Focusing on Finishing: God's Call to Persevering Obedience

A reading this morning is taken from Nehemiah chapter 6.

Nehemiah 6 · chapter mention

As you're turning to the place, let me just explain because this

is the last Lord's day of 2025. I sought the Lord for a single

individual message that would seek to close the year and next

Lord's Day morning in the will of God being the first Lord's

Day of 2026. Then we will open the year with

the model text, and then after that, we'll return to our

studies in First Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

So I haven't forgotten about First Thessalonians, and I value

your prayers as we plan for the year ahead.

Let's hear the word of God, Nehemiah chapter 6.

Nehemiah 6 · chapter mention

We're going to read verses one through to 16.

Let's hear the word of God, Nehemiah chapter 6 reading of

Nehemiah 6 · chapter mention

course, from the King James Bible.

Let's hear God's word. Now it came to pass when

Sambalit 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. Then Sanballat and Geshem sent

unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in someone of the

villages in the plain of Hono. But they thought to do me

mischief, 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?

Yet they sent unto me 4 times after the sword, and I answered

them after the same manner. Then sent Sam Ballot his servant

unto me in like manner the fifth time, with an open letter in his

hand. For in was written, it is

reported among the heathen. And Gashmu saith it, that thou

and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thy buildest the

wall, that thou mayest be their king according to these words.

And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at

Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah, and thy shall it

be reported to the king according to these words.

Come thy therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as

thou sayest, but thou finest them out of thine own heart.

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.

Afterward I came unto the House of Sheminiah, the son of

Deliliah, the son of Mihapiel, 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. Yeah, in the night will they

come to slay thee. 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. And lo, I perceived that God had

not sent him, but he pronounced this prophecy against me.

For Tobiah and St Balat had hired him.

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. My God, think thy upon Tobiah

and some ballad according to these their words, and on the

prophetess no Adiah and the rest of the prophets that would have

put me in fear. So the wall was finished in the

20th, 5th day of the month, Elu in 50 and two days.

And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard their of,

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 God. Amen.

We know that the Lord will bless to us these 16 verses of

Nehemiah chapter 6. These are infallible and

Nehemiah 6 · chapter mention

inspired words, and we pray God's blessing to be upon them.

Now my text this morning is taken from Nehemiah chapter 6

Nehemiah 6 · chapter mention

and the verse 15. It reads as follows.

Listen to the Word of God. So the wall was finished in the

20th and 5th day of the month, ELO in 50 and two days.

Now I've entitled this message focusing on finishing the work.

We could add the words God's call to persevering obedience.

Now you and I are called to a life of faithful service to the

end. Now this Lord's Day finds us

standing and a significant moment because we have come to

the final Lord's Day of the year 2025.

And then a few days this year will pass into memory, with all

the opportunities for faithful service gone and a new year

dawning, unknown to us but fully known to God will begin.

And in God's will, we should aim to be finishing the year well

and trusting the Lord for what lies ahead.

You see, the Lord. Days like this invite us to a

moment of reflection. Naturally, we look backward.

We ask this question, What kind of year has it been for you

personally? What have you seen accomplished

or finished for God? What sort of advancements have

been made for the good of God's Kingdom?

What work remains yet to be unfinished?

Now, as we look forward, we asked other questions.

What will 2026 unfold? You see, it's our 50th

anniversary year. 50 years ago in February was the start of the

children's ministry in 1976. It's also the 75th anniversary

of the commencement of the Free Presbyterian denomination.

And, and here's some questions. Will I be true and faithful to

the Lord? Will the Lord help me and

sustain me this year? What will God help me to be, not

when He's faithful, but successful in the year to come?

Now, these are all relevant and all very important questions.

And as I asked them before the Lord, the Bible meets us at this

very place with a timely reminder.

You see, our God is a God who finishes the work that He begun

over there in the book of Philippians and Philippians

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 and in the verse 6. We read these words, Philippians

one and verse 6, being confident of this very thing that he which

have begun a good work on you will perform it until the day of

Jesus Christ. Our God is a God who finishes

what he begins, and therefore He calls us, his people, to a life

of faithful service, a life of persevering obedience.

Not just at the beginning of our Christian life, not just in the

middle years. And the middle years can be

difficult. Not just in moments of

enthusiasm, when we we we feel a sense of joy and overwhelming

duty, but all the way to the end.

He that persevereth to the end shall be saved.

And here's a simple sentence. And Nehemiah 6 and 15.

And it carries A profound picture.

It carries A tremendous meaning. Listen to what it says.

So the wall was finished in the 20th and 5th day of the month,

ELO in 50 and two days. So the wall was finished.

You see, it not only speaks to me of the completion of a wall

in Jerusalem, but also to the key ingredients of doing a

successful work for God. It speaks of a life of faithful

service, serving God to the end of the task that He has called

us to do. Three things very quickly.

One, the priority of a finished work.

Notice the words here. So the wall was finished.

You see these words? So the wall was finished.

Come after 13 years of doing nothing in Jerusalem.

You see, after they'd built the temple in Ezra's day, you could

have walked around Jerusalem and what did you witness?

You witnessed piles and piles of rubbish and it remained that way

for 13 whole years till Nehemiah came, who had a burden and a

vision for the building and rebuilding the walls of

Jerusalem. So here's the picture.

For 13 years and more, the walls in Jerusalem laying ruins and

those broken stones, the lack of gates, were a visible symbol of

a lack of vision among God's people.

Because after they'd finished building the temple, got into

that house to worship, then the work stopped.

Nothing more was done for 13 whole years.

It was a symbol of disgrace. It was also a symbol of

vulnerability. It was also a symbol of reproach

by the enemy. It had lain this way for years.

There was no active leader for 13 years.

There was no team to gather around the leader.

Then when Nehemiah arrived in the scene, the task before him

seemed absolutely overwhelming. Seemed soul destroying.

If you look with me at the text, it says in verse one, and 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 there in, though at

that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates.

See. Almost immediately when Nehemiah

started this work of rebuilding the wall, opposition arose.

If you read chapter 6 very, very carefully, and I encourage you

to do it, there's four schemes here by the enemy.

They're suggested by a man called Cyril Barker in his

expositors Bible verses one to four there was intrigue.

Then verses five through to 8 there was innuendo, and then in

verses 10 through to 14 there was intimidation, and then

verses 15 to the end there was infiltration. 4 schemes by the

enemy, Intrigue, innuendo, intimidation, and infiltration.

All designed to stop the advancement of the work.

If you were thinking of verses 1:00 to 4:00, I could see the

headlines in the we we call it the Sumerian News.

Nehomios Nehemiah says no to or no.

That would be the headline. In other words, he rejected A

proposed conference on the Judean Sumerian border with

Gershom, the leader of the Arabs, and Tobiah, the leader of

the Ammonites and San Ballot and himself.

San Ballot sharply criticises Nehemiah refusal to cooperate.

The purpose of the meeting was to work on a formula for lasting

peace in the region. They they had tried this four

times. This is the fourth time Nehemiah

has turned down the request to discuss.

And this repeated refusal, it means that Nehemiah is going to

be responsible for the ongoing tensions and any violence.

And it rests solely upon Jerusalem and upon us, our

leadership. Isn't it straight out of a 21st

century playbook? That's what we read in our

papers today. You see, Satan targeted the

leader. His aim was to discredit and

bring down the leader. And if the devil can weaken the

leader of the church, he'd cause damage to the flock.

I invite you. I encourage you to pray for me

as this year closes and a new year dawns.

You see, the devil comes with subtle deceptions.

The devil comes with sound bites, all designed to lure us

into a trap, all designed to get us to compromise.

The devil's not playing games. The Bible says be sober, be

vigilant because your adversaries are roaring as a

your adversary. The devil is a roaring lion

goeth about seeking whom he might have are first Peter five

and eight. You think of a young Christian

girl growing up in a good Christian home.

She goes off to university and maybe she's drawn into your

relationship with a, an unbeliever.

And this, this is a, a nice, handsome young man and maybe

he's maybe even preparing for a successful career in business.

He's many fine qualities, but he's not a believer.

He doesn't know and love Jesus Christ.

He's no interest in God or the things of God.

And that young girl is drawn in and then they end up getting

married and, and life is hard and difficult because there's an

unequal yoke there. What about those that call upon

us to compromise the gospel? I've heard people saying to us,

well, the Christian Church is not known for sound doctrine,

but known for love. And we should set aside matters

that we disagree on and come together and matters that we do

agree on. But what they're really asking

is to set aside the gospel, and that's what the charismatic

movement and the ecumenical movement, sadly, it's all about

the Roman Catholic Evangelical together movement.

See, let me put it this way. In Paul's day, there were those

who believed in God, the same God that Paul believed.

They believed in Jesus. They would say Jesus is the

Messiah. Paul, we believe that.

That's good, isn't it? Fantastic.

But what about the Gospel? Oh well, now you need to be

circumcised in order to be saved and Paul denounced that because

anything that adds to the gospel destroys the gospel.

Satan is relentless. 4 times. The same intrigue was used with

Nehemiah and Nehemiah stood firm.

Why? Because he knew what God had

given him to do, and he knew that work was important for the

Lord's sake and for the sake and well-being of the people of God.

His aim, his great priority, was to finish the wall, to finish

the work that God had given him to do.

He was aiming to be faithful. Oh yes, he could understand the

attempts of distraction and compromise.

He he knew about the mockery of the enemy.

He knew about the threats of violence.

He knew about the false accusation, the innuendo.

You, you're just building the wall because you want to be king

and you've got false prophets lined up.

You're going to declare you to be king.

You see, it's all here. This intrigue, this innuendo,

this intimidation, this, this infiltration.

It's all part of Satan's scheme. It's all here versus 1 to 15.

It's all part of Satan's plan. And yet Nehemiah stood firm.

He stood unrelenting. His chief priority was to finish

the work. And what do we read?

So the wall was finished. And I thought, well, there's a

lesson for us at the year's end. What is our chief priority?

Surely our chief priority has to be to the glory of God by

knowing, serving, trusting, believing in Jesus Christ as

Lord and Saviour. Our chief priority as a

Christian is to be conformed to his image and character.

Our chief priority is to have a hard relationship with God

through faith in Christ and allow nothing to pull us away

from that chief priority. Remember Paul says in the book

of Acts in Acts chapter 6 and he he says there in the verse 4.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the

ministry of the word. And we read in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 a tremendous statement about the

Acts 2 · chapter mention

early church. And they continued steadfastly

in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking of

bread, and in prayers, as we stand at the end of the year.

And pause and reflect. We can't say everything that I

had planned was finished. We can't say this year went as I

expected it to go. But we can't say this God was

faithful this year. We can't say God helped us this

year. We can't say God has sustained

us this year. We can't say God has not

abandoned us this year. And as you reflect, let's

resolve to hear this call to be faithful.

You've maybe heard me saying in the past, and I ain't going to

make a statement here, I believe now it was wrong.

God has called us to be faithful but not to be successful.

I don't believe that's true anymore.

God has called us to be faithful to the blood in the book, to the

gospel, to Christ, absolutely, but he's also called us to be

successful. God calls us to be faithful and

successful because God has promised to provide all that we

need to be successful and has what do we need?

We need the blessing of God in our church.

Remember what we read in the book of Joshua and Joshua.

One it says, Only, be thou strong and very courageous, that

they mayest observe to do according to all the law which

Moses my servant command, that they turn not from it to the

right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper.

Whither so ever thy ghost Notice those words.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but

they shall meditate therein day and night, that they mayest

observe to do according to all that is written therein.

For then with the book of the law in her hand and in her

mouth, then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, then shalt thou

have good success. Is it not written in Isaiah 53

and verse 10? The pleasure of the Lord shall

prosper in His hand. And over there in Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

55, a tremendous statement is made about the word of God.

It says, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my

mouth, that shall not return unto me void, but it shall

accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the

thing whereto I sent it. You see, it's the gospel that

causes us to triumph. Again, if we quote Paul's words

there in the book of Acts or a book of Second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, he says this in verse 14.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in

Christ and make us manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in

every place. See, we're not just called to be

faithful, we're called to be spiritually successful.

Our aim should be a faithful and successful work with God.

Our aim should be a faithful and successful work for God.

We should aim to be a faithful and successful witnesser of God.

We we should aim to wage a successful and faithful warfare

for God. So I think many churches have

lost sight of that. Churches that have 300 in the

morning and 30 at night. Here's the attitude of the

minister and the elders. It's not really worth it, is it?

Only a handful. Life is busy.

We're swamped with work, better with time home with their their

family. We can have a we meet and sit

around the table in the kitchen or meet in somebody else's house

and have a we Bible study and a we talk.

But what about the work of God? What about the witness?

What about the worship of God? You see, it's all connected to

this, the chief priority of a finished work.

Very quickly think about the perseverance of a finished work.

See faithful service. So the wall was finished.

Underline the word finished there by Nehemiah.

And think of this. It requires a deep perseverance,

especially under pressure. Faithful service is not about

perfect circumstances. I'll tell you something, There's

no such thing as a perfect church.

And this church is not perfect, but it's about steady obedience.

Nehemiah teaches us the measure of faithfulness and service.

It's not how easy the task was, but whether we stayed at the

work until God said it was done. Think of the opposition that

arose, the intrigue, the innuendo, the intimidation, the

infiltration. That's all here.

It doesn't mean God is absent. It doesn't mean that God has

abandoned the work. No, it means that God is still

at work and the devil is trying his best to stop it. 2025, your

faith has been tested. And this year as it stretches

into 2026, trials and troubles will stretch you even further.

Maybe you'll reach the point where you're at what's in corner

and you'll say to yourself, I can't take much more.

These trials and troubles that came last year, you didn't

choose. They, they, they impacted upon

you, yet you're still here. You're still trusting in the

Lord Jesus Christ. You're still gathering with

God's people. You're still looking to him for

help and grace and strength. That's evidence of a persevering

spirit. That's evidence of God's

sustaining grace. Nehemiah's faithful service

didn't mean the absence of difficulty, didn't mean the

absence of hardship, wasn't the absence of blood, sweat and

tears. No, it just means that God

didn't abandoned the work. It didn't mean that God's

calling has ceased. It didn't mean that the cost

hadn't to be met. You see, in perseverance in the

Finnish work, there has to be an objective in the work.

And and I asked this morning, what's your objective for

carried off FPC? What's your aim going into this

year's it closes and into a new year?

Do you aim to be faithful and successful in your Christian

life? Do you aim to see progress?

Oh yes, we want to see soul saved family gathered in to

Christ. We want to see the children's

ministry built up and restored to what it was even 3040, fifty

years ago. We want to see the church

strengthen numerically and financially and also

spiritually. We want to have a a deeper love

for Christ and and for the the, the the Saints of God.

We want to have a deepening of our prayer life, a better

knowledge of the Word of God, a greater hatred for sin, a hunger

for the advancement of God's Kingdom, a life of conformity to

Christ and the Gospel, a display of a willing OO obedience to

Christ, a willing desire to be holy unto the Lord, a life of

faithful obedience. Service.

Not looking for loopholes, not looking to forsake it.

Is that the objective? See, I I know you'll agree with

me that we want the work also to advance materially.

There's a lot to do, especially in the outside.

There's lots to think about. But what do we want to see?

Are we happy and content like the Jews wear with the piles of

rubble for 13 years? Or do we want to push on?

Do, do, do, do, do we want to do it for God?

If we do, we have to believe, we have to have faith.

We have to trust Him. We, we, we, we, we have to do it

with the help of God. We'll not do it in their own

strength or power, but we can do it with the power and help of

God. We can see it happen, but it's

not happening unless we're willing.

It's not happening unless we're united.

You see, there has to be objectives.

The persevering spirit looks to set goals.

Not only has a priority, but there's a perseverance in a

finished work very quickly. There has to be obstacles.

What did Nehemiah face? I've already given you 4

Intrigue, innuendo, intimidation and infiltration by the enemy.

But those obstacles had to be overcome.

Those enemies, those obstacles had to be conquered.

And you see, even if it's the obstacle of fear, it has to be

overcome. We're to let go of our fears

because God is our refuge and strength, the very present help

and trouble. If it's a lack of vision, then

we've got to remember that the Bible says where there's no

vision, the people perish. And we've got to confess that

and say, Lord, I have no vision. I've lost it.

And I I want that vision restored.

If it's a lack of willingness, then pray Lord, help me to step

out in faith. If there's a weariness, and I've

no doubt that there was, you think of the daily perseverance

in the days of Nehemiah 1 stone on top of another.

The Bible tells us here in 52 days, on the 20 and 5th day of

the month, Elon, the wall was finished, the last stone was put

on. That speaks of dearly grind and

and you imagine people going to bed weary and then getting up

again the next morning and back at it again with a trial in one

hand and a spear in the other. That's the way they laboured.

See, 13 years had passed and they were saying maybe next

week, maybe next month, maybe next year.

But it was because of these obstacles, the rubbish, the

fear, the weariness, the, the, the, the lack of vision, the

lack of willingness, the, the lack of a leader.

These were all obstacles. They had to be overcome.

They had to be conquered. In that sense, you see a life of

faithful service. Folks, as I point this out to

you, it's not an easy path. There's not an immediate reward.

There's no freedom from trials and troubles.

There's no freedom from opposition.

It means continuing when the joy fades.

It means continuing when obedience to God is costing it.

It means continuing when even the outcome was unclear.

It it means continuing even when others leave.

As we step into the new year, we're going to step out on the

ground of a finished work because God already knows what

lies ahead. God already stands in our

future. And I believe God will finish

the work that he has begun here and begun 50 years ago because

he's got a plan. And we can entrust this year as

it closes and the new year to our faithful God.

Oh, the work will be hard, it'll be difficult.

There will be blood. There will be sweat and tears.

There will be opposition. Opposition will come from

unexpected places. But it's God that assigns the

work. It's God who sustains his

servants. It's God who will complete his

purposes. Our aim, I'm telling you now,

our objective has to be faithful, successful service.

Aim to be faithful and successful.

If you remember nothing else this morning, go out with those

two words. Aim to be faithful and

successful in your corner where God has put you, and in this

church that means praying when you don't feel like praying.

That means coming to the church or the House of God even when

you don't feel like it, because it's easier to stay away when

things are wrong. But when trials and troubles

come, the House of God is the best place for you to be.

These people trusted God 52 days, one day at a time and one

stone was set upon another until so the wall was complete.

I want to finish this morning with something else, not only

the priority of a finished work than the perseverance of a

finished work, but think of the picture of a finished work.

You see this wall that was completed It ties in to

something of the Lord Jesus said in John 17 and we read in verse

4, I have glorified thee in the earth.

I have finished the work which thou gave us me today.

The work of the Lord Jesus was completely different from

Nehemiah because he came to do a greater work, far greater than

building a wall. His work was the work of

securing eternal redemption. Remember what we read in the

book of Hebrews and Hebrews Chapter 9 and verse 12.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

It says this neither by the blood of goats and calves, but

by His own blood. He entered in once into the holy

place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

It says in verse 24 of the same chapter, For Christ is not

entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the

figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in

the presence of God for us. Nor yet that He should offer

himself often, as the high Priest entereth into the holy

place every year with blood of others.

For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of

the world, but now once in the end of the world, that He

appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and as

appointed unto man wants to die. But after this the judgement so

Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them

that look for Him shall He appear the second time without

sin unto salvation. His work was successful, His

work was sacrificial, His work is sufficient, His work is

satisfying. He finished the work, came to

put away sin, so that God can make you a promise, and the

promise is this, and your sins and iniquities.

I remember no more. And when you think of Nehemiah

finishing the wall, let that wall project you to the hill

called Calvary. And you think about the Lord

Jesus coming to do a far greater work, the work of securing

eternal redemption for all who would trust him as Lord and

Saviour. Christ's work is finished.

He offers peace with God. He offers a full and free and

forever part He. He offers to adopt you into

God's family, give you the right that God is your heavenly

Father. He, he, He wants to indwell you

by His Spirit. He not only is God with us, but

He's God in us by his Spirit and in Christ.

We're secure. We're not trying to earn God's

favour. God's favour has already been

earned and satisfied through the life, the sinless life and the

atoning death of the Lord Jesus. That's why God could say, this

is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased, hear ye him.

Christ's work was sacrificial sufficient, but it was also

successful and it's also satisfying.

Whenever you finish at work, you look at the job, whatever that

job is, even ladies cleaning a room in the house, you look in

and you, you feel good, you smile.

You're, you're saying to yourself, well done.

Well see, that's the idea behind the finished work.

The Father would say to the Son, well done.

And the proof is the resurrection.

It is ascension to the Father's right hand, the picture of a

finished work. I trust and pray this morning as

we close this year that you'd think about the call to

persevering obedience. And you will aim to have this

priority, you will manifest this persevering spirit, and you will

rest your all on the finished work of Christ.