Why are we choosing to review this right now? What do I need to put over that will help us to see the value of looking at this?
I felt the Lord say it was so we can become more robust in our lives.
So many times we lead up and down lives, strong in some parts and weak in others. So often we don’t face our character flaws. We kind of just say, “Well that’s what I’m like, you can take it or leave it”
The problem is most people leave it and we end up not leading such a full life because of it.

So if we are going to take our spiritual character seriously we have to look to build or construct some Godly principles that will hold fast through all the phases and ups and downs that life will throw at us.

I suggest that you read Nehemiah chapters 1-3 as a foundation and then look at Nehemiah 4:1-3 and verses 7-10 for what we are covering this month before you go any further. The context we know is that Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. What he encountered in the natural is a type and shadow for us to see things from a spiritual standpoint. I believe it will show us some important things.

1) Expect opposition and Incredulity (i.e. people wont believe you)
    The devil does not want you to work on your character. He would love to make it worse or at the least have it stay where he has got it to right now.
The world will not understand the point. If you tell them “ Well I’m just improving my golf swing” or “I am developing my fitness levels “ or something like that then everyone thinks that is great. They envy your determination and perhaps even get inspired to do it themselves.
However you say ”well I’m working on my character” and they laugh and scorn, but underneath they are challenged because it will put you over in life. These men had their authority challenged and they did not want to let go. Did you notice the challenge in 4:2 “will they fortify themselves?”
There will always be opposition and misunderstanding when you are working on your spiritual fitness levels. Most will see it as a sign of weakness admitting faults. In reality it is a strength because you see that there is a need that God through the Holy Spirit can change. So be determined to build spiritual strength into your life.

1 Tim 4:8 says “ bodily exercise profits a little but godliness is profitable for all things”

Do you see that, building godliness into your life is profitable for all things, not just spiritual things. It will have an impact in every area of your life. That makes it worthwhile ignoring the opposition and persevering

2) There is always rubbish to deal with
Nehemiah 4:10 brings out something we have to face, even when we are pushing through to make changes to follow after God’s way of doing things in our life. There is always rubbish in and among the good stuff. Although they were building the rubbish was getting in the way and it was leaving them vulnerable to the enemy. Because of the rubbish they couldn’t build as fast as they would like and so there were many holes in their defences. Does that sound familiar?

So Nehemiah did two things. He set men with armour to watch and protect and he accepted that there was rubbish and set to work on it.

In the Spirit we need to do the same.

The scripture tells us to “keep( guard) your heart with all diligence for out of it spring(flow) the issues of life” Proverbs 4:23

Let me explain. As I write this piece I am stuck in a hotel room in Quetta, Pakistan (literally, because it is a dangerous area and I need to keep a low profile) How I conduct myself and keep my heart while I am here is just as important as the preaching and powerful ministry I have been involved with in the last two days.

In fact, I know for certain that how I prepare my heart and stay spiritually attuned will have a direct affect on the “success” of the meetings. We need to understand that. We cannot expect one without taking time in the other. Many ministers want to see results and wonder why nothing happens. Well, here is one of the primary keys right there. I do not mean to be hard but I believe it is time that we told the truth and called it like it is.

Rubbish in this passage in Nehemiah is waste matter that was clogging up and holding back the building.

In the Spirit the rubbish of our old way of thinking will clog up the flow and limit our ability to grow in the kingdom. Here is an important thought. None of us starts with a clean sheet as far as our character is concerned. It is like a special sheet that looks blank but there is invisible writing underneath and given the right conditions it will show through and expose our flaws.

However, our spirit does start with a clean sheet so we do have a fresh opportunity to work on it.

In conclusion then there are two key things we must do. First we must recognise that left to our own devices there is rubbish in our life that will clog us up and hold us back.

Then we need to determine to guard our heart and begin to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us and renew our mind to spiritual, kingdom, or heavens way of doing things and put that as a value base in our life. We do that primarily by getting stuck into the Word of God because that reveals the truth to us and exposes our twisted way of seeing it.

Next month we will look deeper into some specific ways of dealing with that rubbish