So the Wall Was Finished
God's work will be completed despite Satan's attacks, and those who stay focused on their divine mission will be protected and successful.
David Wilkerson emphasizes that when engaged in a divine mission, one must remain steadfast against the attacks of Satan, who seeks to hinder God's work through distractions and discouragement. He illustrates this through Nehemiah's unwavering commitment to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem despite facing opposition from prominent leaders who attempted to undermine his efforts. Nehemiah's refusal to be distracted by their plots serves as a powerful reminder that God's calling must take precedence over the noise of criticism and fear. Ultimately, the completion of the wall stands as a testament to God's faithfulness and support in the face of adversity.
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Often Satan will attack you in order to stop a great work for God. He will put enemies in league together just to hinder your labors. They will come against you in unison, trying to discount the minister in order to stop the ministry.
You can be sure of this: If you are on a divine mission -- if you are called to do a work for the Lord and are busy fulfilling that calling, trusting in Jesus -- none of their plots will work against you.
Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The work was progressing wonderfully, with the walls going up steadily. Suddenly Satan stirred up a hornets' nest to hinder it all. Four prominent leaders joined in a plot against Nehemiah: "They thought to do me mischief" (Nehemiah 6:2).
Four times these leaders set a trap. They called out to Nehemiah, "Come down off your wall. We want to have a conference with you. We insist you talk to us!" But four times Nehemiah answered, "I'm not coming down off these walls! I have work to do here because God has ordained me to do it" (see Nehemiah 6:3).
Beloved, you cannot get involved in arguing with people just because they want to argue. It's all meant to be a distraction. You must go on with God's work.
The reason Satan comes against your prayer life, your consecration to God, your walk with Him, isn't just to bring you down. He also wants to ruin the ministry God has given you. He wants to destroy anything you're doing that brings glory to God!
These four VIPs started a rash of rumors against Nehemiah. They claimed, "You're doing this for yourself, not for God!" One of them, Tobiah, sent slanderous letters to other leaders in Israel. All the slander, plotting and snares were designed to put fear into Nehemiah's heart, in hopes that he would get discouraged and run. Nehemiah sums up the scheme in verse 13: "[He was] hired that I should be afraid . . . that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me."
But none of those snares could stop the work of God! Scripture states: "So the wall was completed. . . . When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God" (verses 15-16, NIV).
Sermon Outline
- Satan's Attacks on God's Work
- God's Protection for His Workers
- Nehemiah's Example
- Staying Focused on God's Work
- Satan's Goal
- Ruining prayer life, consecration, and walk with God
- Destroying ministry that brings glory to God
Key Quotes
“You can be sure of this: If you are on a divine mission -- if you are called to do a work for the Lord and are busy fulfilling that calling, trusting in Jesus -- none of their plots will work against you.” — David Wilkerson
“So the wall was completed. . . . When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God” — David Wilkerson
“I'm not coming down off these walls! I have work to do here because God has ordained me to do it” — David Wilkerson
Application Points
- Stay focused on God's work and don't let Satan's attacks distract you.
- Trust in Jesus and remember that you are on a divine mission.
- Don't get involved in arguing with people who try to distract you from God's work.