Well, if you've got a Bible, we're going back to part, the second part of the message last week. The work was near finished, but the enemy wasn't, was our title. The work was near finished, but the enemy wasn't. In fact, the enemy's not finished until we pop our clogs and we get the glory or until Jesus Christ comes or calls. That's when the work for us is finished, but the devil is never finished until God calls a halt to it all. The overall theme of these studies are the rebuilding and the revival that we need. And we're not only thinking of walls and temples and gates and the city, we're thinking more importantly of what that means to us as God's people in this day and in this generation. what it means to the worship and praise and the fellowship and the building up of God's people, what it means to the church and its effectiveness, what it means to us as God's people and personally and individually, what it means to build up the walls, to revive, restore and rebuild our walk and our faith and our relationship with the Lord. enemy does come in like a flood but the Bible says when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of God will raise up a standard against him. And so, we are we're trying to draw the comparisons of what Nehemiah is doing here. What is called him from from that luxurious that that prosperous job of being second in command with our tax exes, and who we was prominent and had a prominent position, to come to this ramshackle of a city that the enemy has ravished, and to make a difference. to make a difference to that city. And so we've been looking at that and trying to apply it to us as a church, but also trying to apply it to us as individuals. And I'm trusting that we're getting to grips with a lot of these principles. All right, we're going to read quite a number of these verses. Nehemiah chapter 6. We'll get to verse 14, reading from verse 1. 1 to 14, and we'll read it as sharply as we can, and we'll try not to multiply too many words tonight, given that it is cold in here, all right? Now, it came to pass when Sanbalat and Tobiah and Geshem, the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had builded the wall and that there was no breach left therein, though at that time I had not set up the doors of the gates, that Sanbalat and Geshem said unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief, and I sent messengers so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease whilst I leave it and come down to you? Yet they sent on to me four times after this sort, and I answered them every time the same thing. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand wherein was written, it is reported among the heathen and Gashmu saith it that thou and the Jews think to rebel for which cause thou buildest a wall. Or in other words, the reason that you're building the wall is that you're rebelling against Artaxerxes. That thou mayest be a king so you're building your own kingdom. That's what they're saying amongst themselves according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, there is a king in Judah. Now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now, therefore, and let us take counsel together. We're really concerned about you, Nehemiah. We don't want you to get into trouble with our taxerxes. These reports are going out, but we really are your friends, and we want to help you, we want to protect you. That's what they're saying. Then I sent on to him, saying, there are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them, or you're making them up in your own heart. And they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. Afterward I came on to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Deliah, the son of Mehethabel, who was shut up. And he said, let us meet together in the house of God within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple, for they will come to slay thee. Yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. And I said, such a man as I flee, and who is there that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And lo, I perceived that God had not sent him. but that he pronounced this prophecy against me, for Tobiah and Salbalat, their money was behind him. Therefore was he hired that I should be afraid, and should do so, and sin, that they might have matter of evil report, that they might reproach me, or make my name a disgrace. My God, Think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to their works and on the prophetess Noah and the rest of the prophets so that that would not that it was put me in fear. So, the war was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the I spoke earlier of the importance of the rebuilding of the wall and how we're comparing it, and to see the gates restored, those gates of authority, protection, safety, and security, and those things that make the fellowship of God's people and the soul of man secure in their knowledge of their walk with God and secure in their fellowship and secure in their assurance. I've spoken at great length about those things. I've spoken on to about the rebuilding and the restoring of the walls of our faith. Spoken about the community, the care, the fellowship, the worship, the promise, the godliness, and all of those things that we compare them to. But think of what it replaced. Think of what Nehemiah was rebuilding. Think of the things that have been replaced by these great graces that are ours to enjoy. Fear. anxiety, manipulation, domination, confusion, indifference, destruction, decay. These things have all been replaced by the work of God in our hearts, and in our fellowship, and in the church that takes seriously the word of God. God's work brings about a change, change of habit, change of outlook, change of life, change of lifestyle. It brings about change, brings about an alteration of the way we do things, the way we think on things, the way we perform, perhaps, and who we work for, as we'll see a wee bit later on. It brings about tremendous change. But something else we need to say, and it's this, it means what it means on a human level as far as Jerusalem was concerned. I mean, as I said before, We have, the work of God was going nowhere until Nehemiah came there. We all agreed on that. They had been there for over 100 years. And there was, it was actually the work of God was stalled. If you read through Ezra and Nehemiah, they used to be the one book. But they started building the temple and then there was the work of God stalled us as far as they got. And one has to wonder, where were the leaders until Nehemiah appeared? And who were the leaders? Who had political, religious sway? Well, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, amongst others, were there. Now they're displaced. Now they're not in a place of authority. Their means of reputation have been removed. They're now seen to be sidelined and whenever a person or whenever an attitude in our hearts gets displaced, it fights to get back to that place. It's the old flesh, isn't it? The flesh doesn't give up easily. And we can easily mirror that in the enemy, and the enemy that holds on to a community. Whenever you displace the enemy, he fights to retain and to regain that which he has lost. And so I can see very clear comparisons as we can apply this to a community, we can apply it to a church, and we can apply it to our own individuals. Whenever we set our sights, I'm going to live for God, I'm going to be, I'm going to stand up and nail my colors to the mast, and I'm not going to be indifferent or lethargic in my walk with God, but I mean business with God. Then you're in for a fight. You're in for a fight. You're in for all sorts of opposition, and whether it comes from outside, whether it comes from inside. But here, and as we looked at and we started to look at last week, it really comes on a very personal level now to Nehemiah himself. And as I said last week, and by way of introduction, he starts to work and he finds different avenues and different routes into our minds to try to get us to stop the work. And he might use people, and he might use Christians, and whatever means he may find, he will seek to use those to bring you and I, to get us to stop the work. Or to get the work to stop on us. And this is what we saw in the life of Nehemiah. And we quoted from Spurgeon, Satan never kicks a dead horse. We used to say that the devil leaves his own alone. Why would he want to disturb them? But if a person is seeking to work for God and live for God, and whatever decision that you have made in your life, whatever determination you have made, be sure of this one thing, that if you've decided you're going to go further and deeper with God, you are going to face opposition. Same with any preacher, any teacher, any leader, any organization leader, any individual, any home leader, whatever the case might be. If you say, it matters not what has been in the past, that's over and gone, you can't get it back. The Bible says that God will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. But it's what you do from this moment on that is really important. And so last week, we started by looking at the opposition that was going on, and the first three verses we noted very quickly, he was alert. How did he view this opposition? These things that was going on in his head that the enemy was creating in the surroundings, and as we looked at them very quickly, he was alert to their methods. Verse one to three, they wanted him to compromise. The enemy wants you and me to compromise. The enemy wants you and me to fraternize with the enemy. What has the enemy and I got in common anyway? Why would I want to listen to the enemy? What would the benefit or the purpose be to you? And by the way, notice how plausible, as I said last week, it was a plausible invitation to come and have a little party in the plain of Ohno, wherever Ohno was. Let's have a little conversation about whatever it is that we want to talk about. They were going to call the shots to compromise. Many of the soldiers compromised, haven't they? Fraternized with the enemy. Not do you any harm. Just listen to what we have to say. The enemy is nothing good or wholesome to say to us. And so the first method was compromise. Let's just sell out your beliefs and your principles. Why are you holding such a fast line? We're not gonna do you any harm. Compromise. Compromise. I, I, there was more I said. Second, the second one was rumor, was, was slander. Slander. Verses five to six, we noted that. There, there, there was also, this was a, an open letter. I was reading someone else out today before I came out just to see was there something new that, or something I had missed out on this open letter. Mark, my word, says one of the commentators, before this letter ever came to Nehemiah, it was already well circulated amongst everybody else. Isn't that how slander works? Isn't it? It's well circulated before you hear it. So why would he even start worrying about the slander getting out now? Slander creates suspicion. It pulls down a person's reputation. And when the person hears of the slander and the gossip that's been going around them, whether it's you as an individual, or a person in a community, or in a church, or an organization leader, or a father or mother who's decided that you're gonna lead your family aright for God, or whether it's a pastor, deacon, or elder, or whatever the case might be, whenever slander and gossip goes around about you, you lose the motivation to really make a difference. rubs you of that energy. It drains you of that resolve. I'll tell you what else before I go any further. I'll tell you what else it does. It distracts the individual because you're wondering and worrying about what are the people really saying and what are the people really thinking and what are they really believing? And someone once said, slander is the most effective tool in the devil's armory, and God's people use it the most. Slander. The third thing that he was alert to was the intimidation, verse 10. The boys with the balaclavas are after you. They're gonna be kneecapped tonight. Well, that's not necessarily what Nehemiah heard, but it was something in that line. They tried to strike fear into his life. I've discovered, I'm sure you have too, I'm probably preaching to the converted, whenever you're doing the Lord's will, you don't need to be afraid of anybody, so long as you know you're doing the Lord's will. And if God knows the motivation, and if God's behind the drive of what you're doing, then don't allow men to put fear in your heart. It is far, far healthier to have the fear of the Lord in your heart, isn't it? It is far, far more beneficial to have God's fear in your heart, because the fear of man, see that phone, I'll throw it out. Sorry, Bobby. Sorry, you didn't notice Bobby's phone, did you? And there was me trying to protect you. I thought maybe I'd lighten the atmosphere there. The fear of man bringeth a snare. It trips us up. If I'm afraid of what people think, if I'm afraid of what people say, or if I'm afraid of what people might think or might do to me, well listen, I'm fearing man, therefore I'm not fearing God. They try to intimidate him. As I said to you last week, I am more and more getting to admire this man. And I tell you what, if you want to fashion your leadership on anyone, in any situation, there could have been no more difficult situation, and there could have been no more treacherous situation than the thing that Nehemiah was in. And we can learn a lot from Nehemiah. We can learn a lot about Nehemiah, and we can learn a lot about how to lead people. And we can also learn a lot about the devil's tactics as well. I will not go." What was it that… helped Nehemiah build this wall in a record time, 52 days after them been back over 100 years, 52 days. He knew the Word of God. He knew what the enemy was about. He knew the purpose, the motivation. He was, and we'll learn, hopefully a little bit later on, that his identity was not on what he was doing. His identity was not seen in his ability to build walls. His identity was seen in that he was serving God. That was the chief thing, and he knew the genuine from the counterfeit. And by the way, and you'll notice how many times that they tried to trip him up, that he always referred back to God on his word. So he knew the genuine. And anyone who's involved in identifying the counterfeit, they don't study a million different counterfeits. All they have to do is study the genuine thing. And then when a counterfeit thing turns up, he's already well pre-programmed as to what's wrong with those things. In other words, Nehemiah had a genuine experience of God, and he maintained that experience by the study of his word, by studying God's word, and by communicating with God on his knees. Here's what Hosea said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We are open prey to the enemy. We are ignorant of the devil's devices. And Paul says in the early church that they weren't ignorant of the devil's devices. And Jesus said, you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. So he was aware or alert to their methods. Very quickly, he was aware of their intent. They just wanted to destroy him very quickly. The enemy wants to destroy you, verse 2. He said that. He said in verse 2 of chapter 6, they thought to do me mischief or to do me harm. That's all he wants. That's the reason he wants you to compromise. That's what he's involved in. I was reading through, I think last week I was reading through Acts chapter seven or eight. And this time today, or this morning, I was reading through Acts chapter 13. And I was reading there a number of things in Acts chapter 13. I want to read them to you just very, very briefly to see how the enemy gets involved. Acts chapter 13, verse six. The enemy doesn't give up. Acts chapter 13 and verse 6. Here's what it says. "'And when they had gone through the island of Paphos, "'they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, "'a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, "'which was the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, "'a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul "'and desired to hear the word of the Lord. "'But Elimus, the sorcerer, for that is his name "'by interpretation, withstood them, "'seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.'" The enemy wants to prevent the work of God. He wants to destroy the work of God, and he wants to destroy the work of God in you. Verse five and six, five to six of Nehemiah chapter six, the enemy wants to discredit you. And his testimony was important to him. His testimony of God and his integrity was important to him. And so therefore, if he thought that people thought ill of him, The enemy was trying to discredit him amongst the people. And then the enemy also tries to, by the way, we did try to give you an idea of how do you identify slander and lies and gossip. First characteristic, the source is never declared. And the second characteristic of slander is exaggeration and inaccuracy. And then thirdly, they wanted to defile him. I said a little bit to you, but in 2 Chronicles chapter 26 and verse 16, it says that when Uzziah wanted to go into the temple, that's why he got leprosy, because he shouldn't have been in the temple. No prophet should be in, or no king or no leader should be in the temple, or to offer sacrifices. And Nehemiah was a builder, he wasn't a priest. And so therefore he would have been breaking the law that he was standing up for. To go against what he believes, to defile him, to belittle him before the people that he was seeking to lead. They wanted to defile him. And by the way, no disability was allowed into the temple or into the sanctuary either. That would be to cause them to defile as well. So the sanctuary of God would have been defiled. So it would be to belittle the things of God before the people. They wanted to defile him. And I suppose ultimately they wanted to deter him by emotional blackmail. Those are the things. And then we go to the third thing tonight. He was adamant to do right. You'll find that in verses two to four. We're still in, but we will get through it all tonight, no doubt about it. They thought to do me mischief, and I sent messages on to them, and on four occasions, I refused to do what they asked me. Why? This man, Nehemiah, he was resolved in his conviction. What is conviction? It's resolution or resolute to do right. He wasn't prepared to leave the work that God had called him to go to any neutral ground out of the city. That's conviction. God had set a conviction in his heart that the enemy could not rob him of. And that's what we need. We need conviction about what we're about as individuals and as a church. Well, what is the convictions of this church? Well, here's my understanding of church. They'll be come together to fellowship together. from different arts and different parts and different backgrounds, from different ideas and different ideals. And God has placed us all together. in what we would call a cauldron, and he has said to manifest the graces of God amongst each other, to encourage one another, to inspire one another, and to nurture one another in the things of God. You can say that about the family. That's why you're together as a family. You can see that together as a church family and a church fellowship. Or you can see it in your particular organizations or group. That is the purpose for our gathering. So that we may nurture and inspire and encourage one another to build one another up in our most holy faith. That's our conviction. Is that your conviction of church? It's not to have a wee holy huddle. And it's not to the exclusion of the unsealed. It is actually to reach out to, that's the other part of church, is to reach out to the lowest. And it's not to peddle our own little pet doctrines and themes. It is to embrace the whole counsel of God. That's my conviction, folks. That's my conviction. My conviction also is that the only means that this can happen is by the Word of God, by salvation, by the preaching of the gospel, and by the prayer and study of God's Word and all of those things that pertain to the means of grace. That's my conviction. My conviction is that God is able to save. My conviction is that Christ came to save. Those are convictions. Convictions. Nehemiah's conviction was that God had called him away from that far country to a place in Jerusalem where he had individually, personally placed upon him the charge of seeing and overseeing the work of God being rebuilt. That was his conviction. Have you got a conviction? When people step back because of the battle that they've been in, they throw the old yoke car into neutral. If you know anything about neutral, you're going to go nowhere. A lot of people, that's what they do. They get hurt. They come up against opposition. They give in to the slanders and the accusations of what's been hurling around. And they go to a place where they, well, that's me, and they're thrown in the towel. And they continue then to remind themselves and reminisce of what they once were, what they once did, what they were once involved in. But at this moment in time, they're in neutral, rocking chair, going nowhere. What is conviction? It is not, in this case, the sense of guilt, of wrongdoing. Conviction, in Nehemiah's case, is the sense of right doing. I am doing a good work, and I cannot come down because of the conviction of God in my heart. Have you got that? We need to be a people of conviction. Verse 8, very quickly, he was secure in his conscience. He was secure in his conscience. So what if people think wrong of me or you? What did I say about five weeks ago in church, I think it was thereabouts? I don't care what you think about me. And I don't care what you say about me. You see, here's the thing. Well, I suppose it can affect what people think about you if lies go on about you. But personally, for me, I've got to the place that what anybody says about me will not change what God thinks about me. Isn't that right? That's important. And as far as Nehemiah was concerned, he was pure in his own heart. And when he was pure in his own heart, even though all these things, this open letter that was well circulated in Jerusalem, even though it was well circulated amongst his enemies and those that he was working with and working amongst, because he had a conscience void of offense towards God and towards man, he forged ahead with the work of God. It's not a good place to be in. Paul, on many occasions, as he stood before the various kings, says, I have a conscience void of offense before God and before men. That's a fair big statement, isn't it? You think about that. He's securing his conscience. In fact, you'll find the reference for what I'm after quoting there in Acts chapter 24 and verse 16. Because of that, Nehemiah didn't worry so much. It didn't hinder or halt him from working. And here's what John says in 1 John 3 verse 21. If our hearts condemn us not, we have what? confidence towards God. He was secure in his conscience. Very quickly, verse 11, he was steadfast in his courage. He refused to be intimidated. I will not go in, he said to Shemiah. I will not Sometimes I want to tell you folks, it takes courage not to go with the flow. Wouldn't you agree with me? Sometimes it takes courage. Listen to this now. Sometimes it takes courage when people are ridiculed, criticizing, and condemning, to stand up and say, I will not let you say that about that brother. It's easy to kind of agree in your heart, agree to them visibly and physically, but not agree with them in your heart. But because you don't want to get into it, you can kind of half agree and pass it off. And then you'll go and say, do you hear what so-and-so said about you? You'd be far better keeping your back shut. He was Winston Churchill once delivered a speech saying, never give in, never, never, never, never, never give in. Nelson Mandela said, courage is not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he that conquers that fear. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, courage is not the absence, obviously the two men had read each other. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. And that's what it means to fear God. You put him way ahead of all those fears that clamor for our hearts. And I want to tell you and remind you that the fear of God is not squirming, it's not a fatalistic thing, it's not a terrorizing thing, and it's not a paralyzing thing. Have you ever seen someone who's paralyzed in fear? They're afraid to move in case God gives them a divine clout. Afraid to take a risk in case God somehow chastises them for getting it wrong. What is fear of God? Fear of God is a governing attitude that I do not want to grieve my loving Father rather than Him giving me some kind of a divine clout where I'll never survive and never recover from. The fear of God is a healthy, sensitive attitude towards a loving Father. who requires that we respect his desires and plans for us. Nehemiah was alert to their methods. He was aware of their intent. He was adamant to do right. And the last thought in verse 15, he was assuring in victory. You notice a number of times that Nehemiah runs to the Lord. He says, Lord, strengthen me. He was human. You noticed that, did you? He was human. There were times when he felt he was about to capitulate. It's a word that's been in my vocabulary these recent days. There were times when he was about to be, to allow himself to be intimidated. There were times when he was like, but every time he had one overriding factor that dominated his life. Whenever he felt he was about to slip, what did he do? He went to the Lord. Strengthen me, Lord. Give me courage, Lord. Revive my convictions, Lord. Remind me of your call upon my life, Lord. I'm about to give in here. Can you see what the enemy's doing to me? You'll see a number of times. But ultimately, he overcame his opposition. There was times he was down. but he was never knocked out. In fact, you read through Nehemiah and you'll see sometimes he lost his temper with these people. He got annoyed. Verse nine, therefore, oh God, strength in my hands. What is assuring in Nehemiah's success and completion of the work is this, the time when he was ready to capitulate, when he was ready to throw in the towel, when he was on the verge of collapse, He turned to God in prayer, and you know what? God heard him. And that shows to you and me the real advantage of those who take it to the Lord in prayer. And there's a real, real advantage in always being honest with the Lord, always. If you're facing opposition, if you're ready to capitulate, if you're ready to throw in the towel, if you're being intimidated by individuals, or if you're being pushed to the limit in your workplace for your testimony, or in your family, or in your home, or wherever the situation may be, if you feel yourself being pushed to the limit, take it to the Lord. Take it to the Lord. Notice what Nehemiah prayed. My God, think thou upon Tobiah, Sanballat, according to their works. In other words, he put God between him and his enemies. He put God between him and his enemies. And the wall was finished in 52 days. Prayer ultimately puts God in the frame of your life. and it puts you between, and it puts him between you and your problem. When we do that, we bring God into the situation, and the result is that God's work will be finished. In verse 16, we notice that the tables are turned. And it came to pass that when our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, that they were much cast down in their own eyes. What were they trying to do? Remind me, they were trying to get him to capitulate. I remember I said last week, when they were almost through to the end, it's then that the battle gets the hottest. But the enemy, and I read a commentator this evening before I came out, and he was saying, that the enemy knew his end was near, and that's why he put all his energies into this last gasp effort to discourage the servant of the Lord. Bill Dunn. Remember Bill Dunn, the singer? Don't give up, you're on the brink of a miracle. You're on the brink. The enemy wouldn't want you to think that. He'd want you to think differently. He was aware of their intent to destroy him, to discredit him, to fail him, deter him. He was alert to their methods, compromise, intimidation, slander. He is adamant for right. He was resolved in his conviction, secure in his conscience, steadfast in his courage while under threat, and therefore he was successful in his service. and the tables were turned. Those who tried to make him afraid actually ended up feared. It's very encouraging when even Satan comes, even in the most fearsome attacks on our lives, and he's the one that's overcome. What does the writer in scripture say? Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. And so in 52 days, the work was finished. And Nehemiah was the one that came the victor. Or should I say, God gave him the victory over his enemies. I don't know how that relates to you today, but I'm sure if you're like me, you face the enemy often. It's good to know that we have that victory in Jesus' name.