God’s Work Cannot Be Stopped (Nehemiah 6:1-9)
God’s Work Cannot Be Stopped
Nehemiah 6:1-9
The first message I delivered to those I met in Seoul was from Nehemiah 2:18 and Isaiah 60:1, “Do not be discouraged, let us arise and build.” With God’s providence, grace, and blessings, and through the fervent prayers of the saints, a church that started with just four to five members has now grown to an astounding number of 3,500. But I pray, in the name of the Lord, that you may be able to share the amazing redemptive grace of Jesus Christ’s cross with our fellow 37 million (at that time) countrymen.
The historical background of the text is the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia. Nehemiah heard that the holy temple, where God’s holy glory was present and where all people were blessed, had been trampled upon and burned. When he heard that the circumcised saints, the covenant people, were suffering at the hands of the enemy, and that Jerusalem’s walls were in ruins and its gates burned, he wept and mourned for days, fasting and praying in great emotional distress. How hopeless he must have felt! As he cried out to God without eating or drinking, he received an answer that ignited his courage and hope to request before the king of Persia, “Please send me to Jerusalem.”
Granted permission by the king, Nehemiah sets out to rebuild the walls for God. Returning to his homeland to rebuild the city and the temple, he faces daunting questions. Do we have the resources? The funds? The manpower? It seems hopeless.
Do any of you today hesitate, wondering, “Could someone like me be able to do this?” Do you harbor any doubt, thinking to yourself, “This is impossible”? The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. But the Lord, the source of faith, created an entire beautiful world with just His spoken word. Just like this, as our Lord said, nothing is impossible for those who believe.
Nehemiah was a great leader who prayed in his chamber to lead his country and people, regardless of whether the people were watching or not. And he received his answer which “my God has put it into my mind” (Neh 2:12). Prophet Nehemiah stood before the people and told them, “the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also the king’s words which he had spoken to me” (Neh 2:18). It appears that there were praying saints, and believing in the words of the prophet Nehemiah, a man of God, they responded, “Let us arise and build.” Word spread among the people that “a great prophet has appeared among us.” And they had faith in his words and followed.
Amidst this history, villains emerge. These evildoers conspire to undermine and obstruct the man of God Nehemiah. Their names are Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.
“God, what should we do?” When Nehemiah prayed, God’s response was to “set up a watch day and night.” When building the wall, when rebuilding the temple, they needed to keep watch in case enemies attack. And God instructed them to station guards, as they sought the life of their leader Nehemiah.
The second instruction was to have half of the people armed while the other half worked. Half were to be fully armed with armor, helmets, and bows. Beloved saints, the temple was not built with words alone. It wasn’t built in times of peace. They didn’t know when the enemy might strike. Even as they carried bricks, it was with a mindset solely for the nation and people. They guarded with full armor, shields, and bows. Even those who worked carried swords, prepared for battle while working. I’m not even talking about a real sword, but are we even carrying a spiritual sword to guard our hearts?
They were also instructed not to remove their clothes while they slept. To sleep in their clothes, as well as wearing their shoes. As the people overcame these difficulties, the walls were completed and the temple, symbolizing the presence of God’s glory, was rebuilt.
Upon this, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem wrote a letter to Nehemiah, inviting him to meet them in the plain of Ono. They were planning to kill him. But isn’t Nehemiah the one who prayed to God about everything? The blessing of the blessed is right there. Isn’t that the path of life? Indeed, God promptly responded. There is no faster form of communication. Think about it.
Nehemiah 6:2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.
The place called Ono used to be a vacation spot for high-ranking officials with beautiful scenery. They must have proposed, “You’ve worked hard, let’s have dinner together,” so Nehemiah couldn’t outright refuse. Hence, he sent the response, “I am doing a great work and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” Today’s sermon title, “God’s Word Cannot Be Stopped,” stems from here.
Even after being enticed four times, Nehemiah still didn’t go. So they resorted to writing a slanderous letter to the king, stating, “Nehemiah seeks to become king.” They also bribed a man named Shemaiah to impersonate a prophet and say, “You must stop what you are doing and hide in the temple to save your life.”
Despite being called a prophet, Nehemiah, being human, experienced inner conflict. He most likely prayed, “God, why did You tell me through the prophet named Shemaiah to hide in the temple?” And He concluded, “Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him” (Neh 6:12).
With God’s love and absolute protection, the man of God led all the Israelite people with steadfast faith, willpower, and conviction.
1. Through uninterrupted work, the church must grow into a proper church.
Through uninterrupted history, the church must grow into a proper church. A church must be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ’s amazing Word so that it does not become secular or corrupt. To do that, you and I must first become true believers. Have we ever prayed before God to become a proper church? I need to first become a proper believer, but when I reflect on myself before the Word, when I try to see myself in the eternal light of God, I am nothing but pitch-black darkness
There must be a repentance that brings life. It’s not enough to pray with words alone, setting aside the remaining bits of time after doing everything comfortably and saying, “Hello, God, I’m here now.” Only through genuine, heartfelt, thorough repentance can powerful prayer and reconciliation among believers be possible. Only then can the church, equipped with the wheels of salvation, move towards the 37 million (at that time) souls to deliver the message of eternal life. Let’s be honest. Have we prayed for our nation and people? Have we become a church for our nation and people? At most, aren’t we concerned only about our family, our wife, our husband? Don’t we even find it bothersome when relatives visit? People who don’t like having people come to their house, if they lose their connection, their life will be shortened. If we harbor hatred towards others, when our lives don’t align with someone else’s, our own lives are shortened. I pray in the name of the Lord that we become a church of the living Word, able to respond when the nation and people call.
We should place church work above our lives. It should be at the top, above all else that we desire to do. Because our Lord is the all in everything. Won’t the work of such people bring blessings
in all things?
In today’s text, amidst the great construction history, there were countless plots, schemes, and sabotage from many enemies, yet the prophet Nehemiah carried out his work solely with God and himself, the nation and its people, in unwavering determination in faith. I’m not just talking about some ancient story. I pray in the name of the Lord that we will be able to offer the prayer, “Grant us the courage to work with unwavering determination, faith, and conviction.”
Let us awaken from the deep slumber of faith. Let us become saints who embrace everything with love, without tearing down, without slander. If you have received the love of Jesus, who abandoned the glorious throne of heaven and came down to this lowly earth to bear our sins on the cross in place of us, or else we’d be subject to hell for all eternity… if we have received such a love, who can we hate? Who can we slander? Who can we exclude?
I pray in the name of the Lord that we all may become a broad courtyard capable of embracing our 37 million compatriots. Let us, as saints, unite and participate in this unstoppable work. I pray and bless you again in the name of the Lord to realize the fact that God’s will does not remain stagnant.
2. Work that cannot be stopped is the path (the way of life) of the saints.
The characteristic of saints is evident in how they treat each other with respect. You cannot call yourself a saint if you attend the same church but harbor hatred and cast sideways glances at each other. Beloved saints, every life must have a sense of comradeship. Fellow believers! It goes without saying for those who believe in Jesus. Christians, who claim to have been redeemed by the blood of the cross, must realize how strong a sense of comradeship is needed. If we do not have this heart that draws closer and closer to become one with God and each other, loving our brothers and neighbors as ourselves, then we cannot call ourselves Christians.
Romans 16:17-18 is very accurate. If you slander fellow believers and gossip about ministers, the Bible calls you a conspirator, as Apostle John sternly declared in 1 John 3:15. He said that whoever hates others is a murderer and has no life in him. Are there any among us who harbor hatred? Doesn’t 1 John 4:20 asks us, “How can you love God, whom you cannot see, if you do not love your brother whom you can see?” You come to church praising God loudly, proclaiming how much you love your country and people, but you hate your brother. Then it’s all nothing but lies.
Look at King David. He stayed still as those who hated him fell. They might seem to prosper for a while, but ultimately, they died miserably. What is recorded in Psalm 16:3 about praying before God? “As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.” There is nothing to discard about all the saints on earth. They are all valuable and precious. Isn’t all of God’s delight resting upon the saints on earth? If I hate the poor, I will be hating God’s will. If I hate those whom God delights in, I sin. We must live with such faith. If we merely believe in Jesus and expect to go to heaven when we die, will all pastors go to heaven? We need to reaffirm that the kingdom of heaven is not just dying and going to heaven, but living a heavenly life. I pray and hope that you believe in this truth in the name of the Lord.
Dear saints, is there anyone among you who harbors discontent? Know this: in the heart of someone who harbors discontent, there is absolutely no room for the grace and blessings of the Lord. We must realize this. No matter how much effort and strength you exert, even if the same environment and conditions are given, we must understand that the environment will significantly change depending on the person entrusted with it. We must recognize that in our daily lives, for those who do their best, the path of life is always open. Therefore, may we as saints come to realize that we can live within an uninterrupted work, always open to life. Please pray, “O God, grant me work that cannot be stopped.”
3. Work without ceasing is the path of faith that allows us to live without complaint in our day-to-day lives.
In every situation, the lives of those on a path of faith that is complaint-free, and steadfast no matter the circumstance, are always successful, and life’s blessings pour forth from there. When the prosperity of the country is apparent, there is no complaint. I read King David’s deep words of Psalm 16:3, but in verse 10, he says the following: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.” The heart of one who complains may rot, but King David foresaw the morning of resurrection. A thousand years before the birth of Jesus, he had already seen the morning of resurrection that would come.
In 1 Peter 1:19-24, it is said that we have received the imperishable Word of eternal life. So why complain? Why is your heart decaying? The reason the church decays is because the dawn of resurrection is not present there. The church decays because there is no faith in the resurrection. The conscience of individuals who believe in Jesus’ resurrection does not decay, as the Lord said. Jesus said that the conscience of the individual who believes in His resurrection will not perish.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you and I will be faithful as we march with unwavering faith in order to keep our nation and its people and culture from decaying. That is what our Lord taught us, that we are the salt and light of the world. Today, the path of life is open before us, and the work that cannot be stopped calls to us.
The path of life is the path of walking with God. When we look at Genesis 5:24 or Hebrews 11:5, we see that Enoch, Adam’s seventh generation descendant, walked with God for 300 years. He walked with God for 300 years without dying, ascending alive, proving that God walked with him. Do you believe that God walks with you, talking, eating, and working with you every moment? Only then can there be no complaints. “Why do I have to do it? Is there no one else?” Do any of us think this way? Beloved saints, let us participate in this work that cannot be stopped. An individual with unwavering commitment will try his hardest in his day-to- day life. In this path of faith for the believer, there is no defeat or disappointment. I pray in the name of the Lord that as you live with the eternal resurrection of Jesus, you will neither stumble or hesitate, but will move forward according to the Lord’s commands and the absolute commands of the Republic
of Korea.
Let us pray. When we look at our nation, we feel deeply disheartened and frustrated, not knowing what to do. However, God, what will You do? Please lead this nation and its people on the right path, Lord. We want to live. This is what we are thinking today. All of our 37 million compatriots want to live. PLease help us to live forward without complaint. Please help us to live with the hope of resurrection, to live with Your love. Lord, we truly thank You for the precious Word You have given us on this blessed and holy Sunday. May Your Word that we have received not fall to the ground, but work in our hearts to produce a harvest of 30, 60, and 100-fold. Let there be a work that cannot be stopped before the nation and its people, before the kingdom of God. We give thanks for all Your words in the name of the Lord. Amen. I believe.
November 4, 1979
Sunday Worship.