Turn to Nehemiah chapter 4
Since the beginning of time, people have fought with each other.
Empires against Empires,
Nations against Nations,
People against People...
A group of historians has compiled the following information:
In the last 5,600 years (since 3600 B.C.), the world has only had 292 years of peace!
During this same period there have been 14,351 wars large and small,
in which 3.64 billion people have been killed.
The value of the property destroyed is equal to a belt of gold around the world 155 ½ km wide and 11 meters thick.
Since 650 B.C., there have also been 1,656 arms races, and 1,640 of them have ended in war.
The remaining 16 ended in the economic collapse of both countries involved.
But there is a war that is not counted in those statistics.
A war that started before time began and is still going on today.
It’s the war between God and Satan.
It’s really no war at all:
God is All-Powerful; Satan’s power is limited.
God is All-Knowing; Satan’s knowledge is limited.
God is Eternal; Satan was created.
God is Everywhere always; Satan can only be in one place at one time (like us).
So Satan really cannot win a fight with God, so he picks on God’s children instead.
Illus: Owner of a business sees profits falling, calls in the manager and yells at him. Manager yells at the secretary. Secretary yells at an employee. Employee yells at the guard. Guard yells at a vendor. Vendor yells at a little boy. Little boy finds a dog and kicks it!
Revelation chapter 12 tells about a war in heaven:
Satan rebels against God, but is defeated by Michael, the Archangel, who throws him down to the earth.
When he gets to the earth, he tries to attack Israel, but God protects them,
So finally, he goes after the Christians.
So, since Satan cannot win a fight with God, he’s picking on us instead.
In Nehemiah chapter 4, we see this struggle between Satan and God’s people.
On Satan’s side are Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Philistines.
On God’s side are Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem who are trying so hard to rebuild the wall of that city.
We see three attacks against God’s people in this chapter:
The first two attacks were against God’s people back in the time of Nehemiah, found in chapter 4.
The third attack is against us today, because while Satan is not as powerful as God, he is very powerful.
But he’s not very clever: he tends to use the same methods over and over again.
Or maybe he is clever and he’s using the same methods today that he used back then because they still work!
But if God’s people — if we will learn the principles of Satan’s strategy and guard ourselves against similar attacks,
then Satan will have to try something else.
And eventually, if we can learn all his strategies and guard ourselves against them,
then Satan will probably give up and find someone easier to attack.
So, let’s take a look at Satan’s strategies against God’s people in Nehemiah chapter 4:
The First Attack is found in:
Nehemiah 4:1-3 — When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble— burned as they are?" Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"
The first attack against God’s people rebuilding the wall was verbal.
Sanballat and his barkada began by mocking the workers in Jerusalem and attacking their confidence:
"What are those feeble Jews doing?"
"Hey! Are you gonna finish that wall today?"
"Nice wall! I hope the wind doesn’t get any stronger!"
Did you ever know someone like this?
A bully in school?
Someone who was always putting others down to make themselves feel bigger?
Does Satan attack you like this?
Someone who doesn’t like you says mean things to you or about you:
"Hey, pangit."
Or maybe it’s your own friends or family.
"Tamad ka!"
Or maybe they talk about you, but to other people and you just hear about it later.
King David was familiar with the verbal attacks of Satan:
Psalm 64:2-4 — Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent man; they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.
Well, however it happens, what’s your response when Satan attacks you with words?
Well, let’s look at what Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem did:
First of all, they Prayed.
Look at:
Nehemiah 4:4-5 — Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.
Here’s the principle that we can learn from Nehemiah:
When people talk against you, don’t talk back — talk to God.
You see, Nehemiah was Governor of Judah —
he had the power and authority to punish anyone he wanted!
He was the personal servant of King Artaxerxes.
If he wanted to punish these mockers, no one could stop him.
But he didn’t.
When they talked against him, he talked to God.
The second thing the people in chapter 4 did when Satan attacked them is:
They continued the work.
Nehemiah 4:6 — So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
It’s not always easy to do the Lord’s work.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to do the work of God.
But the most difficult time to do the work of God is when someone is mocking you or laughing at you.
And this is exactly why Satan uses verbal attacks against God’s people.
And his goal is to destroy us.
But even if he doesn’t destroy us, if he can distract us enough that we stop doing God’s work, then Satan is still satisfied.
But, despite all of Satan’s verbal abuse in chapter 4, the people of God continued to work.
So, Satan had to make another attack
The Second Attack of Satan against God’s people was:
Physical Opposition to the Work; physical violence
Nehemiah 4:7-8 — But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.
v. 11 — Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."
You know, Satan is a violent creature:
1 Peter 5:8 — Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Corinthians 5:5 — hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed...
Revelation 12:12 — ...Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.
Satan is a violent creature: He devours and destroys people and he is filled with fury.
When his verbal attack against God’s people failed and the work of God continued,
Satan increased his attack.
He attacked them with physical violence.
Sanballat, Tobiah and the others didn’t know that they were being used by Satan, but they were.
So they got their weapons ready and made their plans to kill Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem.
And what was the Response of God’s People this time?
They prayed, stuck together, helped each other, and continued the work.
First of all, when this new attack came at them, they prayed.
Nehemiah 4:9 — But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
You know, we always say that prayer comes first,
but too often we find that we’ve already made a decision, or we’ve already responded to a situation,
or we’ve already taken some action and then we remember that we forgot to pray first.
Now, notice that I didn’t say "Pray only."
I said "Pray first."
We need to pray, yes — but we also need to act.
verse 9 said: we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
This is the second response of God’s people:
After they prayed, they made sure to help one another.
Nehemiah 4:12-20 — Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."
Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.
After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
>From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.
Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.
Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"
verse 4:22 — At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day." Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.
When Satan attacked the people of God in Jerusalem, they stuck together and helped each other.
As I said earlier, Satan is not as powerful as God, but he is still powerful.
In order to defeat him, God’s people need to stick together and help each other.
There’s an old saying that says: "United we conquer. Divided we fall."
And that’s true — if we are divided and each of us is trying to resist Satan all by ourselves, we will fail.
But if we’ll stick together and help one another like the people of Jerusalem did,
We will overcome the attacks of Satan.
And the third response of God’s people to this physical attack of Satan is that they CONTINUED THE WORK.
Nehemiah 4:21 — So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out.
It wasn’t easy.
Their work force was cut in half because half the workers had to be used as guards,
But they never gave up the work!
And remember: the reason why Satan attacks God’s people is to destroy us.
But even if he doesn’t destroy us, if he can distract us enough that we stop doing God’s work, then he is still satisfied.
Well, let’s jump ahead about 2,500 years to Baguio City in 1998, where we’ll find THE THIRD ATTACK against the people of God — us.
Satan is attacking the Church Today.
And his attacks today are the same as his attacks 2,500 years ago.
And the principles that helped Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem get the work of God finished back then
will help us finish the work of God today.
Satan’s first attack today is still verbal.
He uses people around us to mock us and ridicule us.
Satan can ruin our faith and destroy our confidence using nothing more than words —
— like poisonous arrows shot at our hearts,
He knows exactly what to say.
And even if he doesn’t destroy us, if he can distract us enough that we stop doing God’s work, then he is satisfied.
But, in addition to Verbal attacks, Satan still uses Physical attacks against God’s people today.
In many places in the world today, you will still be beaten or imprisoned or even killed if you are doing the work of God.
We don’t really have that problem in the Philippines, but that doesn’t stop Satan from attacking us physically:
Satan can make you sick.
Satan can give you some chronic illness that will distract you from God’s work.
Satan can make you feel too tired and sleepy to come to church on Sunday morning.
And too often, his physical attacks against us are successful.
So what should be the Response of God’s People Today to these attacks of Satan?
1. Pray
Look again at:
Nehemiah 4:4-5 — Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.
You know, sometimes we need to be careful in applying principles from the Old Testament.
The principle here is to pray when Satan is attacking you,
but we shouldn’t pray exactly like Nehemiah prayed because he was not a Christian and we are.
You see, in the Old Testament, the people of God were commanded to hate their enemies and to kill them (most of the time).
and so when they prayed, their prayers often sounded like Nehemiah’s prayer here:
"Oh Lord, don’t forgive their sins..."
King David often prayed like this.
For example:
Psalm 35:4-8 — May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise— may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
But when Jesus came, he changed all this:
Matthew 5:39-40 — But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Matthew 5:43-44 — "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...
Now, when Jesus said, "Pray for those who persecute you" I don’t think he meant the kind of prayer that Nehemiah prayed.
In Luke 6:28 Jesus said: "bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
There have been two times in the past year that people have come to me saying, "I’m really having a problem with someone."
The first time, I didn’t really know what to say, so I said, "Why don’t you try praying for that person?"
And you know, she came back about a week later and said, "It worked! My whole attitude toward that person has changed."
Then someone else came to me and said, "I’m really having a big problem with someone."
This time I was ready.
I said, "Why don’t you try praying for that person?"
And you know, she came back about a week later and said, "It worked! Everything is better — ever since I started praying for that person."
Here’s the principle from Nehemiah chapter 4:
"When people talk against you, don’t talk back — talk to God."
Satan will do these things.
He’ll use people to hurt you.
He’ll take control of their tongues and aim their words at your heart like deadly arrows.
And our first response is usually to talk back to them — to aim our own words at their hearts.
But don’t be like that. Don’t do that.
In chapter 4, when Sanballat and the others talked against God’s people, Nehemiah didn’t talk back, he talked to God.
And so should you.
Our second response to the attacks of Satan is to: LISTEN FOR THE TRUMPET CALL
You know, every once in a while as a Christian, you’ll be asked to help.
To help an individual,
To help the church...
When that happens, what do you do?
Do you think to yourself, "Someone else will do that."
"Someone else will help her."
"Someone else will take care of it."
The thing is, when one of God’s people calls out for help, it’s like the trumpet call in Nehemiah chapter 4:
That is, all God’s people should come running to help when a Christian calls out for help.
The New Testament commands God’s people to: Love one another.
Encourage one another.
Honor one another.
Accept one another.
That means that we need to be listening for the trumpet call;
Listen for God’s people calling out for help.
"Help! My son is in trouble again."
"Help! My barkada is calling me back into the World."
"Help! I can’t control myself."
"Help! We need to buy a piece of land for the church."
Satan will always be attacking God’s people, so God’s people will always need help.
Always be listening for the trumpet call of a Christian calling out for help.
And our final response to the attacks of Satan must be to: CONTINUE THE WORK
Satan will always be attacking God’s people.
And his goal is to destroy us.
But even if he doesn’t destroy us, if he can distract us enough that we stop doing God’s work, then Satan is still satisfied.
So, whatever you do,
When Satan attacks you, CONTINUE THE WORK!
When you’re discouraged, call out for help and continue the work!
When your integrity is damaged, call out for help and continue the work!
When your body breaks down in sickness or fatigue, call out for help and continue the work!
When you want to do God’s work, but you don’t know what and you don’t know how, call out for help and continue the work!
