R319 What Kind of Enemy

Today's message on The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton is called What Kind of Enemy? Are you facing an enemy in your life? As we open God's Word together, know that we're open to pray with you right now at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673 or online at tewonline.org. The Encouraging Word And now today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Please turn with me to the book of Nehemiah chapter 4.

The book of Nehemiah chapter 4. A remarkable study about a remarkable people involved in a remarkable way with a remarkable God experiencing a remarkable journey that resulted in remarkable joy. There is one thing that is very true in our society today and I'm here this morning to make an announcement to you.

If you would please give me your attention. Satan is alive and he is on the attack but he has been defeated once and for all, all because of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin to try and grasp the deep meaning of what God would have us to understand in the life of Nehemiah, we began to look at the God of the Bible and the people of God and tried to understand the joy that is ours because the God of the Bible brings together with himself the people of God and he blesses them. Then we asked the question, what kind of man? Nehemiah. We began to discover and I'm going to submit to you that we will continue to discover that he was an ordinary person like you and me and yet God had his hand upon his servant. The wonderful truth about that is that God has his hand upon each one of us and that if we are willing to allow God to do with us what Nehemiah was willing to allow God to do with him then I'm going to suggest to you that we are in for a wonderful time of blessing. Then of course the question, what kind of God? If Nehemiah was able to accomplish what he did, what was and who was this God that enabled Nehemiah to do what he did? You see behind every man and woman in God's service there is God. He is behind them, he is under them, he is over them, he instructs them, he loves them, he rebukes them, he rewards them.

God is actively engaged in active service and active service and so we tried to understand somewhat in a general sense who this God of the Bible is, this God of Nehemiah. Beloved friends as we come to our study this morning our question is simply this, what kind of enemy? What kind of enemy? I don't believe there's anyone here today who would contradict the statement that the enemy is on the march in the United States.

We see him actively engaged in government, he's actively engaged in politics, he's actively engaged in education, he's actively engaged in our families and in our family systems, he's actively engaged in morality, he's actively engaged in our thought processes, he's actively engaged in the direction in which we move, he's actively engaged in our young people's lives, he's actively engaged in the lives of children and teenagers. Satan is on the move, the Bible says he is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. One of the most remarkable things about what took place here in the life of Nehemiah and of these people was not that they did not encounter the enemy, it was rather that in the presence of the enemy they came to understand the tremendous victory that is made available to all of us because of who we are in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Needless to say I have no doubt in my mind that there are so many here today that are being confronted by satanic attack, it's everywhere, it's on our television sets, every time you flip the switch there's evidence of the presence of Satan, evil is everywhere, he's on the move and he is accomplishing great things for himself and for his cohorts. I'd like us this morning to read one passage of scripture, we're going to continue just to do an overview and for this Sunday and for next Sunday we're going to be considering the question of the enemy from a biblical perspective. Next Sunday we're going to be focusing particularly on what God would have us to do in a practical way in which we arm ourselves and prepare ourselves. It's all very well to see what Satan does but what does that mean to me in the practicality of my daily living?

What can I do about it? Is there something that God's Word teaches me? Was there something specific that Nehemiah did in response to who God is that enabled both he and the people to be able to overcome and to build the walls of Jerusalem? Well let's read together just one passage of scripture, Nehemiah chapter 4 and I'm going to stop every now and again which I'm accustomed to do. When Sanballat, and we're going to hear the names of these people many times, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the war, are you ready for this? Or shall we skip over the next phrase?

Maybe we should just get to the good part and not have to deal with this. Just look what happened here, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the war, he became angry and was greatly incensed. A rough translation is he was mad as a hat. Now that's in the original text but it's been translated he was greatly incensed. Now look what he did, he ridiculed the Jews and in the presence of his associates, we're going to notice something very interesting folks. I've got to just say this to you, when Satan gets hold of people, one of the first things those people will do will go and collect other people to join them in what they are trying to do. It's almost, it's classic, the Bible is filled with it.

If someone's got a beef or a gripe about the church, one of the first things they will do is go and seek support from other people. Now watch what happens here, it's an interesting development. 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 war?

Note this, this is just so filled with sarcasm I'm afraid, every statement. Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring stones back to life from those heaps of rubble, burned as they are? See this was one of those men who understood history, he knew how impossible it was, he understood what had happened to Jerusalem, he understood about Babylon, he understood about the Assyrians, he understood about the Babylonian captivity, he understood how desperate things were and so he invoked historical perspective, he brought his education to bear upon this predicament and very soon in verse three, one of his major cohorts and lieutenants by the name of Tobiah the Ammonite jumped to the occasion.

Another thing you'll notice about when opposition starts, those who are inclined to oppose will very quickly jump to the central spokesman. Watch what happens, verse three, Tobiah the Ammonite who was at his side said, what are they building? Even a fox, even if a fox climbed on it he would break down their walls of stones to which Nehemiah says in verse four, hear us O 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 sights for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half of its height for the people worked with all of their heart. What a tremendous picture but then verse seven, all of a sudden we dropped again and great as the big drop thereof 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, here it is again, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come against and to fight against Jerusalem and to stir up trouble against it but we prayed to our God and posted to God day and night to meet this threat. May the Lord write upon our hearts his word this morning. What kind of enemy, what kind of enemy did Nehemiah face?

What kind of enemy do we face in our world today? Bible tells us that God has defeated Satan but that God is involved in a proverbial tug of war with Satan all the time. Satan always wants to drag people down. Do you know the good news? The good news is that God is always there to pull people up. He tells us I will never leave you nor will I forsake you and so the question that we've got to ask ourselves is this, what do you suppose it is that makes Satan happy?

Have you ever drawn up a list? Now we talk a lot about what makes God happy, what pleases God but what pleases Satan? What makes Satan happy? The Bible says that he is a hater, he is a wrecker, he is a destroyer, he will do anything to destroy God's work and God's people and he will stop at nothing.

He will manipulate people, he will cause people to do his work for him, he will stop at nothing to destroy God's work and God's people. What makes Satan happy? Why don't you sometime this next week sit down with your family, get your children, sit down with your family, get out a notebook and ask your children what do you suppose would make Satan happy in our home?

You'd be surprised what children will tell you. You're not makes them happy, Satan happy, to see mom and dad arguing with each other makes Satan happy. You're not makes Satan happy, to see people talking ugly to one another, to see divisions come, to see divorce courts loom on the horizon, to see bickering and fussing and fighting and feuding and backslabbing. You're not makes Satan happy, pride makes Satan very happy, selfishness don't you think? Makes Satan happy. We could go on and on both in our private lives and in our corporate lives, what would really make Satan happy in the United States? I tell you what he's pretty happy at the moment folks, we slaughtering millions of babies every year in the United States of America and we're doing nothing about it. You go to any any abortion clinic today, go to Greenville to some of our abortion clinics and stand there and tell me if you see any lady coming out of that abortion clinic with a smile on her face but then go down to the hospital here with us and watch a lady just having given birth to a precious gift from God.

I'll guarantee you'll see the biggest smile you've ever seen. You know why? Because that's God's purpose for life and you're not making Satan happy folks, it's making him happy that all over the United States we are just sitting here watching the slaughter of literally thousands upon thousands of baby every single day. You know what makes Satan happy?

The fact that we've removed God from our schools. What makes Satan happy my friends is that we allow all the smut to appear on television. What makes Satan happy is that we elevate the wicked, that we involve ourselves in the immoral, we side ourselves with the impractical and with the ungodly. What makes Satan happy?

The bible says he is a wrecker. Do you know what would make him happy in this church? What would make him so happy is if he could split this church wide open. He's not going to do it but boy would that make him happy or what?

Wouldn't it make him happy just to see God's church fall apart? You know what would make him happy? What would make him happy my friend is to see people getting up all bent out of shape. What would make him happy is if we stopped serving the Lord. What would make him happy is if we quit being mission minded. What would make him happy if we weren't prayer warriors.

What would make him happy is if we never kept the main thing, the main thing. What would make him happy is if I took that bible and threw it out and said from now on all I'm going to do is preach sermonettes about social gospel and all you have to do is send in your money to some social organization and everything's going to be okay. Oh that would make Satan so happy.

It would make him so happy. What would make Satan happy beloved friends is if we said never again in this church would we ever preach the mandate that if any man will come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. What would make Satan happy my friend if we eliminated the scandal of the cross. What would make Satan happy is if we refused to preach about the fact that God is not a God of compromise. God is a God of condition and God is a God of absolutes and God is righteous and God is holy and God is the righteous judge and God is the God of salvation. Oh Satan would be so happy, so happy.

So what about Nehemiah? Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message from Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment but there has been so much buzz, so much excitement about the brand new book Saturdays with Billy with Dr. Don Wilton. If you haven't heard about it here's Dr. Don to tell you more. My book Saturdays with Billy is about an extraordinary relationship with a precious man who impacted lives across the world. You don't want to miss this opportunity to be inspired by his life too.

The number to call to get your copy is 866-899 word that's 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. What about Nehemiah? Teenagers, what do you think makes Satan happy? You know what makes Satan happy? Whatever it was that you did last night that your parents know nothing about but you know. It was out there in that parked motor car. It was at that movie. It was at that party. It was the way you spoke to your friends.

It's the way you treat your parents. That's what makes Satan happy. What was Satan doing here in Nehemiah's time? He used three general devices. I want to share them with you.

They're very general devices. Number one, he used psychological warfare. He got hold of their minds. Number two, he used physical threats. Now you're going to say, wait a minute now pastor, you mean Nehemiah was actually threatened physically?

Yes sir. You don't think Satan's going to stop short of that, do you? He threatened them physically. He meant bodily harm to them. And the third way in which he threatened them was through personal discouragement. Discouragement is the window of opportunity for depression. You show me a discouraged person and I'll show you a prime candidate for depression. Do you know what depression leads to? Depression leads to the most unbelievable acts of vengeance that people put upon themselves.

That's what happens when a person's depressed. And if there's anything that Satan wants to do, he wants to get you personally discouraged. And when you personally discouraged, he says, here I am, boom. And he goes running right through that door. And the next minute you're depressed, you're down, you're out and Satan's got you and he can walk all over you. He can chew you up one side and chew you down the other and then spit you out in the gutter where he wanted you to be to begin with.

Psychological warfare, physical threats, personal discouragement. How did Satan do this here in the book of Nehemiah? There were four approaches that we're going to find in general that Satan utilised, I want to share them with you.

Because we're going to discover this and there is much to be learned, not only from his life, but from our lives. There were four approaches that Satan zeroed in on. Here in Nehemiah, these in general are making summary statements. The first thing he did was he used accusation. Look at chapter five, all turn there to chapter five and verse one. He used accusation. Look at what the Bible says.

Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. You can go on, we're going to come back to that when I begin to read, preach systematically through Nehemiah. You can go and read the nature of the accusation that Satan levelled against his servants through people. Now God always uses people folks. At least Satan always uses people to do his dirty work for him.

It is absolutely guaranteed. And in this case, we're going to find Sanballat and Tobiah, we're going to find all these people all the time popping up, just when things seem to be going well, here they come, here they come. And the first method that Satan used was just plain good old fashioned accusation. He accused them of doing things. You know what accusation is? Accusation is Satan's effort to try and incriminate people. Incrimination, that's what accusation is. It's an effort to accuse, to cast out something, to throw it out there and open and to bring discredit upon a group of people. That's exactly what he did here as they tried to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, accusation.

But number two, he used deceitful strategies. Now turn with me to chapter six, turn over to chapter six. I want to just read to you the first two verses. It's quite remarkable when we try and understand. You see with accusation, my friends, what he was doing is he was sowing seeds of doubt. That's what he was doing. He was going around and he was trying to get people to come up against the Jews and the rebuilding. He was trying to, he was accusing them of things. But deceitful strategy speaks of craftiness, of intrigue, of plot. Look what happened in chapter six, verse one and two.

Now when word came, yes, to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, the Arab and the rest of our enemies. I was grateful for that little phrase there, by the way. I'll come back to it next week. That I had rebuilt the wall and that not a gap was left in it, though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates. That's kind of a little aside in English. You know, he's having this little dramatic monologue here.

That's what he's doing. And he says, you know, this was at a time when we had rebuilt the walls and I mean, okay, okay, I hadn't put the gates in yet. I just want you to know that the gates weren't in there because I know Sanballat and the boys are going to try and use it against us, but I'm willing to accept that. He says, when word came to Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem, the Arab and the rest of our enemies, that I'd rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it, though up to that time I'd not set the doors in the gates.

Listen what happened. Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message. Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono, but they were scheming to harm me.

You see, beloved friends, what was going on here was the ultimate epitome of deceitful strategizing. These men were willing to come with an olive branch in one hand and a sword behind their other. They were willing to come and say, come on, old chap, let's go and meet. I want you to know we love the church. Oh, we just love the church. Help us to understand what's going on. We just love the church.

We just do this for the cause of Christ. But as soon as they meet, out comes the sword. You see, there was deceitful strategy that was involved in what they were doing. But I want you to note in the third place, not only accusation and deceitful strategy, but a third approach was rumor. Rumor, now we all know about rumor. Look at chapter six and verse eight and nine.

Chapter six and verse eight and nine, remarkable. I sent him this reply. Now we must understand this is Nehemiah responding to the rumors that had been about. Listen to what he says.

I sent him this reply. Nothing like what you are saying is happening. You are just making it up in your head.

What's that called folks? That's rumor. Let me tell you the world is filled with rumor.

Every organization, every school, every church, it's all over the place. Rumor, rumor mongers. Listen to what happened.

Verse nine. They were all trying to frighten us thinking their hands will get too weak for the work and it will not be completed. Rumor. You know, we all have rumors. My favorite rumor in Spartanburg, I've just got to tell you this. Listen, there are some people who major on rumor 101 at college.

I mean, it's the most important thing. And do you know what rumor mongers do? They go out and find somebody. They get on the telephone.

They talk. Did you hear this? And you wouldn't know what, you know what they did this and he did that and she did that and she bought the same. I don't, just rumors, rumors, rumors. Do you know how destructive rumors are folks? Rumors have assassinated characters. Rumors have destroyed lives. Rumors have split churches. Rumors have split marriages apart. Well, what happened here in Nehemiah?

Accusation, deceitful strategy, rumor, but then there was a fourth thing that he did, intimidation, intimidation. Look at chapter six and verse 10. Now this is the part I don't like to read and there's a lot of big names here, but it's what they talk about. One day I went to the house, verse 10 of chapter six of Shemaiah son of Deliah, the son of Mehetabel who was shut in at his home. And he said, let us meet in the house of God inside the temple and let us close the temple doors. Why? Because men are coming to kill you. By night they are coming to kill you.

That's just an absolutely incredible statement. Look at verse 13, go down to verse 13. He had, go back to verse 12, please. Verse 12, I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to do what? To intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this. And then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.

Isn't that amazing? Intimidation, direct intimidation. Well, there's accusation and deceitful strategy and rumor and intimidation. What did Nehemiah do about it? Next week, we're going to look at what we can do about it in light of what Nehemiah did about it. But what is, what did Nehemiah do? He did three things. I want to give them to you that Nehemiah did to counteract what Satan was doing. Number one, he held to his strong faith. We're going to discover that Nehemiah was a real man of God. Second thing he did was he exercised God-given wisdom.

But then there's a third thing that he did. He continued his good will. But today is the day we must say, Lord Jesus, we turn our lives to you. Could it be you've turned your eyes away from Jesus?

Oh, Lord Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. I pray that as you've been moved, as I have, by the teaching of Dr. Wilton from Nehemiah today, you'd now open your heart to what Dr. Don wants to share as he comes into the studio from his heart. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now?

Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin, and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name, my friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. Welcome to the family of God. I believe some of you prayed along with the pastor, either to give your life to Jesus or rededicate your life.

And if so, we welcome you to the family of God and would love to encourage you. We have free resources Dr. Wilton wants you to have if you'll call us at 866-899-WORD. That number again is 866-899-9673, or meet us online at tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the Daily Encouraging Word email from Dr. Don. It's all online at tewonline.org, or at the end of this phone number, 866-899-9673.