a real flash in the pan. Such is the nature of such pastimes—no eternal value whatsoever. Perhaps it can, however, provide us with a lasting illustration—instead of the "three strikes and you're out" rule, what would it be like to be allowed six strikes? After all, more is always better, right? Throughout the first five chapters of Nehemiah, we can see the team of Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and, of course, their captain, Satan, trying desperately to strike Nehemiah out as he is absolutely determined to stand on God's word and rebuild the city walls. The people of Israel had returned from their Babylonian captivity, and this wall would picture the protection of the Lord, exemplified in these New Testament times by the Holy Spirit. By Nehemiah 6, the "game" isn't quite over, as the doors and gates still need to be constructed. That is when Sanballat and Geshem came to Nehemiah and said, "Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono." (vs. 2a) Praise God—Nehemiah knew it was an ambush. In the Hebrew, "Ono" is a place of strength, symbolizing the power of the enemy to seduce us to come away from what the Lord calls us to, and just pass the time, getting friendly with those who don't want to be obedient to the Lord. That won't draw anyone to God; it only draws people unto us—and all under the pretence of serving Jesus! Nehemiah did not take the time to get chummy with the unsaved—he sent messengers who declared, "I am doing a great work, so that I can not come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" (vs. 3) Indeed, why should the work stop, just because the enemy of the work wants it to? I think we find much of the problem today right here in this verse. Many do not see that their devotion to the Lord and His call upon their lives is a great work. So many other things have crept in and have taken center stage. Anymore, time is seen as something to just "blow"—not to the glory and honor of God, but for one's own amusement and satisfaction. And as we throw aside the things of God, we "cast our pearls before swine," (Mt.7:6) shouting to this unsaved world that the Lord is not important. Time is precious, for it will never pass our way again. Is your life a great work for God? If it isn't, do you want it to be? Do you recognize that the calling to be in the Body of Christ is a calling to a very great work? If you don't, repent, and turn your focus back on Him! Satan was hoping to get a "strike call" on Nehemiah for that one, but it turned out to be just the opposite—the enemy got his first strike! Then in verse 4, we find Sanballat tried it three more times, and each time, it was a strike—now the count is 4-0. Be sure that Satan and his minions are not very quick to quit; they will take as many swings as they can—so the true people of God must persevere and not give in to the pressure. Each time, Nehemiah declared himself to be committed to the great work that the Lord had put before him. Four strikes, but Satan is not out yet! "Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand." (vs. 5) Same agenda; different method. Yes, the enemy can be quite creative—this time, the accusation comes that Nehemiah is manipulating the whole thing in order to become king, and has even chosen some prophets to support him in this endeavor. With all of this as the backdrop, Sanballat still wants to meet in order to "discuss" the whole thing. We often fall into that satanic trap, don't we? When we venture out to defend ourselves, we end up conversing and reasoning with Satan, like Eve did. No, you don't need to prove anything to him—just focus on Jesus! Praise God—Nehemiah simply rebuked the enemy with the truth—"There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart." (vs. 8) In other words, it's all a big fat lie, for Satan is the "father of lies." STRIKE 5! Even though Satan does appear to be behind in the count, fear does start to creep in, for it is such a constant attack—"For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands." (vs. 9) Praise God—yes, Nehemiah is winning, but its not over yet, so he turns to the Lord who has coached him and kept him all along. Nehemiah was never content to sit in the bleachers and just watch from the sidelines—keeping his distance and staying away from the center of God's heart. Nehemiah was never content to be on the edges of a potentially life-transforming relationship with his Lord and Savior. And neither must we, for true Christianity will never be a spectator sport! Five strikes! It would appear that Satan is down and almost out! And then along comes Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah—not from outside the city, but inside! No longer do the enticements and temptations come from out there in the world somewhere, but now from within—and yet the intention remains the same—Nehemiah's downfall. Shemaiah now wants to meet with him inside the temple, where Nehemiah would be "safe"—and all under the pretence of caring and concern. Spiritual discernment comes in again—Nehemiah perceived that Shemaiah was anything but caring. You see, as a layman, and not a priest, Nehemiah knew he would be in sin to enter into that "within" part of the temple—and, if he had done so, it would be a tremendous reproach on the honor of God and would ruin his own witness. Nehemiah knew that Sanballat and Tobiah were behind it all—they hired Shemaiah. It's true today, too! Those around you, who don't want to go all of the way with the Lord, will often try to trip you up in your quest to be centered on Jesus, for Satan "hired" them! You see, your desire to have Jesus in the middle of every aspect of your life is convicting to those who don't. So, Satan is quite ready to recruit them for his dirty work. He is trying to hit a home run for the Kingdom of darkness, but Satan swings at God's fast ball and misses—Strike 6!!! Oh, Praise the Lord—Satan is out! He is done; finiti; washed up; over and out! With the new "six strikes and you're out" rule, that would seem to be true, but don’t forget—there is no truth in Satan and he cheats at everything! Even after fifty-two days of building the wall from start to finish, and even after the crucial doors and gates are installed so protection is ensured, and even after the "game" is seemingly over, verses 17,18, and 19, make it clear that Tobiah just kept it up and kept it up. But Praise God, to no avail! Why? Because Nehemiah's whole life was centered on the Lord! He didn't just tack God onto his life and figure that that was good enough—everything was for the One who gave His everything! F.B. Meyer once wrote, "Paul declared that the love of Christ constrains us, but it does not constrain all who wear the name 'Jesus.' Many do not understand the profound significance of the Cross, and therefore, are not gathered unto the center of it. We sometimes hear people described as 'eccentric', or, literally, out of the center. A man is 'ex-centric' to the world when he is 'concentric' with Christ! This is the new creation—concentric around Christ, like the little waves that emanate from the stone tossed into the still pond." Oh, that wondrous Cross! Perhaps Satan thought he threw a spiritual monkey wrench into the plan of God when he influenced the religious leaders to hate Jesus, but that, too, was part of the plan—strike! And then he entered into Judas—strike! Through Herod and Pontius Pilate, Satan tried to get Jesus to back off and compromise—strike! When they raised that cross to the sky, and Jesus declared, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,"—strike! Just before He breathed His last breath, when Satan probably thought he had the victory, Jesus pronounced God's plan to be accomplished—strike! And now, because of that glorious Cross, the true Church of Jesus Christ can know that there is indeed a very great work set before them—not just to pass the time, but as a Christ-centered people, to see countless souls pass into eternity—strike! In the end, Satan will be out; God has already won! Yes, more is better—"more love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!" Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
