I. Introduction

A. Illustration – Joseph Stowell, long-time president of Multnomah School of the Bible, wrote this in his book A Heart for the City: A Chicago-based newspaper, StreetWise, is sold by homeless people, who collect a portion of the proceeds. One day as I walked to work, I passed a StreetWise vendor. It was a bitterly cold January morning, and I'd already stopped by Starbucks and paid more than a buck for a measly cup of coffee. Feeling noble, I struggled to find my wallet, reached in, and took out a dollar. The homeless woman asked, "Do you really want the paper, or can I keep it to sell to someone else?" "Keep the paper," I replied. Then I added, "How are you today?" "I'm so cold," she said. "I hope the sun comes out, it warms up, and you have a good day," I told her as I turned to go. I continued on, with the cup of coffee warming my hand. About half a block later, the conversation finally registered. I wrestled for a moment with what I should do, but I was late, so I kept walking. Ever since, I've regretted not giving her a cup of hot coffee in Christ's name (as cited on PreachingToday.com).

B. I hate to admit it, but I’ve had many times in my life when I’ve stumbled just like Stowell did. Those are times when I failed to help relieve the oppressiveness of this world. But Nehemiah had a different take on life, and he actively worked to relieve the suffering of the oppressed. Let’s read about it in Nehemiah 5, and I’m reading from the New Living.

C. Nehemiah 5 from the New Living – About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. 2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more money just so we can buy the food we need to survive.” 3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” 4 And others said, “We have already borrowed to the limit on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. 5 We belong to the same family, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.” 6 When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. 7 After thinking about the situation, I spoke out against the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are oppressing your own relatives by charging them interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. 8 At the meeting I said to them, “The rest of us are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense. 9 Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? 10 I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of loans. 11 You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. Repay the interest you charged them on their money, grain, wine, and olive oil.” 12 Then they replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials formally vow to do what they had promised. 13 I shook out the fold of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake you from your homes and from your property!” The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. 14 I would like to mention that for the entire twelve years I was governor of Judah-from the twentieth until the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes-neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. 15 This was quite a contrast to the former governors who had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides a pound of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because of my fear of God, I did not act that way. 16 I devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my officials to spend time working on the wall. 17 I asked for nothing in return, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! 18 The provisions required at my expense for each day were one ox, six fat sheep, and a large number of domestic fowl. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people were already having a difficult time. 19 Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.

II. Breaking the Power of Oppressiveness

A. We live in a world that is dominated by oppressiveness. After all, Satan is called “the prince of this world” in John 12:31, and “the mighty prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. This world is Satan’s domain because man gave up his authority over it when Adam sinned. So in one sense our world is supposed to be overrun by oppressiveness. On the other hand, when Jesus died and rose again He took back that authority. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” It’s up to us to reclaim that authority that Jesus’ blood bought back. Why? For our own benefit? So we can become authoritarian and oppressive ourselves? Absolutely not! We are called to reclaim that authority so that we can fight oppressiveness in our world. What exactly does that mean?

B. According to my dictionary, to oppress is “to burden harshly, unjustly, or tyrannically. 2. To weigh heavily on the mind or spirit.” It comes from the Latin oppressus, to press against. Oppressive means “difficult to bear; harsh. b. Tyrannical. 2. Weighing heavily on the senses or spirits.” We see people all over the world who are in bondage or oppressed. If we look, we even see many such people in our own neighborhoods and communities. Yes, I know that in many cases they’ve done an awful lot to get themselves in these situations. But they are still oppressed. They are still under the spirit of oppressiveness that Satan has cast over this world. What’s the solution?

C. We are called as Christ-followers to take up His work to set them free. Isaiah 61:1-3, speaking of Jesus, says, The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. If the reason Christ came was to set the oppressed free, then we’ve got to take up the task so that His name will be glorified.

D. That’s what Nehemiah did. When he heard of the injustices that were being inflicted on the people, he went right to the source. He got after the oppressors and confronted them with their sin. The sin was especially galling because it was being inflicted on their fellow Jews. Exodus 22:25 says, If you lend money to a fellow Hebrew in need, do not be like a money lender, charging interest. Again in Leviticus 25:35-37 – If any of your Israelite relatives fall into poverty and cannot support themselves, support them as you would a resident foreigner and allow them to live with you. 36 Do not demand an advance or charge interest on the money you lend them. Instead, show your fear of God by letting them live with you as your relatives. 37 Remember, do not charge you relatives interest on anything you lend them, whether money or food. What is obvious in Nehemiah 5 is that this law was being trampled on, and God was not pleased. In fact, God’s curse was on those who oppressed their brothers and sisters in the faith.

E.Folks, God’s curse is on us when we oppress our brothers and sisters in the faith. We may not lend them money or food, but we may be harsh with them or do and say things that weigh heavily on their minds and spirits. We’re all guilty of it. We’re all guilty of oppressing our brothers and sisters in the faith, either by dealing harshly with them or by taking advantage of them when they’re trying to help us out. Our calling is to be releasers by the power of the Spirit, not oppressors by the power of the prince of this world. For that to happen, there are some truths we’ve got to get a grip on.

F. First, we fight oppressiveness with our hospitality. In Matthew 25: 31-46 Jesus says, “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me!” 41 Then the king will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! And jumping down to verse 45 – And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” I know this isn’t the kind of stuff we like to focus on or talk about, but there are eternal consequences to our action and inaction. When we show hospitality to others, we’re fighting oppressiveness, just like Nehemiah did. He showed hospitality to many others and met many needs in order to fight the oppressors of his nation. We’ve got to do the same thing. Maybe by working at the soup kitchen or at a homeless shelter. Maybe by running our own food drives or giving out Christmas toys as part of the Lebanon Christmas project. And people don’t have to be hard luck cases for us to show hospitality to them. Many of our friends, neighbors and coworkers are oppressed by circumstances we’re not even aware of. Inviting them over for dinner or even just a cup of coffee can lift their spirits and help us build a relationship that could result in their finding the ultimate solution for oppressiveness – Jesus Christ. Dorothy Bass wrote, In an era when many of us feel that time is our scarcest resource, hospitality falters.… "In a fast-food culture," a wise Benedictine monk observes, "you have to remind yourself that some things cannot be done quickly. Hospitality takes time" (as cited on PreachingToday.com). We fight oppressiveness with hospitality.

G. Second, we fight oppressiveness with our involvement. Notice how Nehemiah didn’t just yell at the oppressors – he was actively involved in redeeming the needy and standing up for their rights. James 1:27 in The Message says, Reach out to the homeless and the loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. We tend to be very good at fighting the frontal assaults of the corrupting forces of our world, even to the point of confusing methods with message, but we don’t do as well with the sneakier attacks. Corruption is something that happens inside of us, not outside, and if we guard our personal relationship with Jesus Christ through our daily time with Him, we’ve got a good defense and we can focus on reaching out to the homeless and the loveless. One way that our church reaches out to the needy and the loveless is through our Green Acres School sponsorship. That’s an awesome thing because we get to show the love of Jesus in a tangible way. But folks, we’ve got to do more than just donate supplies or write a check. Some of us are involved in volunteering in schools in our communities. Some visit nursing homes and shut ins. But fighting oppressiveness takes all of us. All of us are called to set the captives free by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. All of us are called to comfort the brokenhearted and those who mourn. There are many ways we can do that, but the number one way is to build relationships with those who are unchurched. An excellent way to do that is to volunteer with community groups or activities, like the Sodaville Blackberry Festival or the city council or the school board. Or how about parent-teacher organizations. There are many ways we can be salt and light in our communities, but the point is that we have to get involved. Nehemiah did. Of course part of it was his job, but he went way over and above the call of duty in seeking to bring relief from oppressiveness to the needy. Pastor John Kreeft writes, On my door there's a cartoon of two turtles. One says, "Sometimes I'd like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when he could do something about it." The other turtle says, "I'm afraid God might ask me the same question" (quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (Zondervan, 2001), p. 50. as cited on PreachingToday.com). We fight oppressiveness with our involvement.

H. Third, we fight oppressiveness with our prayers. Last week we talked about putting feet to our prayers, but we’ve got to pray first. The last sentence of James 5:16 says, The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. While most of us would not consider ourselves righteous except maybe in name only, the truth of the matter is that if we’re living obediently to Christ and maintaining a growing, loving daily personal relationship with Him, we are righteous. And our prayers will, as another version puts it, be powerful and effective. We have to act on what we know to be true and what God wants us to do, but we’ve also got to pray. We know that God wants us to fight oppressiveness in bringing relief to those who need it. We know that God wants us to show hospitality and to get involved. But notice throughout the book of Nehemiah are many times when he prayed. The gospels show several times when Jesus got away and prayed. Prayer breaks the power of oppression, in part by attacking the supernatural forces marshaled against our world, and in part by spurring us to acting on what we know to be true. None of us can afford to be without a vital and active prayer life, a life spent interceding for those in need. Just as Nehemiah did, we fight oppressiveness with our prayers.

I. Fourth, we fight oppressiveness with our attitudes. James 2:1 – My dear brothers, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? Verse 12 – So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free. We all have those folks we tend to look down our noses at. I had a good friend with an ego problem who, whenever you talk with him, he tips his head back slightly and actually looks down his nose at you. I saw him recently and he’s still at it. The really sad thing is that he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. But he’s actively demonstrating with his body what we tend to do in our hearts and in our attitudes. We look down on each other, we look down on those from what we would call lower classes than us, we look down on those who have what we would call lesser jobs. Most of the time we don’t even realize we’re doing it, but people notice those things. People pick up on the subtle nonverbal cues and know what we’re really like inside. This is probably the area where we struggle the most in our battle against oppressiveness, because when our attitudes change our actions tend to follow. Nehemiah certainly had good reason if anybody does to look down on these needy Jews. After all, he was the governor, and he was trusted by the king and held a position of honor back in Babylon. But instead of allowing his attitudes to run away with him, he humbled himself before God and saw these people as God saw them. Our attitudes will determine whether we are effective in fighting oppressiveness, or whether we contribute to it instead.

J. Do you remember that part of the definition for oppression talks about weighing heavily on the mind and spirit? People don’t have to be in difficult circumstances to be victims of oppressiveness, just as people don’t have to hold high positions or status to be oppressors. Nehemiah dedicated his time in Jerusalem to freeing the oppressed, first by rebuilding the wall and second by meeting needs. We can donate stuff and sponsor children and great things like that, but unless we get actively and personally involved with the people they are not going to experience the love of Jesus lived out through us. I think it was Phil Collins who sang “we all need the human touch” – and when we fight oppressiveness, we can be the human touch of Jesus.

K. Illustration – George Whitefield, who was a preaching partner of John Wesley, wrote, I hope to grow rich in heaven by taking care of orphans on earth (as cited on PreachingToday.com).

L. Folks, let’s obey God’s call to fight oppressiveness. Let’s refuse to foster it in our attitudes. Let’s open our hearts and our homes to others. Let’s get actively and personally involved in our schools and our communities. Let’s defeat it with our prayers. Let’s choose to be known as a church that fights oppressiveness with God’s love.

III. Conclusion

A. Please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for each other’s privacy. What is God speaking to your heart this morning about your involvement in fighting oppressiveness. Let’s spend a few quiet moments listening to what the Spirit is saying to us.

B. Again, what’s God been speaking to your heart? If His Spirit has been whispering into your heart that you’ve got to become more actively involved in fighting oppressiveness, spend some time right now in prayer. Ask for His forgiveness. Surrender to His will in this area of your life. Ask Him where He wants you to serve or what He wants you to do to fight oppressiveness. Let’s pray.