Nehemiah 6

Look at it again with me in verse 15.

Nehemiah 6 verse 15.

So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month Elul in 52 days.

You have to understand the magnitude of this accomplishment.

Do you remember how long the walls of Jerusalem laid in ruins? Between 140 and 150 years, since the exile, up to this moment, that's how long the walls were destroyed and in rubble.

And in 52 days, God used a man to resurrect those walls.

How? Well, look what Nehemiah says again in verse 16 of Nehemiah 6, the last part.

for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Opposition is often confirmation that your assignment actually matters.

When Nehemiah's enemies tried to distract him from rebuilding Jerusalem, you know what his response was? It was one of the powerful declarations in Nehemiah 6 and 3.

I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

Because vision teaches leaders the discipline of selective attention.

So as you stand with me, please.

Nehemiah closes with Nehemiah 6, verse 15, says this.

So when the wall was completed, which was 52 days, listen to this.

When all the enemies heard about this, that it had been completed, Nehemiah was successful.

But secondly, you have to value the work that you are involved in.

I love how in verse three, Nehemiah 6, he says, "I am doing a great work." That's not arrogant.

That's honesty.

And that word great can mean great in terms of size, immensity.

Now, notice the persistence of this particular temptation.

Look at verse four.

"And they sent to me," Nehemiah 6:4, "And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner." Four times.

That's commitment.

I want you to protect that character that God has given you.

In Nehemiah 6, 3, Nehemiah says, I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.

Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you? You remember he was working up there in the wall and people are like, come down here, help us.

He's like, no, no, no, no, no. I'm locked in.

Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem despite relentless criticism because he understood the importance of the world.

You see, in Nehemiah 6 and 3, he says, I am carrying on a great project and I cannot come down.

Or I'm doing good work and I cannot come down.

Notice he did not say what he said to defend himself.

He led with purpose.

See, when distractions came, in Nehemiah 6 and 3, it says that he responded and he said, I'm doing a great work, so I cannot come down here.

to talk to you.

And so that's a very powerful leadership statement.

Amen? Come on, stand with me as we go to the Word of God.

We're going to Nehemiah 6, verse 1 through 4.

We're going to Nehemiah 6, verse 1 through 4.

It says this.

Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall, this is Nehemiah speaking, and there was no breach left in it, although up to that time I had not set up the doors and the gates, Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, come and let us meet together at Hakafirim in the plain of Ono.

Amen? The second one is the noise of accusation.

The noise of accusation.

Nehemiah 6 verse 6 through 8.

And so we want to explore that on this morning in our talking with you on today.

So if you would be so kind, amen, and turn your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah.

The book of Nehemiah, we want to go to chapter number six.

And we're going to do a bit of reading, but it's not very long.

It's more verses than it is words.

like dialogue in the sense that a lot of these verses are literally one sentence.

So I'm not reading a ton, but we're gonna go to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah the sixth chapter.

Nehemiah the sixth chapter, and we wanna start at verse number one.