Keep Pressing Ahead - Facing Internal Opposition, Part 1

Few things in life are as painful as having a good friend, a mentor or maybe someone in your small group or someone at work. Turn on the train. They talk about when you get opposition on the outside is one with opposition comes from inside, maybe even a family member. What you do that's today welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge shipping group Living on the Edge is an international teaching a discipleship ministry featuring the Bible teaching of shipping chips in the series. Keep resting ahead and this program he talks about the painful experience of betrayal is going to give us an insightful look at what doing someone we trust everything in our world upside what you have a Bible had returned to Nehemiah chapter 5 and maybe do a quick download chips message.

Note LivingontheEdge.org with the app, just tap billing your strip with part one of his message facing internal opposition to start limit differently. If you pull out your teaching. As we look at the back page. You don't usually start back but Nehemiah is our example. He's he's blazing a trail and showing us how to deal with adversity.

What I love about this book is it he helps us remember that adversity comes in different forms and so you need to respond to different kinds of adversity or trouble or tribulation in different ways and so you notice and in chapter 4. Adversity came because he obeyed and and for some of us that just just knocks us offkilter. You know why I took the step we decided as a couple to go to counseling or you know I I decided something I'm going to get my finances in order. You not get it.

I get joined a ministry here.

You know I'm can address an important issue.

I have a good friend earlier this week.

It is decided. Now I just can't get up this week I'm going to get up and meet with God before work.

He said men. This is been the hardest week of my life. When you do what's right when you follow God often is adversity. First Peter says don't be surprised me.

Don't be shocked so he prayed he prepares an enemies reported notice that when you go to chapter 5 the adversity is not because people were doing something good. The adversity is because they're doing something bad.

You notice their disobedience.

You kinda reap what you sow from Galatians 6 and then what you gonna discover is there's a different way to handle it. So now turn to the front of those notes if you will, and what I want to do with you is talk about how to face internal opposition when external opposition fails to Thorton God's work, you can almost guarantee you have the next attack and will be from within.

And if you like me got shocked when Lord I'm doing exactly what you said and it gets harder instead of easier to go. What's the deal. Once you realize that's normal and to be expected. That's helpful, but then when I take the next step in the people that I think should be for me and supporting me I'm family, friends, people in my small group maybe a pastor and they're the people that are the problem out about you but I just go nuts how you handle that or here's what I want you know when that happens you're not alone happen to Jesus, then it and by the way, this is always from bad people. Sometimes it's from the most well-meaning people that really have what they think is your best and mine, Peter tells to Jesus, don't go to the cross.

That's not a good plan. I rebuke you in course you know later, Jesus rebuked him and said get behind me Satan you know Judas course. His motives were good all and all the while he set up Jesus for financial kickback that he would get by turning them in and secure Jesus you know he's got all this opposition from the Pharisees he's got all these issues he's facing one of his closest friends is a point of opposition over here a Judas betrayer over here and then on the very last night. He's got 12 guys arguing with one another about who's the greatest mean.

If you have been driving the car and have your kids in the backseat arguing arguing argument makes you nuts. But after three years of investing in their life and their arguing about all brother right so that happened to Jesus is can happen to you and the apostles as they started coming you can just jotting your notes back six acts 15. The church multiplies me tens of thousands of people come to Christ, and pretty soon there arguing some cultural issues in your year groups get more my grouping of the Hellenistic or the Greek Jews versus that the Jewish Jews widows and then Paul and Barnabas great friends.

They have a little tiff part of its philosophical. Maybe part of its personality, but great friends are now rubbing each other the wrong way and here's what you can understand when you do what God wants you to do and you take a step of faith. You may find that your spouse is an onboard your parents think you're crazy that some your closest friends would just come to privately incite what you doing me what what were you thinking me that's not a good secure plan. I know when Teresa and I told her parents that we believe got a call us in the ministry as of the teacher and a basketball coach and an Connor treats his dad thought that's what he was getting sober can put all the kids and everything we own in a Ryder truck organ to drive to Dallas and go to seminary and really be missionaries or so we thought it, here's the response the supportive, loving response if you leave don't expect to ever see us again and we will never ever ever is that you other than that they were very positive when God led me over to 1/2 year journey and all that we've been through together to marry Teresa my spiritual leader, and by the way, this is been reconciled since but the man that I looked up to. He discipled me for seven years. He took me out privately week we admitted a very exclusive restaurant, usually 6 AM McDonald's they said to buy.

I've been thinking and praying about this have spent a lot of time with you. I just want you to know if you marry Teresa Gato never use your life as if you have any other encouraging words. You know maybe another Egg McMuffin or something and and since that didn't work.

He had his wife meet with my wife and when they met and he feels very bad about this now, but from his perspective and from where he came from, but his wife met with Treece and said if you really love trip chip you would marry him because God has his hand on his life and if you marry him.

He'll never use you know that just that took my world spinning upside down. I mean I was like God willing will who I listen to what what what who who who you need understand par for the course opposition comes from without opposition comes from within. I actually put a definition of strife, angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues, vigorous or bitter conflict, discord, quarrels, struggle, competition or rivalry when you decide to say I'm going to be in our 12 Christian and I'm gonna live before God I'm gonna get in community, time to get on mission coming, discover who God made me to be done to make a difference for the eternal God of the universe. I will tell you external conflict is coming, and internal opposition will occur in chapter 5.

Nehemiah is going to teach you and teach me how to face lessons from Nehemiah 5. Internal strife occurs. Here's the overarching thought when the me principal overrides the us principal, the main principle is me mine.

What about me my future, my money, my ego, my position what's in it for me, even though were Christians. Even though the Spirit of God lives inside of us under pressure. We can think more about us than about what God is doing in all of us. Philippians 2 verses three and four.

He might jotting the courtier notes it says let nothing be done with out of selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, consider others more important than yourselves. At the heart of internal conflict is greed and selfishness and pride not want you to open your Bibles if you will. Nehemiah chapter 5 if you're like me you didn't grow up with the Bible open the middle and find Psalms and go left a couple books and you get there. Nehemiah chapter 5 opens up now a member, where were at.

He's left Persia.

He's the right-hand man of the King. He's gathered a group of people.

The wall has started to be rebuilt, the wall is half finished. The enemies have threatened their lives, they prayed they prepared their up at dawn until dusk. They have their swords on their side. Half the people are guarding the other half people working there keeping their clothes on at night and they're doing this work, and God is fulfilling his promise to Nehemiah and he's realigning his historic purposes and so you think things are to be really going well.

Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against the Jewish brothers, some were saying we and our sons and daughters are numerous. In order for us to eat, stay alive. We must get grain. Others were saying were mortgaging our fields or vineyards in our homes to get grain during the famine, and then the third group. Still others were saying we have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and or vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen, and though our sons are as good as theirs. Yet, we have to subject our sons and her daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and or vineyards belong to others that you need to get a little picture of what's going on here. Number one, you have a food shortage.

Apparently there was a famine during this time and it probably started well before the rebuilding of the wall and so you get a food shortage and some people that don't own any land are basically saying we we don't try to build this wall will try to do God's will, we get a bigger problem you eat some people who do own land number problem is their debt ceiling eclipsed unlike the government where they can have meetings and can figure out where you want to put how many trillion dollars.

Once your collateral for your home want your collateral for your vineyards and now they've actually sold their children sons and daughters of slaves. The basically saying were done we had nothing else to mortgage and then the third group as it got high taxes. The Persian king all the places that were subject to him would exercise a tax and so this people were saying UNICEF and family this this Nehemiah.

I really appreciate this plan. I know God's in it were all excited more have done, but you know were rebuild this wall to fulfill God's plan and my home is gone. My vineyards gone and my fellow Jewish brothers, you know these guys that were working hand-in-hand, arm in arm. Because in chapter 3, member will work to what by affinity groups the wealthy people have taken this opportunity to take everything I have and everything thing I own. So what's used to build this wall.

In fact, the opportunistic situation you have is what's going on literally is loansharking. I'm a little and I looked it up on Google just to make sure it wasn't as crazy as I thought it was for this used to happen in the Mafia used to be really big in this. Actually I learned and I logged in Google loansharking and I found out where I can get a super high interest for like a week and if I don't pay in a week just goes up and I think someone will break my legs or something.

Even today, I'm not quite sure how it works but a man is crazy and so what happened is there were some Jewish brothers that had resources and finances and so people needed grain so they kept loaning money.

We can't pay what you know.

If you can't pay all take your house, it can't pale take your menu to Pay all take your sanity can't take and when it says the daughters are enslaved is not just like your household slave. The word here is the idea that someone became someone second wife, Ms. Kaiser, San, what you where is the love in the room and so the conflict not put yourself in the MI situation. He's looking at this and now here here's what's happened. The result is disunity. The result is these people that are supposed to be hand-in-hand, working together, building the wall. I mean doing God's will.

All of a sudden there's this great outcry. There's this disunity I mean there's people that don't like each other and they're all Jews and they're all on the same team and so you get a very difficult situation and so Nehemiah's perspective that the agenda is faltering.

He's left his comfortable position. He's making a sacrifice, but these people were at each other's throats. So here's the issue. What you do when you face that kind of internal opposition. What what you what you do. How do you respond let's pick up the story and never six verse six goes on to say when I heard there outcry in these charges.

I was very angry.

By the way, there's a time to be angry just ticked off and this is so unfair. This is so wrong he goes on to say, I pondered them in my mind and then accuse the nobles and officials at the word pondered literally. He says I consulted with myself. Your he's really really mad, but instead of making a quick rash decision or saying something.

He's very angry. Many white-hot, angry, and these having this private conversation itself, which I do about this. What's the wise step how to lie address this.

I can't just run on a motion and then he confronts or accuses the nobles and the officials and I told him your exacting usury from your countrymen.

So I called a large assembly to deal with them and I said as far as possible. We brought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles.

Now you are selling brothers only for them to be sold back to us. They kept quiet as they could find nothing to say. He basically said you understand we been in exile the Gentiles we been slaves.

I personally have taken some money and others have taken some money and we bought our Jewish brothers back from the Gentiles.

Now were in Jerusalem were like to do God's will and now they're being sold into slavery to one another to you guys. I mean this is literally like your hands in the cookie jar and some of these events are not and you notice the response absolutely quiet that they just note yeah you're right. Now he goes on, so I continued what you're doing is not right, shouldn't you walk in the fear of God to avoid the reproach or Gentile enemies. I am my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. So since I'm I'm giving people food. I'm running a money but I might charge an interest, I'm not taking their homes and their vineyards, but let the exacting of this usury stop give back to them immediately, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves in their houses and also the interest that you're charging them the hundredth part of the money to grain, the new wine and oil in the notice, the response we will give it back. They said and we will not demand anything more from them. We will do what you say notice in your notes. His emotional response is anger under control okay anger under control.

Some of you right now thinking about some things into thinking I felt really bad about being angry. I want you know you ought to feel really good about being angry about some things that are wrong and unjust around people and friends who ought to be supporting some things that they're not. But then have to get under control.

Notice that verse on anything but Ephesians 426 Ike I gave this New Testament passage it says the angry it's a command yet do not sin. Anger motivate you to act but notice the second thing he does its thoughtful confrontation. He doesn't go off as you start screaming. He consults with himself.

He evaluates a situation and there's thoughtful confrontation.

If you're thinking yourself and I've got pretty significant issue and hear what it is in its in my family and it's really exactly what you talked about, but I don't know how to address me. I'm not sure exactly what I should do and let me give you the basics.

Here you can study it for yourself but Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 to 17. Just watch the progression because what we tend to do when something like this happens is we go to someone else and start talking about it instead of here's the biblical process per thoughtful confrontation. If your brother or sister sins, and I can be inside your home that can be in your small group. They can be in the church, but if a brother sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you've won them over. But if they will not listen. Step two. Take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. The idea to the church leadership and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or tax collector doesn't mean you don't love them that you do not can afford the same fellowship and relationship that you would with a brother or sister in Christ. The third thing that happens is public accountability. You notice that the they respond and then he doesn't just say okay of address the issue. I was really mad.

I thought about what to do. But then he says his copy of follow through this gotta be a plan so that what were talking about now because what happens in every situation. It just slides back to the way it used to be.

So follow along if you will, and notice what he does after they say okay we will do exactly what you say verse 12 second half. Then I summoned the priests and I made the nobles and the officials take an oath to do with a promise.

In other words, he went public.

He calls an assembly he says working a look at this is to be public accountability and he calls the priests cases priests you represent God. Nobles, even loansharking rightly took these people's land. Yet, they took their kids yeah you did that.

She did okay right ready. You said you would stop take an oath right now before God in the presence of these priests and it says I also shook out the folds of my robe and I said in this way. May God shake out his house and possessions. Every man who does not keep this promise.

So my such a man be shaken out and emptied at this, the whole assembly said amen and praise the Lord and the people did as they promised.

Know what you need understand about the culture hears and in the front folds of your robe. You keep your personal possessions and so Nehemiah makes and take an oath and is a large group enemy there on the spot.

He's telling it like it is he's using the moral authority to God's given him, and he unfolds his and his personal stuff falls on the ground and basically it's a curse make God due to you, just like all my personal stuff and all.

May he take every aspect of your life and I'm in closet to roll to the ground. If you don't keep your promise, and so he publicly charges them. He has them verbalize what they're going to do. He gets people in a follow-up plan and so what he does is he provides public accountability to move forward. Now what's this got to do with us. First Timothy chapter 5 verse 19 says do not entertain an accusation against an elder plus is brought by two or three witnesses.

But those elders who are sinning.

You are to reprove before everyone so that others may take morning all, I want you to see is even in the New Testament when there's issues, words, this isn't gray areas.

This isn't my opinion versus your opinion.

This is when in the church people violate the clear truth of God's word and when they violated.

This is someone with the courage she doesn't, lovingly, kindly under control, but says that behavior or that attitude is destroying the unity and when the unity is destroyed and were not on the same page. The work of God gives listings chips talk facing internal opposition series. Keep pressing ahead will be back with the final word about his message, but before you is I hope you'll take a second to go online or Share and encourage others to hear this message to adversity comes in all shapes and sizes, discouragement, opposition, tough circumstances and personal failure. But with this series chip gives you the tools and the tactics you need to keep pressing ahead no matter what, for limited time, keep pressing ahead resources are discounted and the MP3s are free to order your copy or to send it to a friend. Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003. I'll be right back in just a minute with some very specific application to help you today or someone that you love. But before I do, maybe you're like me and you have people in your life that are going through. I mean very difficult times. I mean, some of the worst times ever circumstances that are overwhelming economics that literally are they just wonder how they're going to make it. Maybe there is relational fallout adversity. Some big changes at work but I mean I want you to think about the people that you really really care about could be family could be fellow workers could be some relatives could be people at church or maybe someone in your small group and you think, oh man, have you heard about so and so and then you hear their story and I think all of us tend to want to to solve the symptoms right there discourage there down there hurting. We want to make him feel better and you know yes you have text them, call them, pray for them.

Get him a cup of coffee but at the core of discouragement and making it through adversity of what you need in the midst of the most difficult times of life is what you need is truth.

You know the truth but it's believing the truth to the point that allows you to endure and trust what God has said is true about the future what God has said is true about you and what God has said is true about all the promises that is made because when people are going through times like that the people that we love what they need is the affirmation of the truth of Scripture.

So what we've done is we put together a tool is called affirmation cards that take the most common lies that we all believe, especially when circumstances, relationships or economics are falling apart and we take on one side of the card the lies and we put a little stop sign at the bottom we flip it over and there's an affirmation of truth. This is who God says you are. This is what's true about the future. This is what God promises no matter what and his people. Review those cards. What I can tell you is, instead of just addressing the symptom which is important, comforting, caring, encouraging what you do is you helped get to the core of their soul and you help them lay hold of the promises of God that will sustain them and allow them by the power of the Holy Spirit to literally keep pressing ahead. In the midst of the challenges are going through Dave, would you let people know how they can get a hold of these cards and maybe pass it on to those that are coming to their mind right now. Happy to preview our affirmation cards online. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org these attractive parts.cards are designed to strengthen you to win the battle for your thoughts about where your hope lies in who you are in Christ for limited time. Shipping is free.

Order your set today and maybe get a second set to give to her friend or to send as a gift affirmation cards you'll find them@livingontheedge.org Special offers on the app or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 as we close today's program.

I like to talk a little bit about where we ended we talked about disunity and how it breaks up a family how it destroys an organization how a team just falls apart when there's disunity in my my experience. My observation and I'm not sure exactly why this is, of all the issues where we kinda think yeah were not really on the same page anymore and I have some very mild resentment but it's not that big a deal, we began to go into denial and rationalization, and we began to allow the seeds of disunity to grow and what I want you to know is there are few things in all the earth that will break God's heart and eventually destroy the most important relationships that you have is allowing disunity to go unchecked, you know, in my own heart my own life because most of us like me don't like confrontation. We hope just time will heal things that you know maybe that other persons having just a bad day or maybe it's just me and I probably shouldn't say anything. All I'm telling you is all those things that you're saying in your mind, unless they get addressed. Over time the disunity in your marriage will cause adrift the disunity with one your kids and you rationalize and say well they're just going through a stage when you know you need to address confront bad things are going to happen if it isn't addressed. I believe God put us together at this moment in time and is not an accident. You heard this broadcast or this podcast at a moment where God is saying you need to sit down and talk with the team member you need to sit down and talk with one your kids.

You need to pool your whole family together and say you know something the way were doing life right now doesn't reflect Christ. This is unhealthy. This isn't good for some of you in church leadership. You need to say you know something we need. There's a white elephant in the room. Things aren't right, let's get them on the table and in some cases you're at odds because of what you did. And the answer is your listing to my voice and you're gonna turn off the radio or click your iPod and you can pick up the phone and you can a call someone and say you know something we need to talk or maybe it's not that big a deal and you just got a call on you, so you know something the other day.

I just want you to know I'm sorry I said this or I did this and I want to make sure we make it right. Keep your accounts short address issues of disunity. Jesus said the very last thing he said and prayed, was father may they be one even as we are one unity matters to God address what ever you need to address today. You'll be glad you did. As we wrap up today's program. Just a quick but important thought Living on the Edge depends on blisters like you to help us continue broadcasting right here in your area. Would you consider partnering with us on a monthly basis so people around you can benefit from a ministry of chip and Living on the Edge of a set of recurring donation.

Just call us at 1-888-333-6003, or if you prefer to get online just go to LivingontheEdge.org and thanks in advance for doing whatever God leads you to do well next time Chip continues his series. Keep pressing ahead, so be sure to make plans to join us that for everyone here.

This is Dave Drewry saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge