But we begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 46.
In the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 46, we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7, page 271 of the psalm book, the tune is Strathcathro.
It's a psalm I'm sure we know very well, but it's often good to again to remind ourselves of God as our refuge and our strength,
even when troubles arise and so much goes on around us that we find our safety, our help in him.
So we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7, God is our refuge and our strength.
Amen.
For although the air we live, we will not be afraid.
Though hills and hills the seas becast, though waters roaring me, and troubled me,
in all the hills, by swelling seas to shame.
The river is to stream to cloud, the city of our God.
The holy place where in the Lord was high and dear, God.
God in the midst of the heart of dwell, nothing shall ever remove.
The Lord to heart and ever will, and the uprightly blue.
The deep and bridge to mount us free, the kingdom's new bled web.
The Lord to come, the wicked's voice, the earth did melt for fear.
The Lord of hosts upon our side, that constantly remain.
The God of hosts upon our refuge, as safely to maintain.
Let's come to God in prayer. Let us pray.
Our gracious and eternal God, we come to you anew this evening hour.
We come dependent upon you for all things.
We come, O Lord, seeking your strength.
We come seeking your presence with us and your blessing upon all that we do.
In your name at this time, we thank you that we come opening up your word together.
We come looking to your word and seeing what it has to say to us.
And we are reminded even in these words that we've sung, words that we've probably sung many, many times together.
Or in different situations with different people.
And yet words that so often resonate with us.
They speak to us, Lord, again and again as we see an ever-changing world around us.
And yet we see and look to you as the unchanging God.
The one who is always there.
The one who is ever-present and unchanging and unchangeable.
When we think of these words, the heathen rage tumultuously.
The kingdoms move it well.
And when we look at our world today and we see so much of the devastation that surrounds us, Lord.
When we see kingdoms shaken by events.
When we see a people shaken by atrocities all around us.
We thank you that we can come to you.
That you are the Lord who has uttered his voice to us in the midst of it all.
You are the one who is speaking to us each and every day and each and every event.
And we pray, Lord, that you will help us to hear your voice.
And help many people in this world to hear.
But to heed your voice as well.
Not to turn away from it.
And not to ignore it.
Not to dismiss it and to mock it.
But to look to you.
For we need you, Lord.
We need you in so many different ways.
We need your help.
We need, oh Lord, your nearness to us.
We need that hope that you are able to give us.
That you gave your people even long ago.
The psalm here reminds us that you were Jacob's refuge.
And we thank you that you are our refuge too.
And so we pray, Lord, that near and far as your people.
Even as people gather for worship in this evening hour.
Even as people have worshipped you throughout this day.
Throughout the world.
We thank you, Lord, that you are the God who hears.
And is able to answer prayer.
And so we commit, oh Lord, ourselves into your hands.
And all your people.
We thank you that you are our God.
And there is no other.
And so, Lord, we come humbly before you.
Thankful for all that is ours in Christ Jesus.
That we are reminded that no matter the troubles of this world.
No matter what comes our way.
That our ultimate, our greatest security is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
And help us, Lord, that we will find our refuge and our strength in him.
We pray, oh Lord, and ask for your goodness to us as a people here.
We thank you that we are reminded in your word that your kingdom comes.
That you are building your church.
And as we continue, oh Lord, our study in the book of Nehemiah.
As we again turn to it this evening and open it up.
We pray, Lord, that you will still us in your presence.
That you will help us to hear and to understand what you are saying to us.
Help us as preacher and hearers alike, oh Lord, to approach your word prayerfully.
And with a desire for it, Lord, to learn from it.
To apply it to ourselves.
Not just to see it as something from a distant past.
Thousands of years ago.
But something that is fresh and real for us today.
Something that encourages us as well as challenges us today.
Because we thank you that although the work is not the same in the sense of building the walls of Jerusalem.
That in many ways we are still fulfilling your commission to us.
To be your church.
To be your people.
And to seek the good of your name.
The praise of your name.
In our town.
In our islands.
In our lands.
And all lands of the world.
We thank you, Lord, for the great promise that you have given.
That you will build your church.
And that you will not allow the gates of hell to prevail against it.
And help us, Lord, when we feel weak.
When we feel discouraged.
When we feel the opposition great.
Even as we see in the day of Nehemiah.
To know and trust in you as our Lord and as our God.
So help us even in this coming week to go on in your strength.
To do all for the glory of God.
And for the good of your people.
And for people all around us, Lord.
We pray that you will help us and encourage us.
And bind us together in the work of the gospel.
That we would seek your good for all around us.
We would see your blessing upon us.
We thank you for the ministry of your word that takes place in so many different ways.
We thank you for the times of public worship such as we have just now.
And as we gather during the week for times of prayer and worship.
But we thank you too for the quieter ways your work goes on.
For individuals who take so much time to visit and to keep in touch with people.
To look out for others.
For so many people who help quietly in the background.
Doing so many tasks, oh Lord.
That maybe go unnoticed by many.
But we thank you, Lord.
That from all corners of our congregation.
You are using your people.
And we pray together that we be encouraged to give ourselves to the work.
To encourage one another.
To build one another up.
To ask, oh Lord.
What can we do in this place to help your cause?
To commit ourselves to the Lord first and foremost.
And then to commit each other to each other as well.
We thank you, Lord.
For your teaching and your word.
That reminds us of what our priorities are to be.
That we are to seek first the kingdom of God.
And that then all other things will be added unto us.
Give us wisdom, oh Lord.
To apply these words to our lives and to our hearts.
And we pray, oh Lord.
For your church far and wide.
That we thank you for a communion season in our midst.
We pray for the services taking place today.
Even this evening hour in Calanish and in Cross.
And those who have been together there for our communion weekend.
We pray there have been a blessed time.
We pray for the upcoming week as well.
For the congregation of Park.
And for Reverend Ian McCritchie there.
And the congregation as a whole.
That we pray for visiting ministers.
As they will have Reverend Paul Murray.
And Reverend Ian Thompson over this coming weekend.
And that you would bless the ministry of your word to them.
To them all together.
We thank you for encouragements in the congregation there.
And we pray, oh Lord.
To continue to see and to hear of great things happening throughout your church.
Far and wide.
We remember other ministries, Lord.
Today as well.
We are mindful of the congregation of Shabbos.
Today as Reverend Calum MacLeod.
Leads in his last services with them.
As he comes to the time of retirement from the ministry.
We pray for them that's gathered there this evening.
We pray for Calum.
And thank you for his ministry there over many years.
And pray, oh Lord, that you will bless that ministry.
Even in the days and months and years ahead.
We pray, Lord, for him and his family.
As he will soon be settling into retirement.
But still with much to do in terms of his work for the Lord.
Even especially in this week.
Having been appointed as moderator to our denomination.
For the next year.
Taking place at the assembly in May.
We thank you for that, Lord.
And for the acknowledgement of his years of service in the church.
We pray that you will continue to use him.
And to bless him.
And to uphold him.
In his ongoing ministry in different ways.
We pray for the congregation there as it becomes vacant.
Lord, may you bless them.
And guide them.
And shepherd them throughout these days.
And months ahead.
We pray, Lord, for your provision.
For a new ministry there in your time.
And according to your will.
We pray, oh Lord, now that you will continue with us.
That you will help us to look to you.
And to trust in you with all our heart.
That you will build us up, oh Lord, in our faith.
That you will encourage us in our hearts, oh Lord.
And we thank you, Lord, for all that is ours in Christ.
We thank you for a great salvation.
And a great hope that we have in him.
And we pray, Lord, that whatever comes our way.
That you will always keep us looking to Jesus.
The author and the perfecter of our faith.
So hear our prayers, oh Lord.
Continue with us in our time together.
Bless us, we pray.
And pardon our sin.
As we ask it all in Jesus' precious name.
Amen.
So again, sing to God's praise.
This time we'll sing in Psalm 127.
In the Sing Psalms version.
Page 171 of the psalm books.
Psalm 127.
We'll sing the whole of this psalm.
The tune is Wiltshire.
Page 171.
Unless the Lord builds up the house,
Its builders toil in vain.
Unless he keeps the city safe,
Then they vainly watch maintain.
So we'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise.
We stand to sing.
Kung stolid, you are here in the kingdom of God is to live the hall.
The elders toil in vain, unless he keeps the seldomly safe, they mainly won't maintain.
In vain you rise before the dawn, and lift her skin with heat, that you may toil for food to eat.
He gives his cup of sleep.
Sons are a precious heritage, a blessing from the Lord.
The children that are born to us are to lead his reward.
Like an old sin, a warrior's hand, are children of one's youth.
The man whose whippers full of them is blessed by God in truth.
Such men will not be put to shame, but will not be their fate.
When they content are yet to boast, who takes them in the gate.
Amen.
We can turn together to read now in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah.
It's a continuous study in this book.
We read in Nehemiah chapter 4.
We can read the whole of this chapter in Nehemiah chapter 4.
Reading from the beginning down to the end of the chapter.
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged,
and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of
Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice?
Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burned ones
at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, yes, what they are building, if a fox goes
up on it, he will break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt
on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover
their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger
in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half
its height, for the people had a mind to work. But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the
Ammonites and the Astrodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward,
and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together
to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set
their guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, the strength of those
who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild
the wall. And our enemies said, they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop
the work. At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times,
you must return to us. So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed
the people by their clans with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said
to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters,
your wives, and your homes. When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated
their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked
on construction and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind
the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a
way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the
builders had his sword strapped to his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, the work is great and
widely spread, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. And the place where you hear the
sound of the trumpet, rally to us there, our God will fight for us. So we labored at the work, and half of them
held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time,
let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night
and may labor by day. So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed
me, none of us took off our clothes, each kept his weapon at his right hand. Amen, and may God bless that
reading from his word. Well, before we turn back to look at this passage, we'll sing again to God's praise,
this time in Psalm 31 in the Scottish Psalter. We're singing from verse 13 down to verse 17,
page 242 of the psalm book, Psalm 31.
We sing from verse 13, the tune is Torwood.
We see here a similar situation to what Nehemiah and the people were facing when there was
slanderers all around them. Fear was in their midst, and there were those who were plotting against them
in so many different ways. But verse 14 reminds us, but as for me, O Lord, my trust, upon thee I did lay,
and I to thee, thou art my God, did confidently say. That we will be able to say these words for
ourselves as well, that we can take confidence in the Lord. So we'll sing from verse 13 down to
verse 17 to God's praise.
Thank you.
Let wicked men be shamed.
Let them be silent in the grave.
Amen.
Well, we can turn back to our reading in Nehemiah chapter 4.
We'll consider some of these sections before us here in this chapter together.
If you read again with me at verse 10, we see there some of the discouragement that the people were facing.
In Judah it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.
There is too much rubble by ourselves.
We will not be able to rebuild the wall.
Then we can read again at verse 14 as well, where Nehemiah speaks to the people and says,
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people,
Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord who is great and awesome.
And fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.
This chapter is a real mix of ups and downs in the midst of the work that Nehemiah had come back to Jerusalem to do
and to encourage the people of Jerusalem to return to the work of rebuilding the walls that had been devastated.
What we have seen of Nehemiah so far as we began our study in this book,
we've seen him as one who was a servant for the king in Persia.
Some 900 miles away from Jerusalem.
He had been born in that place, born of parents who had been taken captive from Jerusalem
when they had been conquered and taken captive.
And Nehemiah had never seen Jerusalem for himself.
But we see that as he was a cupbearer to the king in Persia,
he heard news from Jerusalem, news that greatly troubled him.
That Jerusalem was in disarray.
And this led to him getting a confident vision of what the Lord wanted him to do.
And so he returned to Jerusalem or came to Jerusalem, not returning.
He came to Jerusalem, saw it for the first time himself and the devastation that there was,
and yet was still encouraged and an encourager to the people to get on with the work of rebuilding the wall.
But this was not without its challenges.
Every step along the way, there was challenges as they got on with this work.
But perhaps for ourselves, it's just important to think,
what kind of task did Nehemiah face as he returned to Jerusalem?
We've mentioned the rebuilding of the walls.
But what kind of walls are we looking at here?
What's the importance of these walls of Jerusalem?
Well, it wasn't just a nice little block garden wall to protect the flowers or to protect the vegetable plot.
That's not the kind of walls that he was returning to rebuild at all.
Remember what it said in chapter 1, verse 3.
They were given an insight as to the devastation of Jerusalem.
It says there in verse 3,
The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.
The walls of Jerusalem, walls of any city in those days, it had to be robust.
It had to be large.
It had to be strong in order to stand up against attacks from the enemies.
It had to surround the city entirely.
Just one breach in the wall could mean disaster for that city because the city would be conquered.
And here is Jerusalem.
There's no wall left all around it.
So the enemy is free to come in and to go out.
The people can't get on with their lives as they would wish.
They're influenced by outside enemies all the time.
And in order to be themselves once again, to be a people once again, they need these walls rebuilt.
And the wall itself stretched around Jerusalem for about two miles length to get right around the city.
The walls were, in some places, 12 meters high.
Probably as high as the walls on the side of the church here.
Two and a half meters thick, even thicker than these walls.
So that the task wasn't small.
If you think about it in our own situation here, it's like building a wall like that from the church here,
up to the manse and plaster field, and back again.
Who's up for that task?
What would it be like to even just think of starting a work like that?
It would just seem impossible in our eyes.
And for a time, it seems like it may be impossible in the eyes of the people in Nehemiah's day.
But what was at stake here with Nehemiah and the people of his day, it was more than just the security of the city.
It was the worship of the Lord and the salvation of the Lord's people.
That's what was at stake.
And as we think ourselves today of how this applies to us,
we're not going to start building a wall from here to plaster field and back.
That's not what the Lord is calling us to.
But we are involved, or we should be involved, in a building project that's even greater.
To be involved in the kingdom work of God.
Because God is building his church.
Of that we are assured through his word.
Until the day that he returns, he is building his church.
And in order to build his church, he uses his people.
We may not be building a physical wall,
but he has commanded us in his word to the work of mission.
To the work of building his kingdom.
The Lord has told his church in the New Testament.
He has commanded his church to go in the Great Commission.
To go and make disciples of all nations.
He has given his church through every generation today,
before us and after us, that commission, that work,
to be involved in.
And as we think of that task,
a little like it would be for those who are looking at Jerusalem in their day,
when the walls were in ruin,
it's a task that maybe seems beyond us.
It's a task that maybe makes us feel overwhelmed in it all.
How are we going to do this work?
Where do we start?
We just don't have the resources.
We just have to maybe try and hold our own.
Look after what we've got.
But that's not the command of God's word.
The command of God's word is not to stand still.
The command of God's word is not to look after what we've got.
The command is still the same.
Go and make disciples of all nations,
of all people,
all around us,
near and far.
We still have that great commission.
But what was happening in Nehemiah's day was,
for the past 13 years or so,
up till this point,
Jerusalem had been at a standstill.
All they were trying to do was just hold their own.
The focus had been lost from looking to God
and loving his people to just trying to survive day by day.
There was no encouragement.
There was no sense of joy.
There was no sense of mission or vision for the people.
It had been lost.
But as we have seen in the opening chapter here,
a simple question that Nehemiah asked
changed his life upside down.
When he asked that question,
how are they in Jerusalem?
And when he heard the disarray that they were in,
the shame that was upon them,
and the danger that they were in,
it gave him this burden,
that this vision was needed,
that there was work to be done,
that there was a renewed confidence in the Lord required.
And that is what Nehemiah came to Jerusalem with.
Realism as to the work,
the enormity of it,
but yet a passion,
a passion to stir up a people to the work.
And last week we saw that he arrived in Jerusalem.
He had taken this journey,
maybe taking about four months,
to travel from Persia down to Jerusalem.
And he arrived there.
But he didn't immediately start with the work.
He got his priorities right first.
He spent a time, first of all, resting.
It says for three days he was in Jerusalem.
He rested for a time.
But then he went out for himself to review the situation,
to see what was actually had happened in Jerusalem
and the devastation that there was.
He saw for himself.
But then he spoke to the people and said,
it's a time to rise.
It's a time for the work to go on.
And in chapter three, we didn't read it,
but it outlines those who were involved in the work.
You can read through it in your own time.
It's worth looking through.
Again, it seems like a list of names of people,
but they're always significant.
And we'll see that as we go on this evening.
But it just shows you those who were involved in the work
and the huge task that was involved in rebuilding these walls.
And they were enthused and they rose to the challenge.
And initially things seem to be going well.
But as is often the case,
when things are going well in the Lord's work,
what happens?
Attacks come.
Discouragements will come.
But it's how do we deal with these things?
That is the key.
And that is what we want to take from chapter four this evening.
How do we deal with these challenges?
And how do we remain courageous in the work of the Lord?
So I want us to think of four things from this chapter.
First, conflict is inevitable.
It's a sad thing to say, but conflict is inevitable.
Secondly, we'll see discouragement is understandable.
But then thirdly, we'll see keeping focused is crucial.
And then fourthly, God is invincible.
So I want to look at these four things from the chapter this evening.
Firstly, conflict is inevitable.
In chapter four, as we read here,
we join with the people as the work is going on.
The walls are being rebuilt.
The people have engaged and they're enthused for it.
But what we see is soon after the work's starting,
that when God's people respond to the call to focus on God's work,
the enemy will quickly rise up in opposition.
And the enemy will use all kinds of means
to put the work into disarray once again.
But maybe the obvious question to ask is,
where has this opposition been for the last number of years
when the walls lay in ruin?
Well, it's the opposition that has been keeping things down,
not needing to do much.
When people are discouraged,
the devil doesn't have to do much to keep his people down.
When they're discouraged, when they've got no vision,
they're not doing anything.
But as soon as Nehemiah arrives with this vision for this work,
the enemy is on the case.
The enemy is there.
And isn't it so true to this day?
Whenever we're involved in the Lord's work,
whenever we feel a sense of encouragement,
whenever we feel that good things are happening,
the attacks come.
The enemy attacks.
It's always the case.
The devil doesn't want the church to grow.
The devil doesn't want the gospel to spread.
The devil doesn't want people to be saved.
So as soon as something good is happening,
he becomes more active.
You see it in the days of Ezra.
The previous book to this.
When Ezra came back,
was involved in the work of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem.
There was chaos in the midst of that.
There was confusion.
There was discouragement in the midst of that.
And Ezra says that this will be the case
down through all the generations.
So it's happening here in Nehemiah's day.
And you see it right throughout the scriptures.
Discouragements.
Attacks always come.
And so when we think of that ourselves,
we see it happening again and again.
Conflicts always arise
when the work of the Lord is going on.
And Jesus himself faced these conflicts too.
When you look at the life of Jesus in this world,
here in Nehemiah's day,
you've got Sanballat and Tobiah.
Their names keep appearing.
When you look at Jesus' days,
you've got the Pharisees and the Sadducees
and all of those who were opposed to him.
Again and again, he faces conflict from them.
The enemy is attacking all the time.
And there are times when the enemy seems to be victorious,
when he's got on top of the people.
That's what we see in verse 10 here.
That's what you see when you look in the life of Christ
and the cross especially.
When he's crucified there,
the people think,
this is it, we've won.
But as we're often reminded,
Christ is victorious.
And the cause of Christ will not be put down
even in the midst of conflict.
So we are reminded here
that even as conflict comes,
even though conflict is inevitable
in so many ways,
because Jesus reminds us in the Gospel of John,
chapter 15, he says,
if the world hates you,
know this, it has hated me first.
We are reminded again and again
that troubles will come.
Tobias and Sambalat are here again.
We hear them mentioned.
And we're going to come back to them again,
not this evening,
but another time, God willing,
and see how they keep appearing.
We'll see it in chapter 6, God willing.
There's opposition in so many ways.
There's conflict in so many ways,
inside, outside, from outside forces,
but also from within.
But tonight, the question is this.
Do you want to be a builder or a wrecker?
What side are you on?
Are you seeking to be involved
in the work of building the kingdom of God?
Or are you seeking to tear it down?
Surely, we are all builders.
Surely, we would all long to be builders
in the kingdom of God,
but be on our guard,
because it's easy to become a wrecker,
easy to be someone who brings it down.
There's a poem called this
A Builder or a Wrecker,
and it goes like this.
As I watched them tear a building down,
a gang of men in a busy town,
with a ho, heave, ho, and a lusty yell,
they swung a beam,
and the side wall fell.
I asked the foreman,
are these men skilled,
and the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?
He gave a laugh and said,
no, indeed, just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
what builders have taken years to do.
And I thought to myself as I went on my way,
which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan,
patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town,
content with the labor of tearing down?
O Lord, let my life and my labors be
that which will build for eternity.
Are we builders or wreckers?
The second thing we see here
is that discouragement is understandable.
As well as the opposition,
they also faced times of discouragement
when everything just seemed too much.
Nehemiah 4, verse 10,
is probably a low point in their experience here
where it says there,
the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.
There is too much rubble.
By ourselves, we will not be able to rebuild the wall.
It's understandable in so many ways.
When you think of the picture of Jerusalem at this time
and the walls,
just a bunch of rubble lying around,
even though the work had gone on
to a fair degree at this point,
there was still much to be discouraged about.
So it's understandable
that there was discouragement.
It seemed that no matter how much they did,
there just seemed to be more to do.
And again, it maybe rings familiar to ourselves
as well as a church.
No matter how much we seem to do,
there's always just so much more to be done.
It feels like that.
The task is never ending.
But where does the real problem here lie?
Well, when you look at it,
it's not so much the circumstances that they're in,
it's their attitude.
Their attitude is being influenced
by those enemies that have come alongside them,
who are discouraging them.
And because of that,
they feel this way,
that their focus is on themselves.
Our strength is gone.
There's too much to do.
Where do we start?
By ourselves,
we're not able to rebuild this wall.
So they're at this low point.
And so often,
that's the problem within ourselves too.
It's when we begin to feel
that sense of discouragement,
that nothing's changing.
Even whatever we do,
it doesn't seem to make any impact
in our town or among our people.
They're not listening.
They're not coming.
They're not engaging.
The task just seems too much for us.
We are not able to rebuild the wall.
We are not able to rebuild the church.
We cannot do it.
What makes the difference?
But we need to remember
what we have in the Lord
and what He has done for us.
Psalm 1, 2, 6, at verse 3,
it says,
The Lord has done great things for us.
We are glad.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
We need to focus
on what the Lord has done.
The Lord has done
great things for us.
They could be reminded of that
in Nehemiah's day,
and we'll see that in a moment,
but surely we reminded that
of ourselves.
The Lord has done
great things for us.
He has come to us.
He died for us.
He rose from the grave for us.
He prayed for us.
He will come again for us.
All these assurances we have
in the Word of God.
The Lord has done
great things for us.
And that is what we have
to stay focused on.
That is what keeps us going.
The more we see
what the Lord has done for us,
the more we see
service to Him
as just something we owe,
something we love to do,
something we're delighted
to be involved in.
And there's an example
here for us.
As said, chapter 3,
it just seems like a list
of names.
But there's a name
on that list
that's an example to us.
And it's worth looking at this
just to see it.
Looking for those
who were enthused
for the work.
In Nehemiah 3,
verse 11,
we read there
of a man called
Machijah,
the son of Haran.
Just a passing comment
there on him.
And it says that
together with another man,
Hashab,
repaired another section
on the tower
of the ovens.
Now,
it's just
a passing comment,
isn't it?
But so often
with these lists,
you have to look deeper.
We saw it
in Colossians
as we were looking
at the list of names there.
There's so much
behind the name.
And for this,
you have to go back
to Ezra chapter 10.
And there's another
list of the names
there for us.
Beginning at verse 18,
it says,
those guilty
of intermarriage.
So,
there are those
who had failed
to trust the Lord.
And in
verse 25,
you see there
a list of names
and of Israel
of the sons
of Parosh,
Ramiah,
Isaiah,
Machijah.
His name
is on that list.
So,
you find his name
in two different lists here.
Initially,
he's on the list
of those
who are guilty
of intermarrying,
disobeying,
the Lord.
But now,
here he is
in Nehemiah's day
in chapter 3,
verse 11.
He's involved
in the work
of the Lord.
He has done wrong
before God,
but he's been made
right with God.
And that is
what enthuses him
for the work.
That is what
keeps him going
in the work.
So,
it's a great
reminder to us
of the power
of God
to save
and of what
we owe
the Lord
for our salvation.
We remember
Onesimus
in Colossians 2.
He had a past
where he'd failed God,
but he was restored
by God
and was used
by him.
So,
what keeps us going
in times
of discouragement?
Surely,
to remember
that the Lord
has saved us.
So,
whether
what we see here
is opposition
or discouragement,
we fix our eyes
on the Lord.
And what you find
here is that
as they do that,
as they keep
restoring their faith,
returning their vision,
their focus
to the Lord,
you see it
even in this chapter
again and again.
Verse 6,
in the midst
of the conflict
that they were
seeing around them,
it says in verse 6,
so we built
the wall.
In verse 16,
again,
they had faced
opposition
and what does it say?
From that day on,
half of my servants
worked on construction.
They returned
to the work.
Verse 21,
so we labored
at the work.
They keep coming
back to the work.
They keep doing
the same thing.
And so,
let's not lose heart.
Let's not be discouraged.
Even when it seems
we're maybe just doing
the same thing
again and again,
we are doing it
for the Lord.
Lord.
And that's what's
the key.
And we think of
even roles
in our own congregation
and how people,
many of you are involved
in so many different roles
in the church.
We've got Sunday school
teachers.
We've got people
working with toddlers,
with creche.
We've got people
on door duty
and tea duty.
We've got people
who are visiting,
doing the work
of the deacon's court,
the Kirk session,
serving in so many
different ways,
even preaching
of the word.
It can all seem
so often we're just
doing the same thing
again and again.
And we maybe
feel discouraged.
What difference
is it making?
Is it doing any good
and the devil
will come in?
There'll be conflict.
There'll be discouragement.
But we take heart.
We are doing it
for the Lord.
And the work of the Lord
is a great work.
As Paul says
to the church of Galatia
in chapter 6,
verse 9,
he says,
let us not grow weary
of doing good.
Let us not grow weary
of doing all the tasks
that we are involved in,
even if it seems repetitive.
Even when it seems
that there's no good
coming out of it.
let us not grow weary
of doing good.
For what does he say?
For in due season
we will reap
if we do not give up.
And that's what you see
here in Nehemiah.
He keeps saying to them,
don't lose heart.
Don't give up.
Don't grow weary
in doing good
because you will reap
in due season.
And that's the third thing
that we see here.
That keeping focused
is crucial.
You know,
there was times
when Nehemiah was afraid.
When you go back
to chapter 2,
verse 2,
as he stood
before the king there.
It said,
And the king said to me,
Why is your face sad?
Seeing as you are not sick,
this is nothing
but sadness
of the heart.
Then I was very much
afraid,
he says.
And I said to the king,
he went on,
he was afraid,
but he went on.
It was Robert Louis Stevenson
that once said,
Keep your fears
to yourself,
share your courage
with others.
Well,
that's what we see
in some ways
with Nehemiah here.
He wasn't keeping
his fears to himself,
though.
He was sharing
his fears
with the Lord.
But he was sharing
his courage
with others.
And Nehemiah
always keeps
this vision in mind
of the restoration
of the wall.
And it's much more
than that.
It's about the people
of Jerusalem.
The salvation
of the people.
And they needed
to be reminded
what they were
fighting for.
And that's what he does.
He refocuses them
on the Lord
and on the work.
And that's what we see
in verse 14.
What he says
to them there,
he says,
I looked and I rose
and said to the nobles
and to the officials
and to the rest
of the people,
do not be afraid
of them.
Remember the Lord
who is great
and awesome
and fight
for your brothers,
your sons,
your daughters,
your wives
and your homes.
He reminds them
and he gives them
a focus.
What were they
fighting for?
It was more
than just walls.
It was a people.
And that's the fight
that we are in
today as well.
We are in the fight
of faith
and the fight
for our people.
Here,
in verse 14,
they're reminded
that they were
fighting for the faith.
More was at stake
than just the wall
being built.
It was the worship
of God
in Jerusalem.
That was in the balance
here.
And that's what
we're fighting for.
For people to come
and worship God.
He was fighting
here.
They were fighting
here for their
families.
Fight for your
brothers,
your sons,
your daughters,
your wives.
That's the fight
that we are in.
When those of our
family are lost,
when those of our
community are lost,
we are fighting
for their salvation.
We keep that
in view.
our focus is on
the work
of the Lord.
It seems
an impossible
task,
but it's so
necessary.
And in many ways
here,
they were fighting
for their very
future.
The future of
Jerusalem was at stake.
So long as these
walls were broken
down,
they were open
to attack
the enemy
and the people
of God
could be done
away with.
But we know
in the word
of God
that the Lord
will keep
his people.
That he will
always have
his people.
But surely
we too
are fighting
for the future
here as well.
That a generation
after us
will still
worship God
here.
That a generation
after us
will serve
the Lord
here.
We're in a fight.
But it's a fight
worth fighting.
It's worth
fighting for.
And that's
what Nehemiah
does.
He stirs
them up
here
to fight.
And he says,
do not be
afraid of them.
Remember
the Lord.
Are we up
for the fight?
Are we
willing to
fight
in that
way today
to fight
for your
brothers,
your sons,
your daughters,
your wives,
your homes?
Charles Spurgeon
have used
this quote
before,
but it
seems to
tie in
so well
with this
as well.
He said,
if sinners
be damned,
at least
let them
leap to
hell over
our dead
bodies.
And if
they perish,
let them
perish with
our arms
wrapped
about their
knees,
imploring
them to
stay.
If hell
must be
filled,
let it
be filled
in the
teeth of
our
exertions,
and let
no one
go unwarned
and
unprayed
for.
That's the
challenge
to us,
to fight.
The fourth
thing and the
final thing
we see here
just briefly
is tied
into these
words,
remember
the Lord.
God is
invincible.
The danger
with going
through Nehemiah
is that we
can make
it about
ourselves.
But Nehemiah
is always
focused on
God.
He prays
to God.
He points
to God.
His passion
is for
God.
One preacher
puts it
like this,
Nehemiah,
the book,
is ultimately
about Jesus
Christ,
about his
great project
of building
his church
against which
the gates
of hell
will not
prevail.
Nehemiah is
not mainly
about leadership
or church
growth or
business
management.
Nehemiah is
mainly about
Jesus.
Jesus is
the one
who builds
the new
Jerusalem,
the church
of the
living God.
God is
building his
church
today.
And the
gates of
hell will
not prevail
against it.
In verse
20 here,
we're reminded
of that as
well.
In the place
where you hear
the sound of
the trumpet
rally to us
there,
our God
will fight
for us.
God is
on our
side as
we fight
for him.
But do
we remember
that?
We don't
look to
ourselves.
The psalm
that we sang
at the start,
Psalm 127,
reminds us,
unless the
Lord builds
the house,
the builders
build in
vain.
The Lord
is building
his church.
He uses
us, but we
are to put
ourselves
into his
hands.
There's a
story of a
little boy
who was
traveling to
see his
grandparents.
He was
flying an
airplane to
see his
grandparents.
And sat
beside him
on the
plane was
a professor
from a
university.
And the
professor
sitting beside
him wasn't
a Christian
at all,
but he saw
this little
boy sitting
beside him
reading a
Sunday
school
magazine.
And the
professor
thought to
himself he'd
had some
fun with
the young
boy.
He turned
to him and
said,
young man,
if you
can tell
me something
God can
do, I'll
give you a
big shiny
apple.
Well, the
wee boy
thought to
himself for
a moment
and replied,
sir, if
you can
tell me
something God
can't do,
I'll give
you a whole
barrel of
apples.
A simple
faith.
He wouldn't
let God
be mocked,
no matter
how intelligent
this professor
was.
He turned
it right
back to
him.
If you
can tell
me
something
God
can't
do,
can you
tell me
something
tonight
God
can't
do?
Can you
look around
this town
and say
God
cannot
save
the
people
of
this
place?
God
cannot
rebuild
his
church
here.
If you
say that
you've
lost
faith
because
God
is
invincible.
God
is
building
his
church.
We
ask
ourselves
are we
builders
or are
we
wreckers?
Do we
long to
be involved
in building
his
kingdom?
Do you
believe
that he
is building
his
church
even
here
in
Stornway?
Yes,
there are
challenges
for us,
many of
them,
but we
have to
have
confidence
and faith
in him.
We
fight.
We
fight for
those
who we
love.
We
fight for
those who
we do
not know.
We
fight for
those who
even just
now are
our
enemies
and
enemies
of
God,
but we
pray that
God will
build his
church.
Nehemiah
encouraged the
people not
to be afraid
to remember
the Lord,
to fight
and to
build.
Let us
do likewise.
Let us
rise and
build,
trusting the
Lord.
Let us
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
give us
eyes of
faith,
even as
we look
around
us,
and give
us a
prayer of
faith offered
up to
you,
that we
would come
before you,
trusting in
you,
in all your
goodness to
us,
in all that
you are
able to
do,
never doubting
that there
is anything
that you
cannot do,
for with
God all
things are
possible.
So Lord,
hear our
prayers,
continue with
us as a
people,
build us up
as a
church,
here and
all throughout
the world,
we pray,
Lord,
that your
people will
glorify your
name,
day and
night,
young and
old,
all throughout
our lands,
for we ask
it for the
glory of our
Saviour.
Amen.
We're going to
conclude by
singing to God's
praise in
Psalm 18,
in the
Sing Psalms
version,
Psalm 18,
verse 27,
verse 27.
The tune for
this is
Talis
Canon.
We'll sing
from verse
27 down
to verse
30,
three stanzas.
You save
the humble
and the
meek,
but bring
the proud
down from
their height.
You,
Lord,
will keep
my lamp
aflame.
God
turns my
darkness
into light.
And again,
verse 29,
we're reminded
that with
God we
can advance
against
a troop.
So we'll
sing these
three stanzas,
verse 27
to 30,
to God's
praise.
Amen.
Lord,
will keep
my
lamp
aflame.
God
turns
my
darkness
into
light.
With
help
from
God
I
can
advance
against
a troop
and
rarts
them
all
and
with
the aid
my
God
will
give
I
can
leap
over
any
wall.
For
perfect
is
the
way
of
God
no
flaw
is
found
within
his
word.
To
all
who
put
their
trust
in
him
a
shield
and
refuge
is
the
Lord.
After
the
benediction
I'll
go to
the
door
to
my
right
this
evening.
We'll
close
with
the
benediction.
Now
may
grace,
mercy
and
peace
from
God,
Father,
Son,
and
Holy
Spirit
rest
upon
and
abide
with
you
all
now
and
forever
more.
Amen.