Episode 15 - State Sovereignty Rules the Day

Nehemiah Chapters 1-6 we find Nehemiah who was a Jewish man in exile serving as the cupbearer to King Artaxerses. News had traveled to Nehemiah that the wall and gates of Jerusalem had been burned down, so he mourned and repented on behalf of the people before the Lord and reminded him of the promise that He had given Moses -- that when His people were unfaithful and were scattered if they return to Him, if they repent and keep His commandments the Lord will gather them back to Jerusalem, the place where His Presence dwells. So Nehemiah prayed this and found favor with King Artaxerxes and was sent on his way with great provision and a company of men to rebuild the wall. They were mocked and harassed by their enemies the entire time. And the verse that has always stood out to me is Nehemiah 6:3 which finds Nehemiah and his people having made great progress on rebuilding the wall. His enemies are trying to distract and entrap him. And this is how he responds to his enemies and mockers. “ So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” I love that so much because especially when we are getting started in this kind of work to literally re-assert our God given rights and fortify our Constitutional rights, we are working to re-build protection around families and with legislation like HB 537, literally protecting our state from covert invasion by enemies -- while we are doing this work there are enemies and distractions and mockers -- whether they are people or spirits that show up like little voices who are trying to belittle us and tell us that our contributions and our work and our goal is unattainable. But we should keep at the work that the Lord has put in our hearts, just as Nehemiah did. And we should respond the same way he did to their criticisms and attempts to draw him away from his rebuilding effort. Let us be ones who are so confident in the work that the Lord has given us to do that we can tell even the most  high ranking mocker, I don’t have time to talk to you or to come down to where you are. I am doing great work.