Thank you for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by what you hear and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please listen for instructions at the end of this message. Well, beloved, we return to the Book of Nehemiah. It's, I think, been maybe close to two months now since we were in Chapter 3. We come to Chapter 4 this evening, and we're only going to look at verses 1 through 6. We're going to work through it in parts as I've looked through it. And it is really the beginning of, through Chapter 6, of what we're going to see in a moment. I want to review with you where we've been. Chapter 1, Nehemiah gets word, as he's the cupbearer to the king of Persia, that it's not good in Jerusalem. The walls are still broken down. They've been burned over. It's a mess. God's people are practically in ruins, because the place is in ruins. And the concern is, this is God's place of His presence. This is where the Messiah will come to save us of our sins. And he's overcome by this. He stops in sackcloth and asses, and he prays. and we see his model prayer and it's a long prayer and we see that he prayed it a long time until he's got the opportunity the right moment where the king approaches him and then he prays again a really short prayer to be ready to pray but he was prepared to know what to ask and he asked and got the king's favor He comes to Jerusalem, even with the king's horses and army to protect him, and papers to get safe passage. He's prepared to ask for all those kinds of things. Some of them are more given to him than he asked for. And he comes, he assesses the area. He then talks to the people and motivates them. We have to build so that we're no longer a reproach to the world. And yet we'll see that enemy forces of the world want to continue to make them a reproach and not rebuild. We saw some of that opposition start in chapter 2 with Sam, Bala, and Tobias, but every time they basically say, you know, talk to the hand, we're getting back to work. We will build the wall, the wall of Jerusalem. And then in chapter 3, we saw the rebuilding by the map going around counterclockwise from the Sheep Gate back to the Sheep Gate, that all the people were working together. There wasn't a gap, so to speak, all working as one. The people were working and starting to rebuild the wall. And then we get to chapter 4, and we see this theme continuing. Well, we don't like that, and we want to stop it. Although it's much stronger than that, but let's turn there now. Nehemiah chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. Hear now the word of the Lord. But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, what do these feeble Jews? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God, for we are despised, and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity, and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. So built we the wall, And all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof, for the people had a mind to work." Well, we reviewed chapters 1 through 3, coming here into chapter 4. things to celebrate looking at chapter 3 the people working together in such unity and humility rebuilding and then we see here in chapter 4 opposition and that the opposition will just get stronger as they build and grow the opposition and the effort to stop them will grow. In fact, that's really the theme of chapters four to six, Opposition. J. Montgomery Boyce, his book has that as the main title for a number of chapters following the chapters. You see, there's increasing opposition by God's enemies to try and stop the rebuilding of the wall. J. Montgomery Boyce points out that there are six forms of opposition that we are going to observe. from chapters 4 through 6, and we'll look at how Nehemiah handles them in each case. We'll also recognize there's an increasing opposition, and so there's an increasing way that Nehemiah is dealing with it. Still, he's a good example for us to pay attention to and follow. Again, chapter 3, great developments and rebuilding, so now greater, scarier degree of threats to shut it down. And threats, even though they're only threats, and mocking and bearing false witness, though it's not true, can be very effective to shut things down. To shut God's people down. To shut down God's church. The response of God's leaders to growing reproach by God's enemies should be increasing in prayer. for God to intervene, so that God's people respond in continuing to make progress building Christ's church. That's what we see the response needs to be, Nehemiah as the leader in our example, and thus the people responding. I give that to you as the main idea of our text. The response of God's leaders to growing reproach of God's enemies should be increasing in prayer, for God to intervene so that God's people respond in continuing to make progress building Christ's church. Derek Thomas points out, we want to remember that in chapter 3 they were rebuilding the wall so well because they had such unity, there were no gaps. And he says, that unity with no gaps is something at which Sanballad aimed his verbal missiles. hoping that the collapse of one or two groups would lead to a domino effect. As one after another, the builders succumbed to collapsed morale under the strain of fear. Rather, when oppressed, keep praying and making progress. That's the message for you from the text this evening as we see the opposition mounting and we see Nehemiah's growing response to it. When oppressed, keep praying and making progress. You will face growing reproach for doing God's work in his church, not less. Let me repeat, you will face growing reproach for doing God's work in His church, not less. We have this phrase, nip it in the bud. When you see a plant that's about to bloom, there's some kind of a bud there that's going to open, and then there'll be growth. You cut it off to stunt its growth. Nip it in the bud. Get it before it grows. Let's stop that before it becomes something. And that's what we see with the reproach of God's enemies. Let's nip this thing in the bud. They've already been given trouble, but now they're seeing some real growth, potential flowering and opening. Let's nip this thing in the bud. The reproach of God's enemies is what we see first in verses 1 to 3, and it's what we should learn from this whole true story to expect in our ministry and service to the Lord in every generation. That was one of the main themes of chapter 2, by the way, if you recall. Look at verses 1 through 3. But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, What do these feeble Jews? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? It's interesting when he says, will they sacrifice? Some of the commentators seem to agree. I think what he's really saying are, are they going to pray this thing up? Are they going to pray this wall up? What do they think they're doing? They can't possibly do this. So the enemies have a reproach of God's people and the work they're trying to do and get nasty about it. But it's just like chapter 2, verses 10 and 19. It's already started. Look back to chapter 2. This is where we first got the message that this is what you should expect in church. serving Christ. This is what you should always expect. There's a war of Satan in the principalities of the air, spiritual demonic forces against the work of Christ, Genesis 3.15 until the end of time. So right there you see they're not happy about it. And then verse 19, But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn. The place where they're basically surrounded all sides, north, south, east, west. The enemies are mounting, and the words and the pressure of the enemies are mounting. Now notice, for instance, in our chapter tonight, he's speaking to his army. You can think about it, it's like mounting up the troops, right? Give them this sense of maybe jabbling of the weapons and stuff, and you know, really trying to scare them, getting ready to attack. It's kind of the theme that we're seeing here. And notice, just as in those verses here, they are extremely angry. Verse 1, the opposition had burning anger, you could translate it, and they were greatly enraged. Notice, it's not just like a subtle, oh man, you gotta be kidding me, those pesky Jews, it's like they hate them. They are enraged with anger and bitterness that they keep building this wall. And that is behind the work of Satan, and that is behind those who serve him. Now, notice there's progression in their hatred because of the progress of rebuilding. It's getting stronger. It's getting more organized. It's getting louder. It's getting verbalized, and it's meant to go and scare them. Why? Because, first of all, it's a spiritual battle, but also secular. The area of Israel was a route of commerce, a route of commerce, and valuable trade that would be redirected to Jerusalem again, and they would probably miss out monetarily. Which, by the way, that is There's two aspects of that, right? We see in the New Testament, people sometimes tried to kill Paul, hated people. Why? Because, well, they're burning all the sorcery books, or they're not buying idols that we make anymore. You're killing our economy with this Christianity. They hated them, right? I mean, they hated them and screamed and made such a holler in the city that they made such a noise for their false god. I mean, that may be a little more sophisticated day, but it really isn't any different. I mean, I don't mean to be seeming to be making inappropriate use, but what have we seen recently in the news? The man being assassinated for simply speaking the truth in the marketplace and scriptures. It's the same, it's always the same. And what is the thing they're hoping for? To stop that talk, to stop that building. to shut the mouths of Christ and his church. And it's largely successful, which is why the church is largely silent on important issues. Satan wants to own your soul, and if he can't, he wants to own your situation and your prosperity. Go to Revelation chapter 12 with the dragon. And he does the same to Christ's people as to Christ on the cross. He mocked. He mocked your Lord Jesus. Mocked and mocked and mocked. And in his case, Jesus could have done something about it. And he does the same to you and me. Verses two, we see sarcastic speech intended to be delivered by listeners, those who are there. Probably some who we might gather later are probably not as loyal in the Jews or some kind of overlap with the market, but they know the intent is this is gonna get back to the Jews, and it does. We see Nehemiah praying about it with great concern. and such mockery to make them scared. So they stop. Intended to cause doubt about the Jews' ability to finish what they started. In verse 3, it's a mocking hyperbole intended to cause doubt about the wall's ability. And in some ways, it's somewhat realistic. You know, these are not truths because God is going to do this. Said he's going to do it. But they were feeble. There weren't a lot of them. Most of them hadn't been there in a long time. And the stones were burned. I mean, it wasn't going to be an easy thing, and it wasn't a nice, neat, new stones from a quarry kind of thing. It was rebuilding with what you have to work with, and burned over stones. Another scare tactic you see is to try to get you to stop it, to make it sound likely that it isn't likely, and you can't do it. Why don't you stop before you start? Why don't you quit before you make absolute fools of yourselves? Everyone is mocking you, you puny little Puritan church. You're not going to survive. Why don't you just close and sell the building now? Stop kidding yourselves and get it over with already. Because there's plenty that have been waiting for it for over a decade and some who still salivate over it on the internet. There's no way you can do this. That's what they want you to think. Notice they're not making an advance. They're not getting into war. More on that in a moment. But if they can make you think you're about to be destroyed or destroy yourself, that's all they need to do. Derek Hidner writes, it is the enemy's oldest weapon, and in the form of ridicule, it needs no factual ammunition, not even argument. So many things can be said that are not even close to true. They're horribly false, devastating to reputations and character. And they go after your children, literally. I'm waiting on some of those things more particular for sermons later on in Nehemiah. But none of it's an actual real argument and none of it's based on any fact or truth. It's all based on hatred and a desire to destroy. It's all based on false accusations. It's all based on mockery. Because that works a lot of the time, intimidation. Recognize the opposition's tools and fear tactics because they are fearful of your growth. That's one thing you want to recognize. HMG Williamson points out, insecurity expresses itself in a surprising variety of ways, perhaps the least common of which is real timidity. I'll continue his quote in a moment. What he's saying is, when people are acting all bold and trying to scare you, that's actually usually because they're really scared. Usually when they're really scared, that's how they act. It's not very common that people act scared when they're scared. They try to hide it and try to make you scared. He goes on to say, The use of mocking sarcasm in the face of what one suspects underneath may truly be a work of God is illustrated time and again in scripture and in the experience of the people of God throughout the centuries of church history right down to our day. What he's saying is when you're getting this kind of opposition, and we've talked about it and we'll talk about it more tonight, often it's a sign you're actually doing God's work. Notice again, they weren't actually attacking. Chapter 2, 7 to 9, the reality was the Persian king supported it, sent him with his letter of support, sent his own troops without even asking for it. They're not likely to actually want to engage, but if they can make you think they will. Because it isn't like our time where news is going to get back instantaneously, right? Before they can do a lot of damage, be in and out, maybe some guerrilla warfare. But most likely they're just wanting to make you afraid, so you're afraid of your own shadow. Mocking lies are tactics of intimidation, but there's nothing actually behind them, except Satan, who's the father of lies. They did the same to Jesus, Psalm 22, Matthew 27, 27 to 44. They mocked Jesus mercilessly, and they'll do the same to you. F. Charles Fenchman writes, it was the beginning of a propaganda campaign. I mean, that's how it always is, right? especially in politics, destroy their reputation. It doesn't matter if it's true. What matters is if it sticks. Charles Spurgeon has said that. It doesn't matter if the mud is a real story as long as the mud sticks. And it does. People are very quick to believe false accusations. Lie, lie some more, say it louder and louder. That's the way of the world, and that's the way of the world against truth, real truth, and Christianity. It's just like chapter two, and this, beloved, is church life. If you're doing it right, and it will only grow in degree, it isn't that we'll get to that place where, oh, we can coast now, we got everything settled. No, no, no, no, no. Get ready for the next one, and the next one. until we go to heaven, until Christ returns. That's the reality of the world. That's the reality of the spiritual warfare and its manifestation in life against the church. And it comes in all kinds of different ways. But you can trust Satan's always behind it, just as he was with Job. God ultimately using it, directing it, perhaps even initiating it. But his intention is to build and grow and give a type of Christ. Satan's intention is to make us not praise God anymore. That's exactly what they want here. That's what he wants. Let's destroy it. No praise. Just like Satan left Jesus at the wilderness temptation to return, and he returned at the cross, just as he said he would, for a more opportune time. He's gonna do the same with you. He'll let you think everything's okay for a while, and then he'll come back and he'll bring his buddies with him. Jesus says you clean the house, right? Next thing you know, the demon comes back with a whole bunch more to take over. You've always gotta be keeping watch of yourself and watching for Christ and keeping watch on the world and life. There's never a time you can let your guard down. There's never a time. Satan isn't ready like a prowling lion to devour you by your neck if you let him. You need to be able to look to your officers for support to sustain you through such ridicule because that's where it starts and that's often all it takes. Your church leaders must guide you to respond in prayer for God's intervention. You will face growing reproach for doing God's work in his church, not less, and your church leaders must guide you to respond in prayer for God's intervention. Remember Haman in the book of Esther? He builds the gallows to hang Mordecai. and he ended up being hung on it himself. Providential poetic justice, we might say, and I don't think any of us ever complain about that. It's, yeah, you got what was coming to you, and God didn't let you bring it upon his people that were going to save his people from utter destruction. So the Psalms and the Proverbs often speak about the pits that are dug and the traps that are set by enemies of God and that they end up falling into their own pits and into their own traps. And there's that sense of poetic justice. And this is the response of God's leader to the reproach of God's enemies. He requests poetic justice. He doesn't ride out to fight. He asks God to go and fight for him, but he asks God to go and fight for him. Look at verses 4 and 5. Here, O our God, for we are despised, and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity, and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. First of all, we see that this response to return it upon them is prayer, and we want to recognize, but first pray is Nehemiah's main theme, leadership. We saw that in chapter 1 verses 4 through 11, again in chapter 2 verse 4. And he prays again here. His first response isn't to go out and try to get caught up in it. His first thing is he prays and asks God to take care of it for him, because he needs to stay focused. You see, there's maybe that sense of even trying to draw him away and having some folks ready to intercept him along the way. He's wise, but he's wise most of all because he asks God to help him. He turns away from the mocking and unto God for the ministry through prayer. Of course, Satan wants it to be the opposite. This is always his way. You'll see it again in chapter 5, 19, 6, 9, and 14, chapter 13, verses 14, 22, and 31. You just regularly see Nehemiah pray. And it isn't his last ditch effort. It's his first responder. asking God to respond. He says, hear, O our God. And he doesn't doubt God does hear what's happening. Just like he knows God did hear his people crying out in Egypt. And he asks God to justly intervene on the behalf of his people, just like he did in Egypt. And he drowned those Egyptians in the Red Sea. And in Exodus 15, they rejoiced over it in the Song of Moses, which is reflected in Revelation 15, called the Song of Moses. There is a rejoicing that God would bring back on their enemies, clearly only out to destroy his people, and thus try to destroy him and his influence. He recognizes their mocking is despising reproach on God's people and building. And so we see, they have provoked thee to anger, verse 5. They're doing this to you, Lord. Lord, take them out. Don't let them treat you like this. Don't give Satan the victory. Take them out. This is God's people, and this is God's work. Chapter 1 verse 6, this is God's people. Chapter 2 verse 12, God put this on Nehemiah's heart, and he'll say that again. This is all God's work. They're going against you, God. Take them out. Take Satan out. Nip him in the butt. So the reproach was directly against God and God's work, and Nehemiah's response is to ask God to return it back on them. You know, sometimes we'll see these superheroes fighting the villains with special powers and something's thrown or shot at them and they kind of take it right back at him. You know, or you can think about judo or rhetorical judo as the case may be, but that idea of using the enemy's force upon them, redirecting it back on them for the victory, that's what he's praying for. Because these guys are getting ready to destroy God's work, his church. His prayers develop in degree of holy aggression and defense because of the increase of anger and attack on Christ and his people by the enemies. H.D.M. Williamson writes, the literary structure here reflects, and that's beyond our verses in chapter 4, reflects the growing intensity of the struggle and the consequent need of Nehemiah's part to devote more energy and attention to containing its threat. It's a big threat. If you had an army coming to attack your town and your home, would you not pray, Lord God, please stop them and turn it back on them and destroy them? Because that's the protection of my family and your people and ultimately your good name. Now the Hebrew here for the word here, H-E-A-R, H.D.M. Williamson points out is he's using a word that is calculated to secure divine response. since God cannot be despised with impunity. It is God himself whose honor is here impugned. Nehemiah regards the insults as directed as much against God as himself, and thus hands over the need for vindication to his Lord. Remember the scriptures do say Old and New Testament. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. He goes on to say, he deemed it better to express his wrath in prayer rather than in physical action against his opponents. That certainly is the better default, isn't it? F. Charles Fenchman writes, it was a prayer of, quote, vindication. Because the enemies despised the work which was being done in the name of God. Nehemiah told them that when they attacked earlier with their accusations. intimidation, he says, the Lord is with us, he's going to help us, we will build the wall. Still, that being said, most of the commentators think that Nehemiah's prayer was wrong, or at least not applicable for New Testament Christians. That tends to be, and I read a lot of commentaries, I like to get all the different angles on things, that tends to be the majority view that this isn't an appropriate prayer for Christians. And perhaps wasn't appropriate then, some might seem to imply. Rather, Derek Thomas writes, this is a prayer for justice in a situation that is sinful. And he points to example of imprecatory prayers like Jeremiah 18.23 and many Psalms, as we sang one. Let me give you a few of them. Just to give you a sense of, Nehemiah is basically praying, as one of the commentators say once again, a liturgical style, meaning he's getting it from all the scriptures of church history before him. He's simply reflecting the way that God's people pray, including how God has written for them to sing in the Psalms. Psalm 139 verses 21 to 22, Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. I want you to turn with me to another psalm, because it's a little bit longer. I want you to look at it with me, please. Psalm 69. If you turn there to look at another example, and then I'll read a third for you. Psalm 69 verses 19 to 28, I want to read for you. And we will look at one verse a little closer, but just to get another sense of an imprecatory psalm. Again, a psalm that is saying, Lord, our enemies are trying to hurt you and your people. Turn it back on them and hurt them. No mercy. Psalm 69, verses 19 to 28. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor. Mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold on them. Let their habitation be desolate, and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him who thou hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded, and iniquity unto their iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. Wow. God wrote that for you to sing as his church. What's interesting is look at verse 21. Does it sound familiar? They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Prophesying of Christ on the cross. Now we know that the Lord Jesus says, forgive them, Father. They know not what they do, and that should be our default. But the enemy forces behind it with Satan, the only thing planned for him is for Christ to throw him into the lake of fire and crush his head, according to Genesis 3.15 in the Protoevangelium, on the cross. And all that are serving him. And all those who will ever serve him as reprobate. He saved his people, but he destroyed Satan's hold to save them. He went to the enemy's camp and he took back what belonged to him. Psalm 79 verses 11 to 12. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee. According to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die, and render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. They're ultimately reproaching you, oh Lord. And by the way, that's what hell will be for all who reproach the Lord. And it's a call to people to repent from reproaching the Lord. Be on the side of the builders while there's time. God will have justice. Vengeance is the Lord's. But these are not things Christians should say, apparently. A number of Christians and commentators on Nehemiah would say these imprecatory Psalms. Now, I have more I could give you to think from another angle on that from books on the Psalms and talking about the imprecatory Psalms. But I'll go back to Derek Thomas and what he says on this commentary, in his commentary on this prayer. He qualifies, boys, stop now. Derek Thomas qualifies of Nehemiah's imprecatory prayer. This is not a prayer for personal vengeance. It is a prayer for God to do something. A civil matter, a none too veiled threat of military hostility. If we have problems with the idea of God's taking vengeance on his enemies, we have adopted a view of God that the Bible knows nothing about. What he is saying is this is a very biblical prayer. And if we're uncomfortable with it as New Testament Christians, then like so many Christians, we don't know our Bibles very well. And we don't even pay any attention to Mary's what words when she knows she's gonna have the Christ child, let alone Hannah's. I mean, I could just quote women for starters of Old and New Testament, and this is exactly how they pray, including when they know Christ is in their womb. This is exactly how Mary prays, how she speaks. I would point out it doesn't say she sings, proclaims. Thus, in the New Testament, we find things like Matthew 12 31, Jesus says, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And that's what Nehemiah says, don't cover over their sins. First John 5 16, there is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. Revelation 6, 9 through 10. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And it goes on in Revelation to assure them, he will answer. They will be avenged. Leaders of Christ's church continue to respond to opposition and fearful attacks with prayer, courageous prayer that also grounds you and asks God to intervene. and it inspires others to do the same. Look at verse 9 back in our text, Nehemiah 4 verse 9. That kind of leadership prayer will inspire the prayer of the people. Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God and set a watch against them day and night because of them. This is foreshadowing to more opposition and more things that have to be done to be ready to deal with it. But again, they pray. They prepare in other ways, but the main thing is they pray. That needs to be the leadership our people see from us when we face opposition, when we face scary things, when we face false accusations and all kinds of attacks clearly intended to shut us down. We need to show our leadership first in prayer. Tiberius Ratta says this, the faithless ridicule while the faithful pray. The faithless demean while the faithful plan. The faithless threaten while the faithful are encouraged by their godly leaders. As you consider that quote, that should give you some discernment on when lines need to be drawn, which side you find yourself standing on. You see, it's not inappropriate also to ask God to turn Satan's attacks, attacking actions back upon his demonic minions. Convert them or kill them is not a wrong prayer. Reassure your people with Galatians 6 verse 7. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. But as we'll see as we return to that in a moment, the same is true also for those who keep their hands to the plow and sow and build for Christ. James Montgomery Boyce says this, in light of opposition to a leader's success, it is obvious that any leader will always be opposed by others and should be prepared for it. And of course, they should prepare their people for it and how to respond. To keep praying and to keep rebuilding so that God's people continue to make progress in rebuilding his church. You will face growing reproach for doing God's work in his church, not less. Your church leaders must therefore guide you to respond in prayer for God's intervention, so that God's people continue to make progress in rebuilding his church. See, good leaders lead the gaze of their people's eyes. Keep your eye on the prize. Keep your eye on the crown to get through the cross. Keep your eyes up, lift them up to the hills. From whence cometh our help? Our help cometh from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. Keep your eyes on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. So that you get the result with God's people. The reproach of God's enemies, we see the response of God's leaders against it, so that we get the result with God's people we see today. They are continuing to rebuild. Verse 6, So built we the wall. Isn't that remarkable if you stop and think about it? All of that intimidation, that stops so many. Even from little things, it's amazing how Satan can scare God's people from doing the littlest of things with the very little risk, if any, let alone big things. All of that, and so built we the wall. So built we the wall. And all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof, for the people had a mind to work. But notice, God's using the leaders to deal with opposition. to maintain that mind. In that context, it could have been easy for them to lose heart, which could be translated, they had a heart to work. It's the leadership of God's people that keep the people with a mind to work. Now this is a reiteration of previous chapters where they've said, let's build, we will build, and the people built. And in response to the first opposition, we will build. And then in chapter 3, we see the start with the high priest. He was the start of the leadership getting up and building, getting up and building. And they keep trying to knock him down, but they keep getting up and building. If you'll forgive me, I saw recently, again, a clip of one of our famous boxing movies, and he's speaking to a young And that's what we see, the people just keep taking these hits to try to scare them, and they just keep rising up, and they keep building. We see especially that in chapter three, remember, when they're all around the city rebuilding the wall together as one in unity. Rather than drop things and leave it where it was, they built it up to half its completion. Why? The people had a mind to work. You got a mind to work, You don't mind so much all the people trying to stop you to work as much as they try to hurt you with things that really hurt. Because your focus is, I'm not going to let you distract me from the work of the church and building the church for Christ. And I see Satan behind it. And I see God who's above it. In the Hebrew, you could translate mind, heart. You could say the people had a heart to work. It's lavav. It's that word you've heard me describe other times. Love the Lord with all your heart. Lavav is like everything in you. It's heart, it's mind, it's your guts, it's your kidneys. It's just everything in you. They had it in them to work. Fenchman says it could be translated to the ideas the people were inspired. That's what I heard the new president of my college, he's been there for a little while, my alma mater in Buffalo, said that the president's job is to inspire people. I think he's absolutely right. Leadership's job is to inspire, not tear down. J. Montgomery Boyce writes, he would translate it as, the people worked with all their heart. everything within them, the whole of their inner man, with all their might, with all their diligence. This is the result of good leaders, and it is the result of their good people who are ready to be led by them in faith with such calls to continue and conquer. As in 2 Timothy 1 verse 7, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Derek Hidner writes, on this occasion, the morale which it attacked was too well-founded to be undermined. The words stung, but they produced not a quiver of indecision, only indignation. Your leader's prayer support and standing strong against the wiles of the devil should help you with angelic zeal to quit yourselves like men, as Paul writes. To not let the flinging of false accusations at you and mocking and ridicule cause you to turn and let your guard down and turn your tail and run, leaving the work of Christ's church undone. Because that's all it takes. They don't care whether they really get in a fight. They actually want to scare you, so you just run off and it's done. And they laugh as you shut the doors and turn off the light and stick the for sale sign in the front yard. Instead of remembering, Jesus says to the churches that are the smallest and struggling the most, but those endeavoring to be most pure, I'll keep your light on. I'll keep your door open. Just as in Ezra's day, when Zechariah preached to encourage them to not give up rebuilding the temple, when at the time, the rebuilding had completely stopped. wasn't actually happening. But God spoke through Zechariah as if it was already happening. Plumb line, capstone on the temple was as if it was all done. But it wasn't, nothing was happening. Zechariah 4, 6, he says, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4, verse 10, For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Think of that with 1 Corinthians 1, 27 to 28 in part. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, which are not, to bring not things that are. The world despises you. God rejoices in you and calls upon you not to despise yourselves or your church or your Christ when the enemy would have you do just that and give up. Through the prayer and preaching of your leaders, you should keep your hand to the plow. Never grow weary of their reviving you with Galatians 6 verse 9. And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And always respond to their call to sing Psalm 126 verses 4 to 6. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Derek Kidner says this, the Christian can learn from Nehemiah to look to God not to himself for vindication, and not for a moment to accept the world's low estimate of his calling. Let me repeat that. And not for a moment to accept the world's... Sorry, I'm having a hard time with that for some reason. Not for a moment to accept the world's low estimate of his calling. So we built the wall. The sturdy simplicity of that statement and of the behavior it records makes Sanballat and his friends suddenly appear rather small and shrill, dwarfed by the faith, unity, and energy of the weak. You see, when you don't get distracted from reformation, when you don't get distracted from revival by those who want to intimidate you with reviling falsehoods and mockeries, tear you down and take you out, even all over the internet, and especially when you are weak and small, and especially step on your neck at your weakest, most vulnerable moments. When you keep showing up to serve, it shows that Almighty God is at work among you, including when they send new waves of war, which they will. You'll see that in the next three chapters, this and the next two. Please bear with me with two more quotes. Derek Thomas says, knowing the reality of spiritual opposition beforehand as we, quote, run the race that is set before us, will help us avoid becoming too discouraged or drawing false conclusions, thinking that opposition signals God's disapproval of us and that we should change course immediately. Before I continue with that quote, I remember years ago we had someone visiting us, and it's a long story behind what was actually behind that meeting. It was deceitful, attacking one of our elders. It wasn't me, but it was one of our elders. And the accusation went out, look how many there are of you now. And we refer to John chapter 6, the multitudes followed Jesus for free food. But they left him because of what he said. And he turned to his 12 disciples, do you want to leave also? Still more than 12 of us, by God's grace. I go on to quote Derek Thomas, we often in a less than subtle way draw the conclusion that lack of opposition means God's favor. Well, we could go look at the churches in Asia that Jesus does say he might shut down to think about that. when in fact the opposite can be the case. It was evidence that what they were doing was a good thing, and Satan hates a good thing and will always endeavor to destroy it. Some things are worth suffering for, he continues. Building the kingdom of God is surely one of them. It's the ultimate. Matthew 6.33 So too, says J. Montgomery Boyce, opposition is almost always caused by success and not failure. The first thing we should know, if we are trying to do something worthwhile and are being opposed, is that it is because we are achieving something. We should be encouraged by it. The reason Sanballat was angry, he was threatened by Nehemiah's success. Nobody would have paid any attention if Nehemiah were failing. Satan is a powerful enemy, and he will do everything he can to destroy spiritual growth or Christian advance into a territory he controls. Love, don't let the lying serpent succeed in seducing you into depression, distraction, division, abandonment, disunity, and evacuation. Stand strong together. Stay the course. Christ will complete your construction project. So when oppressed, Keep praying and making progress. That is the message for you today. That's the message for you next week. That's the message for you next month, next year, next decade. And for the next generations and centuries to come, if the Lord tarries, you're always gonna have opposition. You're always going to have oppression. Keep praying and making progress. until Christ returns on the last great day. Keep praying when you're oppressed. Keep making progress when you're oppressed. The message again for you this evening. When oppressed, keep praying and making progress. Let us pray. Lord, we do pray for the felicity and the prosperity and the progress of our brethren in Jerusalem, your church. We pray for our brethren in our denomination. We pray for this church that you will see fit to keep the door open. And Lord, that we don't let opposition just make us think that we're no good and you're done with us. Let us recognize that as there's progress, there's always setbacks and disappointments, usually because we are under attack of the evil one. We pray you turn it against him and keep our eyes on the prize. Keep our hands to the plow and inspire us all with everything in us to work, to keep working, to keep rebuilding, to keep making progress, including as we think about our own progress in sanctification. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, the author and finisher of our faith, all your people building, saying, Amen. Thanks again for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by our sermons and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please click on the Give button at the top of any of our sermon audio pages to support us with your online donation. Or visit our website at PuritanChurch.com and click through the Give button at the top right of your screen. 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