Talks for Growing Christians
Perceiving Deception
Nehemiah 6:10-14
Listen to this Talk
Download
- Download the Audio
- Download the Transcript
Transcripts not available for all Talks
Lesson Number 19
Background Notes
Doctrinal Point(s)
- A thorough working knowledge of God’s Word is necessary for spiritual warfare.
- The world will find fault with a disobedient Christian.
Practical Application
- Watch out for “The-Lord-told-me-so” friends.
- Watch out for the enemy in the most unlikely places.
Questions
- List some of the tactics Satan used against Nehemiah.
- Were these tactics successful in stopping “Operation Wall?” Why or why not?
- Who was Shemaiah? What did Sanballat and Tobiah hire him to do?
- What was Nehemiah’s perception of Shemaiah? How could Nehemiah distinguish a false prophet from a true prophet? (Compare verse 12 with Numbers 18:7)
- What does Nehemiah’s discernment show about him?
- What is a believer’s primary defense against spiritual deception?
Answers
- Scorn, ridicule, threat, conspiracy, internal strife, and slander.
- They were not successful because Nehemiah kept his eyes on the Lord, and he had his priorities in order. His example gave confidence to the people to trust in God.
- He was a false prophet, hired to inform Nehemiah that there was a threat on his life.
- He perceived that Shemaiah was a false prophet. God’s Word forbade those who were not priests from entering the sanctuary, and Nehemiah was not a priest. A true prophet of God would never suggest something that is contrary to the Word of God – not in Nehemiah’s day and not in our day!
- Nehemiah knew the book of Numbers, one of the books of the Law. Even though he was not a priest, Nehemiah had a good working knowledge of the Word of God!
- A thorough knowledge of God’s Word, and close communication with Him.
Discuss/Consider
- Have you had the experience of being advised wrongly, even by close friends and devout Christians? If so, what does this tell you?
- Read Hebrews 5:11-14. What are the implications of this passage?
Challenge
- Resolve to study God’s Word daily in order to grow in spiritual discernment. Be sure that your behavior matches your beliefs.
Key Verses
- “Wisdom from above is first of all pure.” James 3:17
Comments are closed.