Nehemiah 6, 1-14. Nehemiah 6, verse 1. Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there were no breaches left in it, though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates, that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ano. But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? But they sent to me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me, as before, the fifth time, and with an open letter in his hand. And it was written, it is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel. Therefore, according to these rumors, you are building the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim you concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah. Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. Then I said to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart. For they all, trying to make us afraid, saying, Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. Afterwards I came to the house of Shammai, the son of Delilah, the son of Me-heth-mal, who was a secret informer, and he said, let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the door of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. Indeed, at night they will come to kill you. And I said, should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me, because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act the way and sin, so that they might have an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat according to the works and the prophetess Noida and the rest of the prophets who would make me afraid. Verse 15, let's add that. So the wall was finished on the 25th day of Elu in 52 days. Father, what an example this is for us. God, when we face opposition, and we get it from just about every angle, God, there is a way to overcome it, and there's a way to complete the work that you've called each one of us to do. Father, you empowered Nehemiah. You called Nehemiah, and you gave Nehemiah wisdom when he needed it. And God, when we face trials and when we face tribulation, God, we have the promise in the book of James that says, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think he'll receive anything in the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways." God, Nehemiah was never double-minded. He knew what you'd called him to do. He set his hands to the plow, and he didn't look back. Father, today, I don't know what opposition people are facing, but Father, you know every heart that's here. And God, I'm asking you to speak through your Holy Spirit, through your Word, In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. Overcoming opposition. Some of you probably felt it this morning just trying to get here. The devil, our flesh, and the world, they are relentless. And we are going to face opposition as children of God. When Paul left the first churches that he planted and when he revisited them he said through many tribulations you must enter the kingdom of heaven. It's never going to change. As long as you are in this world, Jesus said, you will have tribulation. That's coming from Jesus. But the rest of his verse said, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. As children of God, we are to be overcomers. We're going to face opposition, but we have the Lord on our side. It's been the history of the church since its very inception. Irenaeus said the blood of the martyr is the seed for the church to grow. He was discipled by a man named Polycarp. And we can trace Polycarp's spiritual lineage back one more generation to the Apostle John. Can you imagine being a pastor and the man who mentored you was the Apostle John? That would have been pretty awesome. And Polycarp had that privilege. But in 156 AD, he was dragged into a Roman Colosseum. The aged bishop had been faithful. He'd been selfless. He'd been the pastor of the Church of Smyrna, one of the churches of Asia Minor. And John the Revelator wrote a letter to him that's inspired, and we have it in our Bible. It's found in Revelation 2 to the Church of Smyrna. And I just want to read what John wrote And I'm sure he had no idea when he wrote this that the man that he discipled would actually be the angel of the church at Smyrna. To the church at Smyrna write, These things says the first and the last, who was dead and who came to life. I know your works, I know your tribulation, I know your poverty, but you are rich. And I know the blaspheme of those who say they are Jews and they are not, but they are the synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you're about to suffer, Polycarp. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life." Here is Polycarp. He's got those words. Be faithful unto death, Polycarp. I know your tribulation. I know what you're suffering. I know your persecutions. I'm there with you. Don't be afraid. You're about to suffer. John had died maybe 50 years before Polycarp was the pastor of Smyrna, but I'm sure these words were echoing in his ears when he stood in that coliseum that afternoon. They chanted, let the lions loose. Then Polycarp heard a voice from heaven as if it was audible to him, and it said, strong, be strong, Polycarp, play the man. The Colosseum chanted louder. The crowd insisted that he die. Days before, Roman bounty hunters had tracked him down, but instead of fleeing, Polycarp invited them in for a dinner. He blessed them. He prayed for them. They took him back to Smyrna for his trial. He had one final request, that I might pray and worship my savior one last time on this earth before I meet him for an hour. He prayed for an hour. Those who were watching him didn't interrupt. They were enthralled as they listened to this man worship his God as he faced certain death. Many of the men who listened to that prayer converted to Christianity. And when the command to arrest him, they fled. And so other executors came in and they drug him into the Colosseum. The Roman government, however, was not going to relent. Like Jesus, they forced Polycarp to ride in on a donkey to mock him. The Roman procouncil implored Polycarp to recant. Swear by Caesar, they demanded. Polycarp held his tongue. He held his ground. The procouncil answered again. Swear and we will release you. Revile the Christ. Many witnesses have attested against you. Those that have recorded his testimony are consistent in what he said. 86 years I have served him. He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who has saved me? Well, the die was cast. Polycarp was led to the center of the Coliseum, where three times the pro-council announced, Polycarp has confessed himself a Christian. He has confessed himself a Christian. He has confessed himself a Christian. The bloodthirsty crowd chanted louder and louder for beasts to be brought in. But the pro-council said, I want him to suffer the fire. His executioner seized him. They grabbed his wrist, about to nail him to the stake, and Polycarp stopped them. And he says, he who gives me strength to endure the fire will enable me. So without your help and without the help of nails, I will stay fastened. The pyre was lit. And Polycarp prayed one last prayer. Eusebius, the church historian, writes these words, I bless you because you have thought me worthy this day to this honor to be numbered among the martyrs and to partake in the cup of your Christ. Soon, the flames engulfed him. Strangely, the fire didn't consume him. And so the pro council ordered him to be run through with a spear. Upon using the spear, Polycarp's body then was consumed by the flames. But before that martyr left, many in that coliseum that day, because of his faithful witness and his fearless testimony, converted to Christianity. We should expect opposition. As followers of Christ, we should expect it. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "'Blessed are you when you're persecuted. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'" We should expect it. Peter wrote this, "'Think it no strange thing, the fiery trial which is about to try you, as if something strange has happened, but rejoice in so much that you are partaker in Christ's suffering.'" Paul wrote this. Those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Nehemiah, from day one when he arrived in Jerusalem, suffered ridicule, mocking, lies, threats of war, and now what we see in this chapter, it was relentless. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, The people of Thessalonica were so antagonistic toward Christianity that when Paul left and went down to the city of Berea, the Thessalonians traveled all the way just to stir up a riot in the city of Berea. That's how much they hated Christianity. And so Paul wrote them this letter, and he said in 2 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5, so that we ourselves boast among you in the churches of God. because of your patience and faith." Paul said, you are my bragging testimony. Everywhere I go, I talk about you Thessalonians, because from you, he said, the gospel is an echoing board. It's going everywhere. In fact, he says, I don't even have to speak anything. Because your endurance in the middle of persecution is just going everywhere. And then he said this, it is a manifest token, or it is proof, it is evidence of the just judgment of God that you are suffering for your faith. He says all it is is a proof that God has counted you worthy to go through this trial. In the same chapter, he concludes and writes this. May God now count you worthy for His kingdom and glory, for which also you suffer." So persecution should be expected. Notice our text says, when the rest of the enemies heard that I rebuilt the wall and there were no breaches left, and that I had hung the doors that Sanballat Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together. If these guys were doing nothing, they would have left them alone. But soon as they heard that these men were active for the kingdom of God, that someone had come to help the welfare of the children of Israel, and that they were rebuilding the testimony of the sovereign king, God of Jerusalem, they couldn't stand it. So opposition should be expected, but opposition is also a safeguard. It safeguarded Nehemiah from presumption that he was doing it in his own strength. Every time Nehemiah faced opposition, Nehemiah went to prayer. One of our greatest safeguards that God keeps us in check is through opposition. It keeps us humble, it keeps us on our knees, and it reminds us where our real resources lie. David said this in Psalm 119, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I have learned thy precepts. God uses it to temper us and to put us through a fire. Peter says this, "'Rejoice, though thou for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifest trials, that the trying of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perish, be tried by fire, might be found to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.'" Opposition is a wonderful safeguard. Oh, I hate it. You and I, we all do. But we know in our heart of hearts when we face it. We find ourselves before God in prayer. The goal is distinct, to show us approved by God. Well, how did Nehemiah overcome this conflict? How did he overcome this opposition? Verse 3 tells us a lot. I sent messengers to them saying, I am doing a great work. That's how we overcome it. We overcome it with conviction. What you are doing and what God has called you to do is a great work. You can look your enemy in the eye and say, you know what? I am doing a great work for God. That's what Nehemiah did. Our enemies win when you and I are indifferent to what God has called us to do. Nehemiah never sunk down to that point of indifference. He said, what I'm doing is a great work. Family of God today, let me tell you, there's no greater calling on earth than to be a follower of Jesus Christ. You have a great work to do. You have a great calling. We need to have a deep conviction of that. And then he's asked this question, should the work cease? What he meant by that, he says, I am going to count up all the costs. What if opposition causes you to lay down your arms? What if opposition causes you just to give in and to quit the Christian life? What are the costs? And Nehemiah knew those costs. He said this earlier. He said, don't be afraid. Remember the Lord, which is great and awesome among you. Should the work cease? Should I dare bring a reproach on my mighty God just because I've got a little bit of opposition? I've got a terrible God. I've got an awesome God. I've got a wonderful God. I'm going to keep on going. I'm not going to quit." In essence, what he's saying. And then he says, fight for your sons. Fight for your daughters. Fight for your wives. Fight for your houses. Can I stop this work? No, I've got too many people depending on me. I've got too many people that I'm leading. I've got too many people I'm influencing for the cause of Jesus Christ. I have got a deep conviction that I'm doing a great work. And I've got a deep conviction that I am going to count the cost and it is well worth it. The enemies realized that he was making a difference. In 2.10, it says that they were angry that someone came to seek the welfare of the children. Then they used ridicule. In 2.19, it says they laughed him to scorn and despised us. Have you ever had anybody laugh at you because you're a follower of Christ or mocked you or said, go talk to your Jesus up there at North Valley Bible Church and have fun? We hear it all the time, don't we? Well, that's what they were doing. In 4.2, They said, you've got too many obstacles, too many things to overcome. Will they revive the stones and the heaps of rubbish that are burned? The enemy wants to feel like our work is insignificant. What you're doing really doesn't matter anyway. Look at the opposition. Look at Washington, D.C. Look where politics are going. Look at our economy. Look at our inflation. Look at whatever you want to and what you little bit of Christians doing. If a fox came over and leaned on it, he'd knock it over. That's what the world wants us to believe. And that's what they told Nehemiah in Nehemiah 4.3. Conviction that it's a great work. A conviction that says, I am not going to take the woe is me attitude. Oh, poor me. Here they come again, ready to attack me. Conviction that says, I'm not going to underestimate the effects of the work of God. Jesus said it like this, don't ever underestimate the mustard seed. It may just be one person that you talk to. It may just be one single event. And God said that it's like a tiny mustard seed. When you plant it in the ground, it becomes the biggest tree. My wife was stuck in an airport trying to fly to Florida about four months ago. Maybe longer than that. I'll get all my dates wrong. I got the conversion of this young lady right anyway. It was a week ago. Two years ago. I'm way off. Two years ago. But that's better actually because it shows you how Lady came over and said, did you miss your flight? She says, well, I'm on standby and I can't get to Florida. She says, oh, you're from Florida? And Tracy said, yeah, I'm going down to see my parents. They live in Cape Coral. She says, well, my parents live in Cape Coral. Where are you from? I'm from Ogden. She says, you're kidding. I go to Ogden all the time. I've got a boyfriend who's at Hill Air Force Base. Well, if you ever get into town, young lady, why don't you come over and we'll meet and talk. And so sure enough, One day, Pippa's in town, calls her boyfriend. They come over for dinner, and we talk to them about the Bible. We talk to them about our ministry. We talk to them about our kids. Never really give the gospel and say the big question, do you want to receive Jesus right now? But just loving on them and planting a seed. Well, Tracy's back down there in Florida. Maybe a year later, she calls Pippa, and she's waiting in the hospital. This is when COVID, only one person can go in, so Tracy's kind of waiting out in the parking lot. Tracy's got her back to the parking lot and the other lady Pippa's looking out the parking lot in this weighty lady in a truck just drives by Looking at Tracy looking at her looking at her and she didn't run any cars Fortunately, then she parks and gets out of her truck and she walks across the parking lot. I mean this huge cross was about two feet I don't know but it had a big star on one side of it and she hands it to to Tracy, whose last name is Star, the cross. And she says, I'm here to see my mom. And Pippa's just like going, this is just too strange. You're here to pray and to see your mom, and this lady just picks you out of nowhere, and you walk over this cross to hand it to her? Well, the story keeps advancing. So the hurricane hits, and Pippa calls Tracy, our advisor. Yeah. and said, what do they need? And she says, well, they need gas. They need petrol for their generator. And so Pippa drives to Tampa, gets 10 gallons of gas, drives all the way back to Cape Coral and walks over to their house and knocks on the door and brings them this gas. And before she leaves, Rebecca looks at her and says, can I tell you how you can know for sure you'll go to heaven? And she says, oh, please tell me. They sat down for about five minutes, and they walked through the gospel. And she prays to trust Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Don't ever underestimate the work that you are doing. God is going to give you opposition. He's going to confront you. I mean, the devil is, the world is, Satan is, and the flesh will. But don't cease the work. God is in it. God will bring it about. And Rebecca called and she says, you know, Tracy, this was so cool. She says, a lot of times in my life and in your life, Tracy, We are putting a puzzle together, and we never see the mosaic of it all put in every piece. But God was so good from the very day that you met her up until the day of salvation. And there's probably hundreds of people that we're going to meet in heaven, because maybe we talked to them, maybe we gave them a track, maybe we gave them a gospel, maybe we prayed for them. But God will use us, but we are going to face opposition and our opposition is going to be relentless and it's going to be persistent. How many times did they come with that silly report? They came four times. And what did he do? He gave them the same answer four times. I'm doing a great work. I am not going to stop. The next opposition we see is the opposition to our character. Slander. Slander's hard to take, isn't it? I mean, I would rather be hit with a baseball bat, I think, than for somebody to slander me. I really get defensive. I mean, just go ahead and slap me, or whatever. But when you start to slant, I get, you know why? Because it hits our pride. And we don't like it when our pride is insulted. And Nehemiah never succumbs to lowering himself and getting involved in needless word battles with those who slander him. Look what Nehemiah does when they slander him. He says, it doesn't even warrant an answer. Verses 5 through 9, Sanbal said another lesson. It was an open letter. He says, it was reported among the nations that you planned to rebel. Therefore, according to these rumors, you are building the wall." So what do they do? They first of all said, Nehemiah, your motives are impure. You don't even have the right motives. You just want to be the king. When our motives are maligned, we can get very defensive about it, can't we? I know what you're really doing. I tell you, some of the worst arguments I get with my wife, I'm confessing, I'm a human and I'm a sinner. Yes, yes, big time. And when she impugns my motives, boy, that's when fireworks go off. How dare you? You know, we're good at that, aren't we? Boy, we get self-indignant, self-righteous. And then they said, your methods, look at your methods. Your methods are all wrong, Nehemiah. You're only doing this because you want to become a king. And then look what else you've done. You've appointed a prophet to proclaim yourself as the king. So your methods are without any scruples. And they challenged his faith and tried to get him to reach out in pride and prayer. So we overcome opposition when it's relentless by our deep convictions, but you know how we overcome opposition when we feel like we're being slandered and our reputation is being ruined? We fight it. with overcoming it by committing it simply to God. He says none of this stuff is true, but then he goes to God and he says this in verse 9. He says, Remember me, O God. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. God, I just want you to strengthen my hands. I need your help. We find this so many times in the book of Psalms. I want to just read a little bit of the psalmist when he felt like he was being reviled, he felt like he was being slandered, and rather than playing tit for tat, he just committed to God. He says, "'Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation. Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows and shoot their arrows with bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the blameless. But God shall shoot them with an arrow, suddenly they shall be wounded, so he will make them stumble over their own tongue." You just give it to God. That's what you do when you're slandered. But the last opposition that Nehemiah faced is probably the strongest temptation that you and I will face when we're opposed, and that's the temptation to compromise. When we get opposition, well, maybe if I just compromise a little bit, the opposition will relent. And so that's where they come at him. in verses 10 through 14. I love what Nehemiah says in verse 13, that I should act that way and sin. Now, it doesn't look anything glaringly wrong with what Nehemiah is going to do, does it? If he listens to this letter, goes into the temple, finds a safe haven there, Nehemiah says, for him, that is sin. That is compromise. I'm not about to do that. Now, what was it that really gave him this courage? Well, fear can have a profound impact on us, can't it? It really can. You know, when we get fearful, we're liable to lower our guard, lower our convictions. And so, as we walk through this passage together, we'll see what helped him not to compromise. So in verse 11, he says this, "...should such a man as I flee?" Nehemiah knew his calling. He knew what God had asked him to do. He knew what God had sent him to do. So how can I keep from compromising? I need to be absolutely secure in my position in Jesus Christ. Who should you and I fear after all at the end of the day? We should only fear God. Should I flee? We need to be confident in who we are in Christ. Nehemiah represented all that was good and gracious and mighty and powerful about the one true God of heaven. Should a man such as I, he asked, should I flee? I'm the man who prayed for God to do something for this city. I'm the man who stood before King Artaxerxes and asked to come back and rebuild this wall. I'm the man that the king gave a open letter to go and cut wood. I'm the man that came and said, let us build this wall. I'm the man that said, if God is for us, who can be against us? That's me. That's Nehemiah. That's you and I. That's who we are in Christ. Not in our own strength. Should such a man as I flee? And then he asks another question in verse 11 and 12. Should such a man as I flee? And who is there that is such as I would, who would go into the temple to save his life? Nehemiah knew that life in Christ was more significant than anything else. If any man will come after me, lose his life in order that he might gain it. For he who saves his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for the gospel will find it, Jesus said. So he says, who is there who would go into the temple? Do you really think, I'll sort of paraphrase Nehemiah here, do you really think somebody who loves God loves his life more than he loves God? Jesus said this, whoever loves his own life and loves the life of any one of his family members, he is not worthy to be my disciple. That's who we are as followers of Jesus. He also knew the Bible, Numbers chapter 18 verse 7 said that no one who was outside of the Levitical priesthood was allowed to go into the temple. And he says, I'm not gonna violate God's law and I'm not gonna violate God's call on my life. If Nehemiah fell, he would take a host of other people with him. Let's read verse 11 or verse 12. Look at verse 14. We are overcomers as followers of Christ. You and I are going to face opposition all the time. It's just a take it for granted, right? So what do we do when we face opposition? I think we meditate on the word of God. We write it on our hearts. A verse that I would recommend is 1 John 5, 4. For whatsoever or whosoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Overcomers, that's who we are. As followers of Christ, you need to remind yourself that you are involved in the greatest work on earth. If you're a parent, if you're a grandparent, if you're an uncle, if you're an aunt, if you're anybody who has children under your influence, you are involved in the greatest work on earth. Second, should the work cease. Remember, the cost is too high. Our God is great and awesome, so we must fight on. Commit your reputation to Christ rather than defend it yourself. When your motives are maligned, When your methods are distorted and when your pride is insulted, what do we do? We remind ourselves what the psalmist said. He only is my rock. He is my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. And under compromise, who wins? The enemy wins every time. When you and I compromise, we don't win, and God loses. So this is the way that we overcome opposition. Expect it. Know that you've got a high calling. Know that the work can't afford to cease. When you're slandered, give it to God. And don't compromise when you're tempted, Don't let fear get a hold of you. Don't let the interest of defending your own name defame you. When you are concerned, you take it to Christ and don't violate God's laws just for expedience. Let's pray together. Father, God, I think opposition to the Christian church is going to rise more and more. We're just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg, Lord. God, Nehemiah, he experienced it from the very moment he arrived back in Jerusalem. And in 52 days, miraculously, that wall was built. God, I can imagine all the enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, the Arabs, all those surrounding nations of Palestine, they knew that there was a great and awesome and powerful God because of Nehemiah's work. God, my prayer today is that the people who are watching our lives, that God, that we would never dare compromise our convictions. God, I pray that we wouldn't get embroiled in word fights on Facebook, on the telephone, on text messages, God, whatever it is, God, that we would just say, Lord, you know what my enemy's saying, and I'm giving it to you. Oh, God, now strengthen my hands to keep up the work. God, thank you that you have chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. God, you have taken foolish things of this world to confound the wise. God, you've taken the insignificant to bring down and to build walls. And God, we're involved in a great work to build your kingdom. And God forbid that the work should ever cease. because the impact of us stopping the work for Christ is too great. People need to hear about Jesus. People need healing. People need help. People need the gospel. They need us to be a light. Should the work ever cease, may it not. May it never be, Lord. Father God, today I pray that you'll use North Valley Bible Church as a lighthouse. When the world gets darker, God, I pray that you will allow us to shine brighter. We pray this for your glory in Jesus' name, amen.