What about opposition?

When I was in training to become a certified Project Manager we had to learn about the strength, influence, and process of negotiation. We also learned about the use and authority of an agent. Agents are representatives of someone or something with the authority necessary to do the job. Agents are also found in the spiritual realm. Angels are agents on God’s behalf.

People can be agents too. People can be agents to accomplish God’s work or to hinder it. People can be either agents of God’s Kingdom or of Satan’s forces by what they choose to do. In our Christmas musical we heard that Christmas is a story about choices. That is true, but our choices don’t just happen at Christmas.

Everyday we are faced with hundreds of choices. These choices will either align us with God’s goals and plans or Satan’s. We can know God’s plans and His heart by reading and studying the Bible. The Bible teaches us about the decisions we should make when faced with a choice.

In addition to daily choices, there are larger issues we will either influence toward love and righteousness, or we will choose to leave it alone. The Bible is clear – to not make a choice is to choose. It is true with salvation. To not choose Heaven is to choose Hell. To delay doing the right thing is to choose the wrong thing.

When Nehemiah was moved by God to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem, he had to make several choices. To delay would have been sin. Nehemiah had to approach the king of the same country that came and destroyed Jerusalem, and carried its people into slavery and exile. Nehemiah was terrified to speak, but he knew what he had to do. The tension of the situation made Nehemiah depressed and the king noticed his sad disposition. The king asked why Nehemiah was so depressed – it had never happened before. (That’s a good model for us to follow.)

Nehemiah told the king about the state of Jerusalem and what he wanted to do. Notice how it happened:

And I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire? And the king said to me, For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of Heaven, and I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I pray that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, so that I may build it. Nehemiah 2:3-5

Nehemiah prayed and spoke to the king. These days we call this, “multi-tasking”. Nehemiah placed his faith in God, then he took courage, and did what was necessary.

God wanted Jerusalem rebuilt. Nehemiah was working to setup the logistics and plans to get the job done. The king was willing to support the project with funding, materials, and time off with pay, for Nehemiah to get the job done. Wow! Seems like nothing can go wrong, until Nehemiah arrives in Judah. Look what happens next:

And I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. And the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. And Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard. And it grieved them very much that there had come a man to seek the good of the sons of Israel. Nehemiah 2:9-10

It grieved Sanballat and Tobiah that Jerusalem was going to be rebuilt. Because of their attitudes and actions Sanballat and Tobiah were acting as the agents of Satan. There is not enough room here to explain everything that happened in the book of Nehemiah, but notice, for every person acting as an agent of righteousness there are Sanballats and Tobiahs waiting to hinder the work. They don’t want to use their resources to help someone else. They will gossip and back stab to get their way. They will look like us, but they are not truly one of us.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

In the years to come we will be given many opportunities to be agents of righteousness. We will have opportunities with those in our own neighborhood, people across the nation, and around the world. When the time comes to make a decision about what to do, use the phrase – “What Would Jesus Do?” Would Jesus help the people of Pass Christian, MS? Would Jesus stand against gambling? Would Jesus show compassion to the homeless and hungry? We will be someone’s agent, who’s agent are you?