God Sustains His People | Nehemiah 4:1–23

Amen.

You may be seated.

Well, good morning and uh welcome to church today.

We're glad you're here.

It's good to see you.

And uh my name is Andrew.

If we haven't met, I'm one of the pastors here at Life.

And uh it's an honor of mine to serve you today through the Word of God.

So uh around here we study God's Word.

We don't just talk about it.

We want to talk from it.

We want to take from it the truths that God has already placed in it and uh make them come out and apply them to our lives, dependent upon the Spirit of God to help us understand the truths that we're reading and seeing.

And so open with me, if you would, to Nehemiah chapter four.

Nehemiah chapter four, small uh historical book back in the Old Testament.

Uh if you get to start in Genesis, turn right, go several, several books.

If you get to Esther or Job, you've gone too far, you got to turn back around and go back to Nehemiah.

Ezra is a book that sits right in front of it.

So between Ezra and Job, you'll be able to have it.

If you just open your Bible somewhere in that range, you'll find it.

Nehemiah chapter 4 is where we are.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

We're in a study through the book of Nehemiah.

Uh the reality is that this was a people who had a mind to work.

They were doing a good work, and God was using them.

This was more than just a building program.

This was more than just a uh a block wall in the back of their yard that was up for aesthetic purposes.

This was a wall that signified the glory of God and the blessing of his people.

This was a place of to be a place of flourishing.

This was to be a place of blessing.

This was to be a place where the worship of God was uh on display, where the people of God were living securely in dependence upon God, and yet they were not living that way because the walls were in ruins.

And so it's not an attempt to make uh spiritual uh metaphors from all the blocks in the walls and all that's taking place, but there certainly are plenty of principles for the people in this age to learn in wisdom and as in uh in just kind of the glory of God as a church that we can pull and put into our lives and into our church uh together.

And so we're studying this.

We saw how God began in chapter one by giving Nehemiah a burden.

We saw in chapter two how he began to form uh the vision and uh to prepare the people for work.

There was a season of preparation, a waiting season, but a season of preparation as he before he ever shared a thing, before they ever swung a hammer or raised a block, they were preparing something.

And then last week we talked about how they began to work.

At the end of chapter two, they said, Let us rise up and build.

In chapter three, they rose up and built.

And we talked about some of the lessons to be learned from chapter three.

Now, as any good work, uh in chapter four, as any God-glorifying work of God's people, they begin to face opposition.

People begin to come against them.

Now, opposition for God's people doing God's work is certain.

There is a certainty that opposition will come when you attempt to do something for the Lord.

And we can plug and play that into every context of life.

We can play that in the church for sure.

Whenever a church is trying to accomplish something for God, as God's people unite, there is going to be opposition.

And anytime a family attempts to really join together and restructure some things in their life as a family and honor the Lord and live for the Lord and make church a priority and live in biblical community and live on mission, there's going to be opposition.

Leonard Ravenhill said, if a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there's something wrong.

There's just something wrong if you're not facing some sort of opposition and some sort of tribulation.

2 Timothy 3.12 tells us, indeed, indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12 and 13, Peter says it this way Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1 Peter 4:12

Like if there's opposition, if there's trials, if there's persecution, don't be shocked as if this is something weird, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

What he's saying there is that as a child of God, you expect, you expect two things.

You expect opposition, tribulation, and fiery trials, and you expect an incredibly glorious reunion when Christ returns.

And both of those speak to bolster our uh our hope.

And we see this illustrated.

I don't have this on the screen, but in Zechariah, the prophet Zechariah, chapter three, Zechariah was a prophet during one of the returns back to Jerusalem.

So remember, there were three different returns from the from the uh Jews back to Jerusalem.

And during one of them was Zechariah, and Zechariah had a vision in chapter three, verses one through five.

I'd encourage you to read it uh sometime later, but uh Zechariah just says, then he showed me Joshua the high priest.

So the the high priest in Jerusalem during the second return, as recorded in Ezra, was Joshua.

And he and he saw him standing before the angel of the Lord.

And here's what's interesting: he saw him, Joshua the high priest, standing before the Lord, and standing at his right hand was Satan to accuse him.

And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, O Satan.

The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you.

And then he goes on to restore all of the things that the uh Satan was accusing Joshua the high priest of being and having.

He pictures his forgiveness by giving him new garments.

And what I'm trying to emphasize in all of this is back in those days when God's people were trying to do God's work, there was opposition.

And Zechariah records that the opposition was empowered and probably spearheaded by Satan himself.

And in Nehemiah chapter 4, we're going to see that the enemies, the opposition, came from humans.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

They opposed it.

And what we're going to learn in all of the accounts, when God's people want to do something for God, that whenever God's people engage in a God-glorifying work, there will be opposition.

And that opposition may be carried out by human agents.

But I would argue that behind those agents, calling the shots and moving in them is Satan, as Zechariah calls out in his vision there.

So what we're going to see today in our text is that the work of rebuilding the walls, the re-establishing of the testimony of the Jews in Jerusalem, and the re-elevating the glory of God faced some intense opposition.

So I want you to find Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

We're going to read this chapter.

It's 23 verses.

I want you to get the feel for it.

These are God's words for us today.

Understanding the backdrop, there are human agents opposing the work.

I believe most likely empowered by the enemy, Satan, who was behind their work to oppose the good thing that was happening for Jerusalem.

So, chapter 1, uh chapter 4, verse 1.

I'm going to read aloud.

You follow along silently as I do.

Verse number 1.

Now, when Sanbalat 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 up in a day?

Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burned ones at that?

Ha ha ha ha.

Almost kind of a laugh at it, right?

You got that.

That's not in the Hebrew, but that's uh added.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Yeah.

What are they building?

If a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.

Verse 4 is Nehemiah's words, 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 build the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sambalad and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites 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 a 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.

And 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 all the 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.

Each of the builders had his sword strapped at 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.

In 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.

And 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.

So God's words for us today.

Preserved for us from the pen of Nehemiah, a journal entry.

What we're gonna learn here from Nehemiah and our brothers in Jerusalem in this day is this big idea.

It's gonna sit over the top of this study with us.

Let's understand this.

Opposition must not stop God's people from faithfully pursuing God's work.

That's what we're gonna get.

Opposition must not stop God's people from faithfully pursuing God's work.

Do we expect it?

Yes.

Is it intense?

Absolutely.

Is our enemy formidable?

Yes, he is, but opposition from our enemy must not stop God's people from faithfully pursuing God's work.

That's what I believe God gives us from the story of Nehemiah today.

Opposition cannot stop the work, but it does require a faithful response from God's people.

And what we're gonna see from chapter four today is there are different types of opposition, and the people's response to those different types of opposition is for us to learn from.

Okay, so we're gonna lead in each point differently because each point has a little bit of a different nature to its opposition.

And then we're gonna show how they responded to that.

And from this, I think we're gonna glean some wisdom that we apply to our lives today.

Okay, so how should God's people respond to opposition?

Here's how we're gonna do it.

Number one, in the first place, when the enemy taunts, that's what they're doing first.

They're starting off with taunting.

So when the enemy taunts us, here's what we do: we turn to God in honest prayer.

So, verse one to Sam Balad, here's the wall is being rebuilt.

And he becomes furious.

He was angry and greatly enraged.

And this hostility we know has been developing for some time because all the way back in chapter 2, uh, a month before, probably at this point, he was disturbed that someone had come to seek the welfare of Israel.

And at that time he mocked the proposal.

Now the proposal is becoming a reality, and his anger begins to intensify.

And so San Balad here isn't just vinting.

This isn't just a uh a recording of the vents of San Balad.

He really is doing something more.

He is shaping a story about the Jews in front of influential people.

He questions uh their design.

His questions are designed to lead everyone listening to this one conclusion.

Here's what he wants them to get: these people are incapable of accomplishing anything worthwhile.

Look at the attacks.

He calls them feeble, these feeble Jews.

The word can describe something withered or depleted.

He paints them as hopeless people.

There's no strength, they don't have the ability to accomplish the assignment before them.

Then he questions the project.

Can they restore it?

Are they gonna offer sacrifices?

He's he's sarcastically packaging the situation.

Will they finish in a day?

Which isn't any claim.

They didn't claim they would finish in a day.

So now he's embellishing the ridicule.

Can they bring these stones back to life?

Look at this rubble.

Look at the burned uh gates.

Are they gonna are they going to bring all this back together?

What's going on here?

These feeble Jews have no ability to do this.

And some of what he actually is saying is kind of difficult to translate from the Hebrew, but the exact point uh is there.

The cumulative effect is plain.

Sam Balat wants the whole undertaking to sound ridiculous.

Look at these fools.

They're inadequate.

What are they gonna do?

Honor God here again?

Ha ha.

It's unrealistic.

They're gonna take these broken down walls and make something beautiful again?

Are they gonna establish the worship of God again in this place?

Look at it.

It's a disaster.

Their materials are worthless.

St.

Ballot's anger undermines his feelings of contempt.

What I mean by that is he acts as though the work is insignificant.

And yet we know that he is deeply disturbed by it.

Did you catch that?

He has to mock it, but the reality is he doesn't think little of it.

He's very threatened by it.

His reaction reveals that he takes it more seriously than his words admit.

We need to hear the taunts properly.

The enemies are trying to shape the meaning of what is happening.

They want God's people who are building to see the work through their contempt.

The opposition wants you to feel ridiculous for wanting to serve the Lord with your life.

The unbelieving world wants you to think that your thinking is ridiculous, that your stance on biblical issues is ridiculous, that the building of a church and gathering in a worship service and honoring the Lord and protecting the lives of the unborn and reaching the world and going into the other parts of the world to bring the gospel.

They want you to think that's ridiculous.

What are you gonna do?

Reach the whole world?

You see the point?

They act like it is comical when in reality they are deeply threatened by you and your work.

They are deeply threatened by the glory of God being on display through the people of God.

And even though they may package it as this is comical, what is really being said is they are threatened by the reality that God might be doing something.

Then in verse 3, Tobiah joins in.

This is his buddy.

This is this is his sidekick.

Tobiah the sidekick is who I call this guy.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, Sambalot.

I mean, if a fox goes up there and stands on it, it's gonna crumble.

Which is comical because the reality is they were building a wall that was meant to uh to withstand an enemy's assault, and yet Tobiah, in his getting all riled up by Sambalot, suggests that this one could be breached by just a small animal.

Again, mocking the usefulness of everything they are working to accomplish.

The opposition is trying to win people to their side in mocking you and making you feel ridiculous, and so then they stir each other up.

Imagine hearing that after a long day of carrying stones.

Your hands hurt, your back aches, you've left other responsibilities to be here, and someone looks at what you're doing and says, What are you gonna do?

This is worthless, this is pointless.

The reality is words can get inside us and words hurt.

Remember the saying, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me?

That's a lie, right?

Amen.

Like words hurt, they affect your mind.

And we may keep replaying one dismissive sentence long after the speaker has even forgotten it.

That mockery that happens at job at the job, at work.

That that jeer, like, what are you gonna do?

Honor God with your life?

What are you gonna do?

Are you a Jesus freak?

Are you a whatever, right?

That's what's going on here.

It's not changed, by the way.

Several thousand years later, the opposition to the work of God is still the same.

And then we start asking questions.

We start asking whether our service matters, whether whether our obedience is foolish, whether continuing is worth the cost.

And this can happen in the entire church.

If we continually listen, listening, listen, if we continually listen to the culture around us that's trying to say what the church is, we may begin to apologize for what Christ has called the church to be.

We may become embarrassed by biblical conviction or hesitant about the gospel or reluctant to speak clearly about sin and grace.

And inside the church, this can happen.

A careless criticism can drain joy from a volunteer, wound a pastor, discourage a young believer who is learning to serve and lean in.

Your words impact.

So before speaking about ministry or work or the glory of God, remember that words can either strengthen tired hands or it can add weight to an already heavy load.

And I think that's what's happening here.

So now Nehemiah shows us his response, and the response is not to get combative because people attack and we immediately want to get an argument out and win the argument.

But notice what he does in verse 4.

He just prays.

You heard them, God, you know what they're saying.

He turns to God.

The narrative moves directly from the taunts of the enemy to prayers to God.

He acknowledges that the people are despised and he doesn't pretend that the words have no effect.

He brings the humiliation into the presence of the Lord.

He easily could have, like I love to do, jumped right into responding and defending.

He could have defended their work, he could have argued with them, he could have fallen right into their trap.

However, we know and see that he chose to not get involved in the silliness of the insults and just bring his heart to the Lord.

Did you know that you are allowed to tell God that it hurt?

You're allowed to tell God that you're angry.

By the way, God's not surprised by that.

He's like, and all this time I thought you were so happy.

I didn't know.

You can tell him you're afraid.

You can tell him that you're afraid you might say the wrong thing, that you might be tempted to withdraw.

You you can tell him that the ridicule of that person that you thought was your friend that's now mocked your God and your work has actually affected you, and you can come to him, and that is what is happening.

He is coming to him, and he is he is he is presenting honestly his heart to God.

He he brings those reactions before the one who can govern them.

See, we often rehearse our pain with everybody except God.

We prepare the response we wish we had given.

You ever do that?

Walk away from that and think, I wish it would have said this.

That would have shown him, right?

Like your best arguments are 20 minutes too late.

That's how we are.

We imagine that this would be better if I had said that.

We collect people who will confirm how badly we have been treated.

Can you believe they said this?

No, I can't believe it.

Meanwhile, the wound grows into resentment and bitterness, and now we are hindered.

And Nehemiah gives that burden to the Lord.

He he claims Psalm 55 22 cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.

He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

So we need to acknowledge how strong his prayer is.

He asks for judgment.

I'm not condoning this, by the way.

He's like, let their sin never be taken away, right?

Like, he's honest.

A request that their sin not be covered or removed.

It's not justification to pray judgment on anyone who disagrees with our personal plans.

That's not what's going on here.

Our plans do not hold the same authority.

What he's doing is he is appealing for vindication because the opponents are attacking a work that God has commissioned, and the honor of God is at stake.

And so his prayer actually is defend your honor, God.

Defend your glory.

There's an interesting tension here.

We know the prayer for our enemies to pray for those who persecute you, to not seek vengeance.

And then at the same time, we can ask God to execute judgment on those who are attacking his name and taking it away from his glory.

Jesus modeled this for us.

First Peter 2 says that when Jesus was reviled, he did not retaliate, but he kept in Trusting himself to the one who judges justly.

His confidence in the Father freed him to continue in obedience even under insult and assault.

So listen, here's the reality.

What we're gonna get from this, and just practically let's apply this.

Maybe you have been allowing someone else's words to determine whether we will do what Christ has commanded you to do it.

What will they think?

Their opinion has become louder than his instructions.

Now listen, criticism has a place in our life.

It does.

Is any part of it true?

We need to ask that.

And then we need to ask: is my response to it governed by the Spirit?

Will answering this help the mission, or am I only trying to protect my pride?

But what we really need to start with is, God, those people are opposing me.

The enemy is opposing me.

I'm feeling concerned.

I'm feeling discouraged.

I'm feeling questions here.

And honest prayer gives God room to correct us where we are wrong and steady us where we are right.

So here's what we don't do.

The church, we don't organize our mission around avoiding ridicule.

We don't listen to the culture, the cultural winds, and say this is what we want to do to make sure that we are still appealing to the culture.

No, we remain rooted in scripture, clear about the gospel, gracious towards our neighbors, willing to be understood with when faithfulness requires it, or to be misunderstood when faithfulness requires it.

We do not need to win every argument, but we do need to remain faithful to our God.

So we bring the wound to God and we tell him, God, this is what's happening.

You heard it, and instead of speaking to them, I'm speaking to you about them.

This is the one time gossip is okay.

Talk about your enemy to God.

We can bring our hurt to God and trust with those, trust him with those who hurt us.

Okay?

So when we are when the enemy taunts us, listen, you will be taunted.

A form of opposition in this world is ridicule and mockery and people uh uh misrepresenting what you're doing and belittling you and calling you feeble and saying, what can your little church do?

And what can your little life do?

That's gonna happen, and that's a form of opposition.

And when that takes place, don't get into mud slinging.

Just get that up, bring it to the Lord, and say, God, this is what's happening, this is what's being said, and I'm gonna trust you with it, okay?

Get that?

Number one, when we are taunted, turn to God in honest prayer.

That's what Nehemiah does for us.

Number two, it takes another turn when the enemy threatens.

Now it's gonna turn in a second to not just taunts and mockery, it's gonna turn to threats.

What do we do?

We're gonna see from Nehemiah.

We pray and proceed with prudence.

Verse 6, so we built the wall.

And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

I love that phrase.

The people continue building, the wall reaches approximately half its height, it's all joined together.

Nehemiah points to their shared willingness to work.

Some translate this a little bit deeper and say, the people there worked with enthusiasm.

One version says, We did this much because the people worked with all their heart.

There was joy and enthusiasm and all their heart type of mentality going into the work.

There is something encouraging here about that simple report, isn't there?

One verse.

After all the impressive speeches from the opposition, after all the mockery, after all the ridicule, after all of the stirring each other up and the funny things that they said, the people are still putting the stones in place.

They're just they're just putting their work in, getting it done.

They understood the importance of what they were doing and they engaged with all their hearts.

My prayer is that the Lord would make us a church full of people who understand how important the work of the church is and engage in it with enthusiasm.

Amen.

Like this is a great work.

I can't let you discourage me.

Now, prayer has been followed by continued obedience, but as the gaps close, the enemies become more angry.

Verses 7 and 8 records for us that the situation went from mockery and ridicule to dangerous.

They were going to come in among them.

They were going to cause confusion.

They were going to fight against them.

It describes the the enemies and the geography here intensifies the danger.

Samaria lies to the north, the Ammonites to the uh to the east, the Arabs represent pressure from the south, Ashdod brings a threat from the west.

So what he's getting at is that when Jerusalem or the Jews stood on the walls and looked out in every direction, they saw hostility.

There was not a friend out there.

Every direction they looked from the walls, there was an enemy.

And the question was no longer simply whether people approve of the wall, the opponents are now conspiring to attack them.

This is a real threat.

So what does he do?

Nehemiah models incredible wisdom.

Look at verse 9.

And we prayed to our God.

He started there.

Prayer and dependence on the Lord is absolutely the first step, but that does not negate the need for the second step because then he says, and we set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

Let's make application here.

Their confidence in the Lord leads them to responsible preparation.

They understand their need for his protection and they take necessary steps available to them.

They didn't just depend on the Lord, and they didn't just depend upon their guard.

They did both.

This is Nehemiah's consistent pattern.

In chapter 1, he prays, then he steps out and approaches the king.

He prays briefly in the king's presence, then he speaks.

Here he prays and then he posts a guard.

Soon he will tell the people to remember the Lord and to prepare to defend their families.

Dependence and action belong together throughout this account in Nehemiah.

We God's people must learn to balance dependence on the Lord and responsible action.

We cannot be a people who act without prayer, and we cannot be a people who pray without action.

Prudence is necessary here.

Wisdom is necessary here.

Let me try to beat this home for us for a little bit.

And actually, I'm going to quote Dr.

Tony Evans here.

He spoke to this.

Here's what he says.

I'm going to throw it up there.

To use available means without prayer is to be self-sufficient.

To pray and not use available means is to be irresponsible.

You are to trust God through prayer and then function in prudence using all available means He has made available to you.

To put it another way, we are to never allow this idea of dependence upon God to promote irresponsibility of behavior.

So God is sovereign.

See the point?

Even with the typo up there, you can see it still, right?

It fits movement of verse 9.

They ask God to watch over them and they appoint people to keep watch.

They know that the effectiveness of their preparations remains in his hands.

Prudence then means acting thoughtfully and wisely in the circumstances before you.

It involves recognizing a danger, considering your responsibility, using the lawful, appropriate means that God has provided.

This is the reality.

Never become a person who says, Well, I'm just going to pray about it and I'm not going to do anything about it.

And never be a person who says, I'm not going to pray about it, I'm just going to do something about it.

Like this.

A parent prays for a child's spiritual growth and then opens the Bible with that child.

A husband prays for his marriage and then takes responsibility for the conversations he's been avoiding.

He prays for his marriage and then he dates his wife.

He prays for his marriage and then he comes to church with her.

Amen?

A believer prays for freedom from a persistent sin and then removes easy access to that temptation.

A church prays for people to hear the gospel and then equips its members to speak about Christ.

Listen, we are prayerfully dependent upon God to fight for us while carrying a sword in our hand.

That's what he's saying.

Those actions can express dependence on God.

We ask him to work and then we offer ourselves in obedience.

We we go further.

We pray for guests to come and find a spiritual home, and then we notice them and welcome them and invite them into community.

Why do we mention intro to life every single Sunday?

Because we're praying that God would bring guests and we want to be clear on their next step.

We pray for the next generation and then we teach children, disciple students, and support parents.

We pray for the nations that God would send the gospel to across the oceans to the ends of the earth.

Then we give, then we send, then we speak, then we go, bringing the gospel with us.

We pray for the hurting and then we make the phone call and go to the hospital and make the visit.

Listen, a praying church should also be a prepared church.

There are two temptations here.

We can become so confident in our plans that we neglect prayer.

We manage, arrange, strategize, and prepare while giving little thought to our need for the Lord.

Our mouths may affirm dependence, but our habits reveal that we feel capable on our own.

And the other problem is we can use spiritual language to avoid responsibility.

We say that we are praying about reconciliation while refusing to seek forgiveness.

We say that we are trusting God with our family while declining to be present with our family.

We ask him to protect us from temptation while continually placing ourselves in its path.

Nehemiah calls us into a more faithful response.

Pray about what you cannot control.

Take responsibility for what God has actually placed before you.

Keep praying as you act because action never makes dependence unnecessary.

This guard reminds us of that.

So he prayed to our God and set a guard.

Prayed it to God and set a guard.

So pray to God and set a guard.

Depend on the Lord and take responsibility.

It's a two-way street here.

That's number two.

Okay, we good?

So when they taunt us, when they taunt us, let's not run to fight fire with fire.

That's not a good way to live here.

We go to the Lord and say, okay, Lord, here it is.

And when they threaten us, when there's real threat, and we could talk about in small groups, that's a great conversation.

What real threats are we talking about here?

Because we live in America, right?

We're not going to jail or work camps for following Jesus.

So we got to balance that and understand where that's coming from.

But when we do, we work with prudence while dependence.

Now, number three, something interesting happens.

Notice this.

I'm gonna put it this way: when discouragement grows, the enemy changes here.

The people who are building become a little discouraged.

Here's what we need to do: we need to remember our God and care for one another.

Let me show you where this is.

The threat begins to develop in a new way.

They have been opposed by the enemies.

Now, in verse 10, we're gonna read they are being they are facing discouragement.

Notice what they say.

In Judah, it was said, of the Jews.

The Jews were saying.

So the enemy's not talking in verse 10.

These are the Jewish builders.

The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.

There's just too much to do.

There's just too much rubble.

By ourselves, we're not going to be able to rebuild this wall.

See the change in voice?

Earlier, the enemies questioned whether the builders could complete the project.

Now Judah itself expresses doubt.

Strength is failing.

There's too much debris.

I don't think we can finish it.

Now, verse 10 kind of has the sound of this rhythmic short lament.

It was probably something that Nehemiah heard grumbling among the workers and he recorded it.

And discouragement now has found a shared voice within the community.

You ever been there?

I've been there.

Somebody once said, Oh, Southern preacher, I'm not tired of the way.

I'm just often tired in the way.

That's where they were.

They were tired.

They were discouraged.

That's how it happens.

One exhausted person voices what others are feeling.

Man, I'm worn out.

This is getting heavy.

I've just worked so hard.

I don't know how much longer I can keep going.

So then soon the same conclusion travels from person to person.

You know they're right.

We're never gonna be able to finish this.

Everybody can name what is wrong, the rubble's everywhere, we're exhausted.

Now our enemies are threatening us.

The remaining tasks dominate the conversation.

Look at how much is still left to do.

How are we ever going to finish?

They're doubting their own ability to complete the work.

Now, listen, I don't think we should mistake this for an unwillingness to work.

I don't think Nehemiah condemns them here.

I really don't.

I don't think he goes into browbeating them and say, Get up, you bunch of lazy moms, let's get back to work.

In fact, that God doesn't do that.

Remember when Elijah, after his battle on Mount Carmel, was so discouraged and frustrated that he ran uh way out of the region where he was supposed to be ministering and he sat under a juniper tree and God revealed himself to him, and instead of beating him up and kicking him and saying, Get up, you lazy prophet, he let him sleep and he fed him and he encouraged him.

That's what's happening here.

I just want to say, sometimes you just might need a nap.

Amen.

Like, I don't think sometimes, I think a lot of times.

In fact, daily, you might need a nap.

Especially on Sundays.

Listen, if you don't have naps on Sundays, you may not be a Christian.

Amen.

Like, just get back to the gospel and take your stinking nap.

It's supposed to be that way, okay?

Listen, sometimes we're quick to challenge other people's commitments when we have not taken time to understand their burden.

And I think Nehemiah does that.

He's he's recording for us.

You know what?

They're right.

This was tough.

I get the sense there that that's what's happening.

So the next thing that happens, our enemies start talking again.

Verse 11 They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.

So now we've got enemies.

So I'm we're discouraged, we're talking amongst ourselves.

Nehemiah, I just don't think we can do the work, it's too much for us.

At the same time, we heard the enemies sneak in spies in among us, and they're gonna kill us.

Add to that, verse 12.

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

See what's happening?

We're feeling discouraged and tired.

The enemy's attacking us.

And now I just got an email from home.

My mom said, Why don't you just come on home?

That's what's happening.

Our friends said they sent a message 10 different times.

They've been spamming my messages saying, you know what, just give up.

The work's not worth it.

It's gonna cost you your life.

You're gonna give your entire life to this work and it's gonna cost you.

And then what?

Why don't you just come on home?

Just come on home.

Let's go back to the park, let's have a barbecue, let's sit around and have a coke and just enjoy.

Like, what are you doing this for?

You get the feeling of discouragement as it's coming in.

The enemy's threatening, exhaustion and discouragement is setting in, and friends and family are home telling me to just give up.

What does Nehemiah do?

He deals with two things.

Verse 13, he recognizes the threat, so not quite sure the details of what's going on in verse 13, but in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I station the people by their clans with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

So he's like, listen, I got you guys.

I got you.

The enemy's threatening to come in against us, so I'm gonna come up with a plan.

We'll set some guards, we'll we'll sure up the gaps, and we will make sure that we are organized by families and places who are armed to defend where protection is needed.

We're gonna keep our head on a swivel.

We're not gonna we're not gonna be lulled to sleep to the reality that the enemy's still after us.

We're gonna be aware, so we're gonna put some guards there.

And then verse 14 and I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people.

Now, right now, I want you to get a picture of William Wallace, brave heart, painted face, long hair on the back of a horse.

They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom.

You know what I'm talking about?

Look at what he says do not be afraid of them.

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

Remember.

I love that.

That's one of those like goosebumps on the back of your neck moment where Nehemiah is standing up and he's saying, Listen, I know you're discouraged, I know you're tired, I know you've gone through it, I know the enemy's about to kill you, and I know your parents are telling you you should just give up and come home.

But I'm telling you, and I don't know why I'm blaming parents, it could have been a friend or a neighbor.

But listen, don't quit.

God is faithful, God is strong, God is wise, God has called you to a good place to work.

His purposes are not pointless or fragile.

He is able to sustain you, he is worth fighting for, and remember who you're doing this for your brother and your son and your daughter and your wife and your home.

That this is more than just an aesthetic thing.

This is not a pointless endeavor.

The glory of God is on display.

Remember him and remember who you're doing this for.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself.

Hebrews 12 3.

Remember him.

That's what he's telling us in this testament.

Remember Jesus who endured, who went through it, who died and rose again.

Remember him, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.

That's Hebrews 12 3.

After Timothy, after Paul described all of the suffering he was going through for the gospel, he declared in 2 Timothy 1:12, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until the day that has been entrusted to me.

2 Timothy 1:12

I'm not giving up because I'm remembering who I'm serving.

I'm remembering who I'm following.

I'm trusting the God who is faithful and true to his word.

I am trusting that the work is a good work, and I'm also trusting the fact that there are other people's lives at stake if I were to let my guard down.

And the application is numerous.

It's too much for me to name it all, but I just want to remind you that there's a bigger work going on as we fight, as we build, as we labor for the glory of God in this place and in this world.

We, the church, are part of a good work.

God is worthy of our work, and there are lives, there are people, there are friends, there are family.

The implications are significant.

And here's what Nehobi is doing.

I love this is he's recognizing their discouragement.

He's recognizing their frustration, and he is speaking words of encouragement into them.

Aren't you thankful for people who speak life into you when you're down, discouraged, and frustrated?

Just remind you that God is worth it.

This is important.

Don't give up.

God is able.

During the uh Second World War, there's a lady named Cory Tim Boom.

You may have heard of her, maybe read her book.

Her sister was Betsy.

They were imprisoned by the Nazis for helping high Jewish people in the Netherlands.

They were eventually sent to Ravensburg, a concentration camp for women.

In her own journal, she uh writes how the conditions were almost unbearable.

That the barracks were so overcrowded and filthy, and they were infested with fleas.

And the women around them were exhausted, frightened, they were losing hope.

And Corey, in her memoirs, later recounted that her sister Betsy urged her to thank God even for the fleas.

Corey resisted at first.

She could understand thanking God that they were together, that they still had a Bible, but not for fleas.

Yet she recorded that it was those miserable barrack conditions and the fleas where Corey and Betsy read scripture and encouraged other prisoners.

And according to Corey's account, guards were reluctant to enter their section because of the infestation of fleas, which kept them from discovering her Bible, which allowed her to continue to speak the words of truth into people's lives.

And what appeared to be one more reason for despair helped provide an opportunity for the women to gather around God's word.

And Corey Tin Boom thanks God for Betsy's words to thank God for the fleece.

So listen, thank God for the fleece.

And have somebody in your life that's bold enough to say to you, like Nehemiah or Betsy, hey, maybe we should just stop and remember God and remember who we're fighting for.

Fleas are nothing in light of the greatness of God and the work that we're doing.

That's number three.

And number four, we'll say quickly and we're done.

When God frustrates the enemy, because that's what happens next, He just thwarts their plan.

It's so awesome.

Here's what we do: we keep working and remain watchful.

So, I again lots to develop here, but listen at verse 15.

When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plans, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

So we don't know how it happened.

It doesn't record any spectacular intervention being described here.

Sometimes God help God's help arrives through ordinary means, and I think that's what's happening here.

The word came.

Hey, do you know they're talking about sending spies in to kill you?

And that's how it was thwarted.

So this is an ordinary way that God does an extraordinary thing.

So what did they do?

When the lull in the opposition happened, when Sam Ballot and his sidekick were no longer outside the walls.

When their attacks to come in and kill them were thwarted, and it felt like the pressure of opposition relented.

What did they do?

Did they take a nap?

Did they let up?

Did they say, Good, put your swords down, let's all get back to work?

No.

In fact, the rest of the story says into verse 15, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

And then in verse 16 through 18, it talks about how from that day on, half of the servants worked on construction and the other half held spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.

They were standing there, watching, ready for the attack.

So they weren't letting up.

And here's the principle.

Sometimes we uh sometimes we get so preoccupied with the opposition that even when the opposition relents, we aren't really good at getting back to the work that God has called us to go to.

And we let up.

We let up.

We don't remain watchful, we don't remain active.

We think, well, that was a tough season.

I'm sure glad that's over.

Now I'm going on vacation.

And he says, No, we didn't even take our clothes off when we went to bed.

Sounds like some of my kids in my house, but it's beside the point.

He also said, Hey, listen, some of you are take spheres, some of you are taking swords.

And then I had this guy right next to me wherever I went.

He held a trumpet.

I thought about bringing a trumpet up here with me today.

I thought that would be cool, but I don't have one.

But he says, Listen, when you hear the trumpet, we're spread apart.

We're far from one another.

There's a lot of us doing something all around the city.

So when you hear the trumpet, it's a rallying call.

Let's gather together.

And what he's doing is he's emphasizing the reality that ministry is not done in silos, nor is effective ministry done apart from being encouraged in the community.

That there's some value in coming around each other and seeing each other eyeball to eyeball and saying, I thought I was the only one still working on the wall because I didn't even see you, brother, over there.

But now I see you eyeball to eyeball, and I'm like, you're still working, I'm still working, and you're still working, I'm still working.

You see, sometimes you feel like you're the only dad standing up for what's right or trying to fight against temptation or fight for your family.

And then there's a good chance that sometimes you get around a men's breakfast gathering and you're sitting at a table around across from another man, and you're like, You're trying to serve the Lord, I'm trying to serve the Lord.

Let's encourage one another, let's rally together and fight for one another and with one another.

The other night we saw this happen.

We had the men's mentoring dinner.

About 40 men who were either mentors or mentees gathered around a circle and shared with what God was doing in their life.

And we sat there, and I remember the common thread after that was I didn't even know this many guys were doing this.

I thought it was just me and a couple of us that were doing this.

I didn't know there were 40 of us involved in men's mentoring.

This is awesome! What does that mean?

It means that there was some sort of encouragement when I got to see that there are other people in the battle still with me.

That's what Nehemiah wants.

He's like, hey, we're not better spread apart, we're better together.

And when you hear the trumpet sound, let's gather together.

The enemy's coming there, let's fight for one another, and our God will fight for us.

So sound the trumpet.

And you know when the trumpet sounds for us every week?

At 9 a.m.

and 10 45 every Sunday morning.

We get a chance to gather and look each other in the eye and say, I'm glad to see you here still in the fight.

I'm glad to see you still on the wall working.

I'm glad to see you still fighting for the family.

Man, I'm sure glad to see you still being faithful.

So, what do we do?

Well, we keep working and we remain watchful.

We be sober-minded, watchful, because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

So we labored at the work, verse 21 says.

We labored at the work.

We just got back to work and we kept our head on a swivel.

And let me just pull this all together and land the plane here for us.

As we leave this chapter, I want you just to consider the people standing along that wall.

They've heard the insults, they felt discouraged and feared.

Their strength had diminished.

The work had demanded more than they anticipated.

Yet, God sustained his people through prayer, through wise and prudent action, by renewing their remembrance of who God is and mutually caring for one another.

We need those same responses.

Some of us need to bring a painful word to God.

And guess what?

He listens and cares.

Some of us may need to take the wise step that belongs alongside prayer.

Maybe you need to get up off your knees and do the thing that you know you should do instead of just claiming that you are doing something by praying.

Maybe you just need to go do it and take some responsibility while depending on the Lord.

Some need to remember the Lord and allow another believer to help them or help another believer.

Some have come through a difficult season and now they're in a lull and they need to continue with gratitude and watchfulness.

God fought for us.

Their plan was thwarted, but the attack is coming again.

That's what we learn from this.

Now, to land this this way, the perfect example of this is Jesus Christ.

Jesus endured ridicule.

Jesus faced hostility from sinners.

Jesus was mocked as he hung on the cross.

Yet he continued in obedience to the Father, entrusting himself to the one who judges justly, knowing that he was doing a good work and dying for the people he intended to save.

His endurance accomplished what our endurance never can or could accomplish.

He bore our sins.

He suffered the judgment we deserved.

He rose from the dead, defeating death and opening the way for sinners to be reconciled to God.

So if you are here without Christ, the first call on your life is to trust the Savior.

You cannot work hard enough to remove your guilt or make yourself right with God.

You cannot accomplish anything that is worthy of anything from Him.

Christ has done the saving work.

Turn from your sin, place your faith in him.

His mercy is sufficient for the person who comes to him in faith.

And if you're a follower of Christ and you're living for him, you're gonna face opposition in the form of taunts and ridicule.

You'll face threats to your life and well-being.

You will face discouragement and be overwhelmed with the work.

At times you will face lulls in the attacks.

Bring your hearts to him in prayer.

Proceed with wisdom, doing what we always uh uh can while always depending upon him.

And when discouraged, remember the Lord and remember who you fight for.

And when the enemy relents, there's a season of reprieve.

Do not let down your guard, but get back to work and keep your head on a swivel.

Amen.

Opposition must not stop God's people from faithfully pursuing God's work.

Let's pray.

Well, Lord, thank you for the reminder from Nehemiah that opposition from an enemy is not a New Testament thing.

This has been going on for thousands of years.

As long as you have been doing a work on this earth, there has been an enemy who's trying to oppose your work.

And you give us again and again and again the reminder that you will fight for us, you will sustain your people, you will infuse strength and courage and grace in those.

Help us to respond appropriately.

Help us to not fight the insult battle.

Help us just to bring our hurts to you.

Help us to operate in prayer and prudence when the threats are there, when enemies attack, when there is a legitimate concern.

Help us when we're discouraged to remember how good you are and how important the work is.

And help us as a people, when maybe there are seasons of lulls, to not get indifferent or laxadaisical, but continue to do the work while remaining watchful, knowing the enemy is going to come back for a second round.

Lord, I don't want to ever make a Nehemiah story a moral principle implying that do these things and you'll be good.

I want us to remember that these things are possible when we trust the Savior, Jesus, who accomplished all of these things perfectly, and who gives us a new heart and indwells us with your spirit, that we might be equipped to actually build something for your honor and for your glory, not in order to be loved, but because we are loved through Jesus Christ.

I pray that that would be the result of our decisions today.

Where decisions need to be made, I pray they would be made.

Where repentance needs to happen, I pray that it would happen.

Where people have been discouraged and not uh handling it right or not bringing their hurts to you or really not acting in wisdom and avoiding responsibility, maybe because uh they've just said, Well, I'm just gonna pray about it.

I pray that those things would be exposed and that we would be a people who respond to opposition rightly, with wisdom, so that you would be honored and glorified in our lives and what we're building here.

We love you.

We thank you for what you're accomplishing in our church.

We pray this all in Jesus' name.

Amen.