Challenged but Courageous in the Work

But we begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 46.

In the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 46, we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7, page 271 of the psalm book, the tune is Strathcathro.

It's a psalm I'm sure we know very well, but it's often good to again to remind ourselves of God as our refuge and our strength,

even when troubles arise and so much goes on around us that we find our safety, our help in him.

So we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7, God is our refuge and our strength.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

For although the air we live, we will not be afraid.

Though hills and hills the seas becast, though waters roaring me, and troubled me,

in all the hills, by swelling seas to shame.

The river is to stream to cloud, the city of our God.

The holy place where in the Lord was high and dear, God.

God in the midst of the heart of dwell, nothing shall ever remove.

The Lord to heart and ever will, and the uprightly blue.

The deep and bridge to mount us free, the kingdom's new bled web.

The Lord to come, the wicked's voice, the earth did melt for fear.

The Lord of hosts upon our side, that constantly remain.

The God of hosts upon our refuge, as safely to maintain.

Let's come to God in prayer. Let us pray.

Our gracious and eternal God, we come to you anew this evening hour.

We come dependent upon you for all things.

We come, O Lord, seeking your strength.

We come seeking your presence with us and your blessing upon all that we do.

In your name at this time, we thank you that we come opening up your word together.

We come looking to your word and seeing what it has to say to us.

And we are reminded even in these words that we've sung, words that we've probably sung many, many times together.

Or in different situations with different people.

And yet words that so often resonate with us.

They speak to us, Lord, again and again as we see an ever-changing world around us.

And yet we see and look to you as the unchanging God.

The one who is always there.

The one who is ever-present and unchanging and unchangeable.

When we think of these words, the heathen rage tumultuously.

The kingdoms move it well.

And when we look at our world today and we see so much of the devastation that surrounds us, Lord.

When we see kingdoms shaken by events.

When we see a people shaken by atrocities all around us.

We thank you that we can come to you.

That you are the Lord who has uttered his voice to us in the midst of it all.

You are the one who is speaking to us each and every day and each and every event.

And we pray, Lord, that you will help us to hear your voice.

And help many people in this world to hear.

But to heed your voice as well.

Not to turn away from it.

And not to ignore it.

Not to dismiss it and to mock it.

But to look to you.

For we need you, Lord.

We need you in so many different ways.

We need your help.

We need, oh Lord, your nearness to us.

We need that hope that you are able to give us.

That you gave your people even long ago.

The psalm here reminds us that you were Jacob's refuge.

And we thank you that you are our refuge too.

And so we pray, Lord, that near and far as your people.

Even as people gather for worship in this evening hour.

Even as people have worshipped you throughout this day.

Throughout the world.

We thank you, Lord, that you are the God who hears.

And is able to answer prayer.

And so we commit, oh Lord, ourselves into your hands.

And all your people.

We thank you that you are our God.

And there is no other.

And so, Lord, we come humbly before you.

Thankful for all that is ours in Christ Jesus.

That we are reminded that no matter the troubles of this world.

No matter what comes our way.

That our ultimate, our greatest security is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

And help us, Lord, that we will find our refuge and our strength in him.

We pray, oh Lord, and ask for your goodness to us as a people here.

We thank you that we are reminded in your word that your kingdom comes.

That you are building your church.

And as we continue, oh Lord, our study in the book of Nehemiah.

As we again turn to it this evening and open it up.

We pray, Lord, that you will still us in your presence.

That you will help us to hear and to understand what you are saying to us.

Help us as preacher and hearers alike, oh Lord, to approach your word prayerfully.

And with a desire for it, Lord, to learn from it.

To apply it to ourselves.

Not just to see it as something from a distant past.

Thousands of years ago.

But something that is fresh and real for us today.

Something that encourages us as well as challenges us today.

Because we thank you that although the work is not the same in the sense of building the walls of Jerusalem.

That in many ways we are still fulfilling your commission to us.

To be your church.

To be your people.

And to seek the good of your name.

The praise of your name.

In our town.

In our islands.

In our lands.

And all lands of the world.

We thank you, Lord, for the great promise that you have given.

That you will build your church.

And that you will not allow the gates of hell to prevail against it.

And help us, Lord, when we feel weak.

When we feel discouraged.

When we feel the opposition great.

Even as we see in the day of Nehemiah.

To know and trust in you as our Lord and as our God.

So help us even in this coming week to go on in your strength.

To do all for the glory of God.

And for the good of your people.

And for people all around us, Lord.

We pray that you will help us and encourage us.

And bind us together in the work of the gospel.

That we would seek your good for all around us.

We would see your blessing upon us.

We thank you for the ministry of your word that takes place in so many different ways.

We thank you for the times of public worship such as we have just now.

And as we gather during the week for times of prayer and worship.

But we thank you too for the quieter ways your work goes on.

For individuals who take so much time to visit and to keep in touch with people.

To look out for others.

For so many people who help quietly in the background.

Doing so many tasks, oh Lord.

That maybe go unnoticed by many.

But we thank you, Lord.

That from all corners of our congregation.

You are using your people.

And we pray together that we be encouraged to give ourselves to the work.

To encourage one another.

To build one another up.

To ask, oh Lord.

What can we do in this place to help your cause?

To commit ourselves to the Lord first and foremost.

And then to commit each other to each other as well.

We thank you, Lord.

For your teaching and your word.

That reminds us of what our priorities are to be.

That we are to seek first the kingdom of God.

And that then all other things will be added unto us.

Give us wisdom, oh Lord.

To apply these words to our lives and to our hearts.

And we pray, oh Lord.

For your church far and wide.

That we thank you for a communion season in our midst.

We pray for the services taking place today.

Even this evening hour in Calanish and in Cross.

And those who have been together there for our communion weekend.

We pray there have been a blessed time.

We pray for the upcoming week as well.

For the congregation of Park.

And for Reverend Ian McCritchie there.

And the congregation as a whole.

That we pray for visiting ministers.

As they will have Reverend Paul Murray.

And Reverend Ian Thompson over this coming weekend.

And that you would bless the ministry of your word to them.

To them all together.

We thank you for encouragements in the congregation there.

And we pray, oh Lord.

To continue to see and to hear of great things happening throughout your church.

Far and wide.

We remember other ministries, Lord.

Today as well.

We are mindful of the congregation of Shabbos.

Today as Reverend Calum MacLeod.

Leads in his last services with them.

As he comes to the time of retirement from the ministry.

We pray for them that's gathered there this evening.

We pray for Calum.

And thank you for his ministry there over many years.

And pray, oh Lord, that you will bless that ministry.

Even in the days and months and years ahead.

We pray, Lord, for him and his family.

As he will soon be settling into retirement.

But still with much to do in terms of his work for the Lord.

Even especially in this week.

Having been appointed as moderator to our denomination.

For the next year.

Taking place at the assembly in May.

We thank you for that, Lord.

And for the acknowledgement of his years of service in the church.

We pray that you will continue to use him.

And to bless him.

And to uphold him.

In his ongoing ministry in different ways.

We pray for the congregation there as it becomes vacant.

Lord, may you bless them.

And guide them.

And shepherd them throughout these days.

And months ahead.

We pray, Lord, for your provision.

For a new ministry there in your time.

And according to your will.

We pray, oh Lord, now that you will continue with us.

That you will help us to look to you.

And to trust in you with all our heart.

That you will build us up, oh Lord, in our faith.

That you will encourage us in our hearts, oh Lord.

And we thank you, Lord, for all that is ours in Christ.

We thank you for a great salvation.

And a great hope that we have in him.

And we pray, Lord, that whatever comes our way.

That you will always keep us looking to Jesus.

The author and the perfecter of our faith.

So hear our prayers, oh Lord.

Continue with us in our time together.

Bless us, we pray.

And pardon our sin.

As we ask it all in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

So again, sing to God's praise.

This time we'll sing in Psalm 127.

In the Sing Psalms version.

Page 171 of the psalm books.

Psalm 127.

We'll sing the whole of this psalm.

The tune is Wiltshire.

Page 171.

Unless the Lord builds up the house,

Its builders toil in vain.

Unless he keeps the city safe,

Then they vainly watch maintain.

So we'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise.

We stand to sing.

Kung stolid, you are here in the kingdom of God is to live the hall.

The elders toil in vain, unless he keeps the seldomly safe, they mainly won't maintain.

In vain you rise before the dawn, and lift her skin with heat, that you may toil for food to eat.

He gives his cup of sleep.

Sons are a precious heritage, a blessing from the Lord.

The children that are born to us are to lead his reward.

Like an old sin, a warrior's hand, are children of one's youth.

The man whose whippers full of them is blessed by God in truth.

Such men will not be put to shame, but will not be their fate.

When they content are yet to boast, who takes them in the gate.

Amen.

We can turn together to read now in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah.

It's a continuous study in this book.

We read in Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

We can read the whole of this chapter in Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

Reading from the beginning down to the end of the chapter.

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged,

and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of

Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice?

Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burned ones

at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, yes, what they are building, if a fox goes

up on it, he will break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt

on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover

their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger

in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half

its height, for the people had a mind to work. But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the

Ammonites and the Astrodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward,

and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together

to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set

their guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, the strength of those

who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild

the wall. And our enemies said, they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop

the work. At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times,

you must return to us. So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed

the people by their clans with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said

to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them.

Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters,

your wives, and your homes. When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated

their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked

on construction and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind

the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a

way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the

builders had his sword strapped to his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, the work is great and

widely spread, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. And the place where you hear the

sound of the trumpet, rally to us there, our God will fight for us. So we labored at the work, and half of them

held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time,

let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night

and may labor by day. So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed

me, none of us took off our clothes, each kept his weapon at his right hand. Amen, and may God bless that

reading from his word. Well, before we turn back to look at this passage, we'll sing again to God's praise,

this time in Psalm 31 in the Scottish Psalter. We're singing from verse 13 down to verse 17,

page 242 of the psalm book, Psalm 31.

We sing from verse 13, the tune is Torwood.

We see here a similar situation to what Nehemiah and the people were facing when there was

slanderers all around them. Fear was in their midst, and there were those who were plotting against them

in so many different ways. But verse 14 reminds us, but as for me, O Lord, my trust, upon thee I did lay,

and I to thee, thou art my God, did confidently say. That we will be able to say these words for

ourselves as well, that we can take confidence in the Lord. So we'll sing from verse 13 down to

verse 17 to God's praise.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Let wicked men be shamed.

Let them be silent in the grave.

Amen.

Well, we can turn back to our reading in Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

We'll consider some of these sections before us here in this chapter together.

If you read again with me at verse 10, we see there some of the discouragement that the people were facing.

In Judah it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.

There is too much rubble by ourselves.

We will not be able to rebuild the wall.

Then we can read again at verse 14 as well, where Nehemiah speaks to the people and says,

And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people,

Do not be afraid of them.

Remember the Lord who is great and awesome.

And fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

This chapter is a real mix of ups and downs in the midst of the work that Nehemiah had come back to Jerusalem to do

and to encourage the people of Jerusalem to return to the work of rebuilding the walls that had been devastated.

What we have seen of Nehemiah so far as we began our study in this book,

we've seen him as one who was a servant for the king in Persia.

Some 900 miles away from Jerusalem.

He had been born in that place, born of parents who had been taken captive from Jerusalem

when they had been conquered and taken captive.

And Nehemiah had never seen Jerusalem for himself.

But we see that as he was a cupbearer to the king in Persia,

he heard news from Jerusalem, news that greatly troubled him.

That Jerusalem was in disarray.

And this led to him getting a confident vision of what the Lord wanted him to do.

And so he returned to Jerusalem or came to Jerusalem, not returning.

He came to Jerusalem, saw it for the first time himself and the devastation that there was,

and yet was still encouraged and an encourager to the people to get on with the work of rebuilding the wall.

But this was not without its challenges.

Every step along the way, there was challenges as they got on with this work.

But perhaps for ourselves, it's just important to think,

what kind of task did Nehemiah face as he returned to Jerusalem?

We've mentioned the rebuilding of the walls.

But what kind of walls are we looking at here?

What's the importance of these walls of Jerusalem?

Well, it wasn't just a nice little block garden wall to protect the flowers or to protect the vegetable plot.

That's not the kind of walls that he was returning to rebuild at all.

Remember what it said in chapter 1, verse 3.

They were given an insight as to the devastation of Jerusalem.

It says there in verse 3,

The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.

The walls of Jerusalem, walls of any city in those days, it had to be robust.

It had to be large.

It had to be strong in order to stand up against attacks from the enemies.

It had to surround the city entirely.

Just one breach in the wall could mean disaster for that city because the city would be conquered.

And here is Jerusalem.

There's no wall left all around it.

So the enemy is free to come in and to go out.

The people can't get on with their lives as they would wish.

They're influenced by outside enemies all the time.

And in order to be themselves once again, to be a people once again, they need these walls rebuilt.

And the wall itself stretched around Jerusalem for about two miles length to get right around the city.

The walls were, in some places, 12 meters high.

Probably as high as the walls on the side of the church here.

Two and a half meters thick, even thicker than these walls.

So that the task wasn't small.

If you think about it in our own situation here, it's like building a wall like that from the church here,

up to the manse and plaster field, and back again.

Who's up for that task?

What would it be like to even just think of starting a work like that?

It would just seem impossible in our eyes.

And for a time, it seems like it may be impossible in the eyes of the people in Nehemiah's day.

But what was at stake here with Nehemiah and the people of his day, it was more than just the security of the city.

It was the worship of the Lord and the salvation of the Lord's people.

That's what was at stake.

And as we think ourselves today of how this applies to us,

we're not going to start building a wall from here to plaster field and back.

That's not what the Lord is calling us to.

But we are involved, or we should be involved, in a building project that's even greater.

To be involved in the kingdom work of God.

Because God is building his church.

Of that we are assured through his word.

Until the day that he returns, he is building his church.

And in order to build his church, he uses his people.

We may not be building a physical wall,

but he has commanded us in his word to the work of mission.

To the work of building his kingdom.

The Lord has told his church in the New Testament.

He has commanded his church to go in the Great Commission.

To go and make disciples of all nations.

He has given his church through every generation today,

before us and after us, that commission, that work,

to be involved in.

And as we think of that task,

a little like it would be for those who are looking at Jerusalem in their day,

when the walls were in ruin,

it's a task that maybe seems beyond us.

It's a task that maybe makes us feel overwhelmed in it all.

How are we going to do this work?

Where do we start?

We just don't have the resources.

We just have to maybe try and hold our own.

Look after what we've got.

But that's not the command of God's word.

The command of God's word is not to stand still.

The command of God's word is not to look after what we've got.

The command is still the same.

Go and make disciples of all nations,

of all people,

all around us,

near and far.

We still have that great commission.

But what was happening in Nehemiah's day was,

for the past 13 years or so,

up till this point,

Jerusalem had been at a standstill.

All they were trying to do was just hold their own.

The focus had been lost from looking to God

and loving his people to just trying to survive day by day.

There was no encouragement.

There was no sense of joy.

There was no sense of mission or vision for the people.

It had been lost.

But as we have seen in the opening chapter here,

a simple question that Nehemiah asked

changed his life upside down.

When he asked that question,

how are they in Jerusalem?

And when he heard the disarray that they were in,

the shame that was upon them,

and the danger that they were in,

it gave him this burden,

that this vision was needed,

that there was work to be done,

that there was a renewed confidence in the Lord required.

And that is what Nehemiah came to Jerusalem with.

Realism as to the work,

the enormity of it,

but yet a passion,

a passion to stir up a people to the work.

And last week we saw that he arrived in Jerusalem.

He had taken this journey,

maybe taking about four months,

to travel from Persia down to Jerusalem.

And he arrived there.

But he didn't immediately start with the work.

He got his priorities right first.

He spent a time, first of all, resting.

It says for three days he was in Jerusalem.

He rested for a time.

But then he went out for himself to review the situation,

to see what was actually had happened in Jerusalem

and the devastation that there was.

He saw for himself.

But then he spoke to the people and said,

it's a time to rise.

It's a time for the work to go on.

And in chapter three, we didn't read it,

but it outlines those who were involved in the work.

You can read through it in your own time.

It's worth looking through.

Again, it seems like a list of names of people,

but they're always significant.

And we'll see that as we go on this evening.

But it just shows you those who were involved in the work

and the huge task that was involved in rebuilding these walls.

And they were enthused and they rose to the challenge.

And initially things seem to be going well.

But as is often the case,

when things are going well in the Lord's work,

what happens?

Attacks come.

Discouragements will come.

But it's how do we deal with these things?

That is the key.

And that is what we want to take from chapter four this evening.

How do we deal with these challenges?

And how do we remain courageous in the work of the Lord?

So I want us to think of four things from this chapter.

First, conflict is inevitable.

It's a sad thing to say, but conflict is inevitable.

Secondly, we'll see discouragement is understandable.

But then thirdly, we'll see keeping focused is crucial.

And then fourthly, God is invincible.

So I want to look at these four things from the chapter this evening.

Firstly, conflict is inevitable.

In chapter four, as we read here,

we join with the people as the work is going on.

The walls are being rebuilt.

The people have engaged and they're enthused for it.

But what we see is soon after the work's starting,

that when God's people respond to the call to focus on God's work,

the enemy will quickly rise up in opposition.

And the enemy will use all kinds of means

to put the work into disarray once again.

But maybe the obvious question to ask is,

where has this opposition been for the last number of years

when the walls lay in ruin?

Well, it's the opposition that has been keeping things down,

not needing to do much.

When people are discouraged,

the devil doesn't have to do much to keep his people down.

When they're discouraged, when they've got no vision,

they're not doing anything.

But as soon as Nehemiah arrives with this vision for this work,

the enemy is on the case.

The enemy is there.

And isn't it so true to this day?

Whenever we're involved in the Lord's work,

whenever we feel a sense of encouragement,

whenever we feel that good things are happening,

the attacks come.

The enemy attacks.

It's always the case.

The devil doesn't want the church to grow.

The devil doesn't want the gospel to spread.

The devil doesn't want people to be saved.

So as soon as something good is happening,

he becomes more active.

You see it in the days of Ezra.

The previous book to this.

When Ezra came back,

was involved in the work of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem.

There was chaos in the midst of that.

There was confusion.

There was discouragement in the midst of that.

And Ezra says that this will be the case

down through all the generations.

So it's happening here in Nehemiah's day.

And you see it right throughout the scriptures.

Discouragements.

Attacks always come.

And so when we think of that ourselves,

we see it happening again and again.

Conflicts always arise

when the work of the Lord is going on.

And Jesus himself faced these conflicts too.

When you look at the life of Jesus in this world,

here in Nehemiah's day,

you've got Sanballat and Tobiah.

Their names keep appearing.

When you look at Jesus' days,

you've got the Pharisees and the Sadducees

and all of those who were opposed to him.

Again and again, he faces conflict from them.

The enemy is attacking all the time.

And there are times when the enemy seems to be victorious,

when he's got on top of the people.

That's what we see in verse 10 here.

That's what you see when you look in the life of Christ

and the cross especially.

When he's crucified there,

the people think,

this is it, we've won.

But as we're often reminded,

Christ is victorious.

And the cause of Christ will not be put down

even in the midst of conflict.

So we are reminded here

that even as conflict comes,

even though conflict is inevitable

in so many ways,

because Jesus reminds us in the Gospel of John,

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15, he says,

if the world hates you,

know this, it has hated me first.

We are reminded again and again

that troubles will come.

Tobias and Sambalat are here again.

We hear them mentioned.

And we're going to come back to them again,

not this evening,

but another time, God willing,

and see how they keep appearing.

We'll see it in chapter 6, God willing.

There's opposition in so many ways.

There's conflict in so many ways,

inside, outside, from outside forces,

but also from within.

But tonight, the question is this.

Do you want to be a builder or a wrecker?

What side are you on?

Are you seeking to be involved

in the work of building the kingdom of God?

Or are you seeking to tear it down?

Surely, we are all builders.

Surely, we would all long to be builders

in the kingdom of God,

but be on our guard,

because it's easy to become a wrecker,

easy to be someone who brings it down.

There's a poem called this

A Builder or a Wrecker,

and it goes like this.

As I watched them tear a building down,

a gang of men in a busy town,

with a ho, heave, ho, and a lusty yell,

they swung a beam,

and the side wall fell.

I asked the foreman,

are these men skilled,

and the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?

He gave a laugh and said,

no, indeed, just common labor is all I need.

I can easily wreck in a day or two

what builders have taken years to do.

And I thought to myself as I went on my way,

which of these roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care,

measuring life by rule and square?

Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan,

patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks to town,

content with the labor of tearing down?

O Lord, let my life and my labors be

that which will build for eternity.

Are we builders or wreckers?

The second thing we see here

is that discouragement is understandable.

As well as the opposition,

they also faced times of discouragement

when everything just seemed too much.

Nehemiah 4, verse 10,

Nehemiah 4:10

is probably a low point in their experience here

where it says there,

the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.

There is too much rubble.

By ourselves, we will not be able to rebuild the wall.

It's understandable in so many ways.

When you think of the picture of Jerusalem at this time

and the walls,

just a bunch of rubble lying around,

even though the work had gone on

to a fair degree at this point,

there was still much to be discouraged about.

So it's understandable

that there was discouragement.

It seemed that no matter how much they did,

there just seemed to be more to do.

And again, it maybe rings familiar to ourselves

as well as a church.

No matter how much we seem to do,

there's always just so much more to be done.

It feels like that.

The task is never ending.

But where does the real problem here lie?

Well, when you look at it,

it's not so much the circumstances that they're in,

it's their attitude.

Their attitude is being influenced

by those enemies that have come alongside them,

who are discouraging them.

And because of that,

they feel this way,

that their focus is on themselves.

Our strength is gone.

There's too much to do.

Where do we start?

By ourselves,

we're not able to rebuild this wall.

So they're at this low point.

And so often,

that's the problem within ourselves too.

It's when we begin to feel

that sense of discouragement,

that nothing's changing.

Even whatever we do,

it doesn't seem to make any impact

in our town or among our people.

They're not listening.

They're not coming.

They're not engaging.

The task just seems too much for us.

We are not able to rebuild the wall.

We are not able to rebuild the church.

We cannot do it.

What makes the difference?

But we need to remember

what we have in the Lord

and what He has done for us.

Psalm 1, 2, 6, at verse 3,

it says,

The Lord has done great things for us.

We are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negev.

We need to focus

on what the Lord has done.

The Lord has done

great things for us.

They could be reminded of that

in Nehemiah's day,

and we'll see that in a moment,

but surely we reminded that

of ourselves.

The Lord has done

great things for us.

He has come to us.

He died for us.

He rose from the grave for us.

He prayed for us.

He will come again for us.

All these assurances we have

in the Word of God.

The Lord has done

great things for us.

And that is what we have

to stay focused on.

That is what keeps us going.

The more we see

what the Lord has done for us,

the more we see

service to Him

as just something we owe,

something we love to do,

something we're delighted

to be involved in.

And there's an example

here for us.

As said, chapter 3,

it just seems like a list

of names.

But there's a name

on that list

that's an example to us.

And it's worth looking at this

just to see it.

Looking for those

who were enthused

for the work.

In Nehemiah 3,

Nehemiah 3:11

verse 11,

we read there

of a man called

Machijah,

the son of Haran.

Just a passing comment

there on him.

And it says that

together with another man,

Hashab,

repaired another section

on the tower

of the ovens.

Now,

it's just

a passing comment,

isn't it?

But so often

with these lists,

you have to look deeper.

We saw it

in Colossians

as we were looking

at the list of names there.

There's so much

behind the name.

And for this,

you have to go back

to Ezra chapter 10.

Ezra 10 · chapter mention

And there's another

list of the names

there for us.

Beginning at verse 18,

it says,

those guilty

of intermarriage.

So,

there are those

who had failed

to trust the Lord.

And in

verse 25,

you see there

a list of names

and of Israel

of the sons

of Parosh,

Ramiah,

Isaiah,

Machijah.

His name

is on that list.

So,

you find his name

in two different lists here.

Initially,

he's on the list

of those

who are guilty

of intermarrying,

disobeying,

the Lord.

But now,

here he is

in Nehemiah's day

in chapter 3,

verse 11.

He's involved

in the work

of the Lord.

He has done wrong

before God,

but he's been made

right with God.

And that is

what enthuses him

for the work.

That is what

keeps him going

in the work.

So,

it's a great

reminder to us

of the power

of God

to save

and of what

we owe

the Lord

for our salvation.

We remember

Onesimus

in Colossians 2.

He had a past

where he'd failed God,

but he was restored

by God

and was used

by him.

So,

what keeps us going

in times

of discouragement?

Surely,

to remember

that the Lord

has saved us.

So,

whether

what we see here

is opposition

or discouragement,

we fix our eyes

on the Lord.

And what you find

here is that

as they do that,

as they keep

restoring their faith,

returning their vision,

their focus

to the Lord,

you see it

even in this chapter

again and again.

Verse 6,

in the midst

of the conflict

that they were

seeing around them,

it says in verse 6,

so we built

the wall.

In verse 16,

again,

they had faced

opposition

and what does it say?

From that day on,

half of my servants

worked on construction.

They returned

to the work.

Verse 21,

so we labored

at the work.

They keep coming

back to the work.

They keep doing

the same thing.

And so,

let's not lose heart.

Let's not be discouraged.

Even when it seems

we're maybe just doing

the same thing

again and again,

we are doing it

for the Lord.

Lord.

And that's what's

the key.

And we think of

even roles

in our own congregation

and how people,

many of you are involved

in so many different roles

in the church.

We've got Sunday school

teachers.

We've got people

working with toddlers,

with creche.

We've got people

on door duty

and tea duty.

We've got people

who are visiting,

doing the work

of the deacon's court,

the Kirk session,

serving in so many

different ways,

even preaching

of the word.

It can all seem

so often we're just

doing the same thing

again and again.

And we maybe

feel discouraged.

What difference

is it making?

Is it doing any good

and the devil

will come in?

There'll be conflict.

There'll be discouragement.

But we take heart.

We are doing it

for the Lord.

And the work of the Lord

is a great work.

As Paul says

to the church of Galatia

in chapter 6,

verse 9,

he says,

let us not grow weary

of doing good.

Let us not grow weary

of doing all the tasks

that we are involved in,

even if it seems repetitive.

Even when it seems

that there's no good

coming out of it.

let us not grow weary

of doing good.

For what does he say?

For in due season

we will reap

if we do not give up.

And that's what you see

here in Nehemiah.

He keeps saying to them,

don't lose heart.

Don't give up.

Don't grow weary

in doing good

because you will reap

in due season.

And that's the third thing

that we see here.

That keeping focused

is crucial.

You know,

there was times

when Nehemiah was afraid.

When you go back

to chapter 2,

verse 2,

as he stood

before the king there.

It said,

And the king said to me,

Why is your face sad?

Seeing as you are not sick,

this is nothing

but sadness

of the heart.

Then I was very much

afraid,

he says.

And I said to the king,

he went on,

he was afraid,

but he went on.

It was Robert Louis Stevenson

that once said,

Keep your fears

to yourself,

share your courage

with others.

Well,

that's what we see

in some ways

with Nehemiah here.

He wasn't keeping

his fears to himself,

though.

He was sharing

his fears

with the Lord.

But he was sharing

his courage

with others.

And Nehemiah

always keeps

this vision in mind

of the restoration

of the wall.

And it's much more

than that.

It's about the people

of Jerusalem.

The salvation

of the people.

And they needed

to be reminded

what they were

fighting for.

And that's what he does.

He refocuses them

on the Lord

and on the work.

And that's what we see

in verse 14.

What he says

to them there,

he says,

I looked and I rose

and said to the nobles

and to the officials

and to the rest

of the people,

do not be afraid

of them.

Remember the Lord

who is great

and awesome

and fight

for your brothers,

your sons,

your daughters,

your wives

and your homes.

He reminds them

and he gives them

a focus.

What were they

fighting for?

It was more

than just walls.

It was a people.

And that's the fight

that we are in

today as well.

We are in the fight

of faith

and the fight

for our people.

Here,

in verse 14,

they're reminded

that they were

fighting for the faith.

More was at stake

than just the wall

being built.

It was the worship

of God

in Jerusalem.

That was in the balance

here.

And that's what

we're fighting for.

For people to come

and worship God.

He was fighting

here.

They were fighting

here for their

families.

Fight for your

brothers,

your sons,

your daughters,

your wives.

That's the fight

that we are in.

When those of our

family are lost,

when those of our

community are lost,

we are fighting

for their salvation.

We keep that

in view.

our focus is on

the work

of the Lord.

It seems

an impossible

task,

but it's so

necessary.

And in many ways

here,

they were fighting

for their very

future.

The future of

Jerusalem was at stake.

So long as these

walls were broken

down,

they were open

to attack

the enemy

and the people

of God

could be done

away with.

But we know

in the word

of God

that the Lord

will keep

his people.

That he will

always have

his people.

But surely

we too

are fighting

for the future

here as well.

That a generation

after us

will still

worship God

here.

That a generation

after us

will serve

the Lord

here.

We're in a fight.

But it's a fight

worth fighting.

It's worth

fighting for.

And that's

what Nehemiah

does.

He stirs

them up

here

to fight.

And he says,

do not be

afraid of them.

Remember

the Lord.

Are we up

for the fight?

Are we

willing to

fight

in that

way today

to fight

for your

brothers,

your sons,

your daughters,

your wives,

your homes?

Charles Spurgeon

have used

this quote

before,

but it

seems to

tie in

so well

with this

as well.

He said,

if sinners

be damned,

at least

let them

leap to

hell over

our dead

bodies.

And if

they perish,

let them

perish with

our arms

wrapped

about their

knees,

imploring

them to

stay.

If hell

must be

filled,

let it

be filled

in the

teeth of

our

exertions,

and let

no one

go unwarned

and

unprayed

for.

That's the

challenge

to us,

to fight.

The fourth

thing and the

final thing

we see here

just briefly

is tied

into these

words,

remember

the Lord.

God is

invincible.

The danger

with going

through Nehemiah

is that we

can make

it about

ourselves.

But Nehemiah

is always

focused on

God.

He prays

to God.

He points

to God.

His passion

is for

God.

One preacher

puts it

like this,

Nehemiah,

the book,

is ultimately

about Jesus

Christ,

about his

great project

of building

his church

against which

the gates

of hell

will not

prevail.

Nehemiah is

not mainly

about leadership

or church

growth or

business

management.

Nehemiah is

mainly about

Jesus.

Jesus is

the one

who builds

the new

Jerusalem,

the church

of the

living God.

God is

building his

church

today.

And the

gates of

hell will

not prevail

against it.

In verse

20 here,

we're reminded

of that as

well.

In the place

where you hear

the sound of

the trumpet

rally to us

there,

our God

will fight

for us.

God is

on our

side as

we fight

for him.

But do

we remember

that?

We don't

look to

ourselves.

The psalm

that we sang

at the start,

Psalm 127,

reminds us,

unless the

Lord builds

the house,

the builders

build in

vain.

The Lord

is building

his church.

He uses

us, but we

are to put

ourselves

into his

hands.

There's a

story of a

little boy

who was

traveling to

see his

grandparents.

He was

flying an

airplane to

see his

grandparents.

And sat

beside him

on the

plane was

a professor

from a

university.

And the

professor

sitting beside

him wasn't

a Christian

at all,

but he saw

this little

boy sitting

beside him

reading a

Sunday

school

magazine.

And the

professor

thought to

himself he'd

had some

fun with

the young

boy.

He turned

to him and

said,

young man,

if you

can tell

me something

God can

do, I'll

give you a

big shiny

apple.

Well, the

wee boy

thought to

himself for

a moment

and replied,

sir, if

you can

tell me

something God

can't do,

I'll give

you a whole

barrel of

apples.

A simple

faith.

He wouldn't

let God

be mocked,

no matter

how intelligent

this professor

was.

He turned

it right

back to

him.

If you

can tell

me

something

God

can't

do,

can you

tell me

something

tonight

God

can't

do?

Can you

look around

this town

and say

God

cannot

save

the

people

of

this

place?

God

cannot

rebuild

his

church

here.

If you

say that

you've

lost

faith

because

God

is

invincible.

God

is

building

his

church.

We

ask

ourselves

are we

builders

or are

we

wreckers?

Do we

long to

be involved

in building

his

kingdom?

Do you

believe

that he

is building

his

church

church

even

here

in

Stornway?

Yes,

there are

challenges

for us,

many of

them,

but we

have to

have

confidence

and faith

in him.

We

fight.

We

fight for

those

who we

love.

We

fight for

those who

we do

not know.

We

fight for

those who

even just

now are

our

enemies

and

enemies

of

God,

but we

pray that

God will

build his

church.

Nehemiah

encouraged the

people not

to be afraid

to remember

the Lord,

to fight

and to

build.

Let us

do likewise.

Let us

rise and

build,

trusting the

Lord.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

give us

eyes of

faith,

even as

we look

around

us,

and give

us a

prayer of

faith offered

up to

you,

that we

would come

before you,

trusting in

you,

in all your

goodness to

us,

in all that

you are

able to

do,

never doubting

that there

is anything

that you

cannot do,

for with

God all

things are

possible.

So Lord,

hear our

prayers,

continue with

us as a

people,

build us up

as a

church,

here and

all throughout

the world,

we pray,

Lord,

that your

people will

glorify your

name,

day and

night,

young and

old,

all throughout

our lands,

for we ask

it for the

glory of our

Saviour.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to

conclude by

singing to God's

praise in

Psalm 18,

in the

Sing Psalms

version,

Psalm 18,

Psalms 18:27

verse 27,

verse 27.

The tune for

this is

Talis

Canon.

We'll sing

from verse

27 down

to verse

30,

three stanzas.

You save

the humble

and the

meek,

but bring

the proud

down from

their height.

You,

Lord,

will keep

my lamp

aflame.

God

turns my

darkness

into light.

And again,

verse 29,

we're reminded

that with

God we

can advance

against

a troop.

So we'll

sing these

three stanzas,

verse 27

to 30,

to God's

praise.

Amen.

Lord,

will keep

my

lamp

aflame.

God

turns

my

darkness

into

light.

With

help

from

God

I

can

advance

against

a troop

and

and

rarts

them

all

and

with

the aid

my

God

will

give

I

can

leap

over

any

wall.

For

perfect

is

the

way

of

God

no

flaw

is

found

within

his

word.

To

all

who

put

their

trust

in

him

a

shield

and

refuge

is

the

Lord.

After

the

benediction

I'll

go to

the

door

to

my

right

this

evening.

We'll

close

with

the

benediction.

Now

may

grace,

mercy

and

peace

from

God,

Father,

Son,

and

Holy

Spirit

rest

upon

and

abide

with

you

all

now

and

forever

more.

Amen.