Devotion 419

“Seeing By The Spirit Through The Word”

Reference: Nehemiah Chapter 6

Matthew 27:40-42 “And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. [41] Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, [42] He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.”

The same Devil speaking through men and women.

Matthew 4:6 “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

But the Son of God knew he was the devil from the beginning.

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

The Spirit of Christ in Nehemiah perceives the thoughts of the enemy.

Let’s read:
Nehemiah 6:1-2 “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) [2] That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.“

Nehemiah perceived the thoughts of the enemy. The Spirit of God in a man or woman perceives the thoughts of the enemy.

Matthew 9:4 “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?”

He is the same God yesterday,today, and forever. Perceiving every thought.

We continue our reading:

Nehemiah 6:3-8 “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? [4] Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. [5] Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; [6] Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. [7] And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. [8] Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.”

Nehemiah was in line with the Word of God. Discerning the heart of others.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

He is the same Word of God yesterday, today, and forever.

We continue our reading:

Nehemiah 6:9-12 “For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. [10] Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. [11] And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. [12] And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.”

Jesus Christ perceived the thoughts of every enemy because He is the Word of God, and He is God.

Psalm 44:21 “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

Dwelled in Christ was the Spirit of God. The same Spirit in a man or woman will perceive the thoughts of others.

2 Kings 5:25-27 “But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. [26] And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? [27] The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.”

The Spirit of Christ was in Elisha discerning the thoughts of men and women. The same Spirit was in Nehemiah discerning the thoughts of Shemaiah as an agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.

Today, the same Holy Spirit discerns the thoughts of men and women. For He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever.

We conclude our reading:

Nehemiah 6:13-19 “Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. [14] My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. [15] So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. [16] And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. [17] Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. [18] For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. [19] Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.”

It was not Nehemiah as a man that knew their thoughts but the Spirit of God in Nehemiah.

It’s not what we see physically but what we see by the Spirit through the Word.

Let the Word of God bring you to the Spirit of God. BELIEVE and confess Christ the Word as we’ve revealed Him from the First Adam. The Spirit is God’s looking glass, perceiving every thought, in Christ!

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