1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,920 I'm going to invite you to join me now in Nehemiah chapter 4 verse 13. 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:09,420 Today I'm concluding our series, Arise and Build with this message. 3 00:00:09,420 --> 00:00:12,800 Nehemiah chapter 4 verse 13. 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:20,800 It reads as follows, Therefore I station some of the people behind the lowest parts of the wall at the exposed places, 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:26,800 hosting them by families with their swords, spears and bows. 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:35,260 After I looked over things, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, 7 00:00:35,260 --> 00:00:37,720 don't be afraid of them. 8 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:48,600 Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for your families, for your sons and your daughters, 9 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,920 your wives and your homes. 10 00:00:52,920 --> 00:01:03,040 Now we can jump to verse 20. It says, Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. 11 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,720 Our God will fight for us. 12 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:12,920 Today with the help of the Holy Ghost, I'm going to preach on this thought overcoming the opposition. 13 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:19,920 Let us open our hearts and let us pray and let us go before God right now and ask for him to continue to move in our service. 14 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:27,920 Father we come before you today in the name of Jesus. We thank you Lord for visiting us in a very special way thus far. 15 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:35,920 We thank you God for your spirit. Surely angels are in this place. God surely your spirit is already here. 16 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,920 We're asking God that you would speak a word, God, into our hearts. 17 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,920 Annoy my lips of clay, God. Have your way, God. 18 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:49,920 And I pray Lord that your name will be glorified. I pray you would confirm today's word Lord with miracle signs and wonders. 19 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:57,920 We ask this right now in the mighty, in the powerful name of Jesus. Someone say in Jesus' name. 20 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,920 Amen. You may be seated in the presence of God. Amen. 21 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:14,920 In this passage we find Nehemiah and the people of God engaged in a monumental task, the monumental task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. 22 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:26,920 Which I have been preaching about these last few weeks represent the restoration of their city, their nationality and their connection with God. 23 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:38,920 Among the many challenges facing the builders were a multi-front conflict with three enemies, three enemies of the most notorious kind. 24 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:48,920 These were the most notorious power brokers in the region. Their names were Sambalit, Tobiah and Geshem. 25 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:57,920 They were a mafia of movers and shakers who opposed the reviving of the walls of Jerusalem. 26 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:08,920 But I ask today why these men were so against Nehemiah. Why not just let the Jews, just leave them alone and let them have their wall? 27 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:23,920 The reason is because these men foresaw how this project would unify the people of God. And they saw what could happen if they strengthened their identity as a people 28 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:44,920 and perhaps rise up and challenge the system that they had in place, the system that kept the people of God oppressed, the system that they used to maintain their control, their superiority, their rule over the land. 29 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:56,920 And so these groups of men were threatened by this wall. You just got to understand, it wasn't so much about a wall. It wasn't so much about this construction project. 30 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:07,920 It wasn't so much the stones and the mortar and the wooden gates. That's not what they were threatened by. What they were threatened by was a united people. 31 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:18,920 What they were threatened by was a group of people that would remember who their God was. And remember what power they had. 32 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:26,920 And they foresaw this. You see, the devil opposes anything that upsets the status quo. 33 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:37,920 Because in Hell's economy, hear me today, the status quo is good for business. In Hell's economy, the status quo is good for business. 34 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:48,920 And anything that upsets, anything that threatens to disrupt the status quo is an affront to the kingdom of darkness. 35 00:04:48,920 --> 00:05:00,920 And he takes that as a fight. He takes that seriously. Conformity serves the enemy's agenda and it feeds his power. 36 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:10,920 And so when you begin to resist and you start praying and you start prophesying and you start pursuing the kingdom of God, 37 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:21,920 and you start getting actively involved in the building of the kingdom of God, all of a sudden Hell, the enemy and the forces of evil begin to take notice of that. 38 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:27,920 And they begin to recognize that their establishment is now under threat. 39 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:37,920 And this is what begins to happen when the church, when God's people, when you as a child of God begin to rise up in your spirit 40 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:43,920 and begin to claim the something, my God, I feel something on my spirit today. You begin, can I preach like I want you today, amen? 41 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:52,920 You begin to rise up and reclaim your rightful position as a child of God when you begin to remember who your God is. 42 00:05:52,920 --> 00:06:01,920 And you begin to remember that you're not just anybody. You begin to remember that you are above and not beneath, that you are the head and not the tail, 43 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:10,920 that you are bought with a precious. When you begin to remember that you've got the name of God on you, when you begin, all of Hell begins to take notice. 44 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:18,920 Because the one thing that the devil does not want the people of God to do, the one thing the devil doesn't want the child of God to do, 45 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:26,920 is to disrupt the status quo. Because as long as we keep things business as usual, the way they've always been, 46 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:34,920 then he can remain in control and continue to have his way in his life. But I've come today to serve notice on the devil 47 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:42,920 and let him know that we're not going to settle for church and business as usual. We want revival. Hallelujah. 48 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:52,920 Somebody give God some praise today. Nehemiah, as you read the story, you realize that prior to him answering the call of God, 49 00:06:52,920 --> 00:07:01,920 he didn't really have any enemies to speak of. I think Nehemiah enjoyed for a period of his time and in his career, 50 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:10,920 peace and prosperity and goodwill and favor with everybody. I think Nehemiah, not that he would have won a popularity vote, 51 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:16,920 but I think that he was everybody's friend. He got along with everybody. I mean, he was a diplomat. 52 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:23,920 He was somebody who knew the system and who had done things right, never compromised who he was. 53 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:31,920 But he didn't have any buddy who was plotting against him to bring him down. He was just sort of in his own world. 54 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:39,920 But the moment that he began to answer that call, all of a sudden, people came out of the woodwork. 55 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:50,920 Let me tell you that you find out who your real friends are when God starts raising you up, when God starts blessing you. 56 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:57,920 All of a sudden, haters start coming out of the woodwork that you didn't know hated you. People start talking about you that you didn't know how to... 57 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:02,920 I thought I was friends with that person. I thought we were tight. I thought we respected. 58 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:09,920 And all of a sudden, you begin to realize that as you start answering the call, as you start pursuing more of God, 59 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:17,920 oh, hallelujah, things start to happen. There's a trembling, there's a rumbling. And the moment that Nehemiah answered the call of God 60 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:24,920 and stepped into his divine purpose, weird and strange new enemies started revealing themselves. 61 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:32,920 Let me tell you, your calling reveals your opposition. Your calling reveals your opposition. 62 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:41,920 It'll reveal to you those hidden enemies. It'll reveal to you the opposition that comes in different forms. 63 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:52,920 And many times, the frustration that I see in believers today is that they're fighting for their lives, but often they're fighting the wrong enemy. 64 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,920 They're fighting for their life. They're fighting for their families. They're fighting with everything they have. 65 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:03,920 They're fighting tooth and nail. They're fighting. They're fighting. They're engaged in battle, but they're exerting themselves. 66 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:12,920 They're wasting all their ammunition in the wrong direction. They're shooting the wrong people, so to speak, in their life. 67 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:19,920 And many times, we're just sort of shooting anything that moves, you know, anything that kind of appears to be off. 68 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:28,920 But we've got to get to a place in our life, church. We've got to get to a place in our faith, a place in our Christian walk, in our Christian maturity, 69 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:40,920 where we get more discerning about the enemies that we are fighting against, so that we can fight what Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. 70 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Amen. Somebody say amen. Nehemiah faced three enemies that I've mentioned here, three enemies. 71 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:53,920 And these three represent three forms of opposition that you will face when you answer the call to build. 72 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:59,920 First up, we have an outsider named Sambole. His name means secret enemy. 73 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:05,920 And he was the ringleader of the opposition, the loudest and the proudest of the gang. 74 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:11,920 And he often used trickery and deception to get his way. 75 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:20,920 At one point, he tried to lure Nehemiah away from his work by enticing him, lure him away to a private meeting. 76 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,920 He said, why don't you come over here and let's talk. 77 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:35,920 And he kept trying to, through deception and through schemes and plotting, get Nehemiah to get away from his calling and get away from his purpose. 78 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,920 But it was all a setup and Nehemiah knew that it was a trap and so therefore he resisted him. 79 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,920 I want to show you who Sambole represents in our life today. 80 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,920 Sambole represents Satan. He represents the devil. 81 00:10:50,920 --> 00:11:01,920 Whose sole objective is to steal, kill and destroy everything that you are trying to build for God in your life. 82 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:13,920 Somebody say amen today. And like Sambole, Satan uses all sorts of innocent sounding appeals to lure you away from your calling so that he might devour you. 83 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:21,920 Because if he can get you out of your game and if he can get you off of the wall, if he can get you away from the thing that God has called you to do, 84 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:32,920 then he can isolate you and then if he can isolate you, he can eliminate you like a roaring lion. The Bible teaches us to be sober-minded and vigilant 85 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:40,920 because the enemy, the adversary roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. How many of you know that's true about the enemy? 86 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,920 I said, how many of you know that's true about the enemy? 87 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:51,920 And he uses every aspect that he can, but most of all he uses his voice, he uses his mouth. 88 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:59,920 Notice that when the Bible describes him as a roaring lion, he's roaring three. He doesn't even talk about his bite. 89 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:05,920 He doesn't even talk about his teeth. He talks about his roar. You know why? Because he never shuts up. 90 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,920 My God, help me somebody here today. He never shuts up. 91 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:20,920 He just keeps talking and yacking and saying this and that because his only weapon is to ridicule, to mock, to put down, to spread lies 92 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:27,920 and to get you thinking things that go against this great book and what the Word of God says about us. 93 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:33,920 His choice of weapon is to mock you and to inflict fear into the hearts of God's people. 94 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,920 And this has been his tactic from the very beginning when he tempted Eve in the garden. 95 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:45,920 He did it through his little, his little slivvy tongue to distract her from the will of God. 96 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:52,920 And all throughout the pages of scripture we see he taunts God's people. He ridicules God's people. 97 00:12:52,920 --> 00:13:02,920 Front and center is the story of Goliath and David. When Goliath stood out there for 40 days and he was taunting Israel. 98 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,920 He was ridiculing the people of God and defying the armies of Israel. 99 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:14,920 And you know that he didn't swing one sword. You know he didn't even fire a rocket or not even a paper airplane. 100 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:22,920 I mean all the guy did was talk a big game. He said send me a man. Send me a man. 101 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:28,920 He said bring somebody and so I can feed them to the fowl of the air. 102 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:34,920 He's just barking all of these things at the people of God and they're all shaking him their boots over there. 103 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:39,920 Thinking oh my God what are we gonna do? And because here's this sound of ridicule. 104 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:47,920 This taunting, this deception. But thank God there was a shepherd boy who was spending some time in the pasture. 105 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:56,920 Who knew that his God was greater than Goliath. And he told him you come to me with a sword and a javelin. 106 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:02,920 But I come to you in the name of the Lord or the host. I don't know about you today. 107 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:08,920 But I'm getting real tired of listening to the enemy. I'm getting real tired of hearing his lie. 108 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:15,920 His accusations. His ridicule. I'm ready to stand up and say what does say at the Lord. 109 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:21,920 And my God says that I am an overcomer. My God says that I'm more than a conqueror. 110 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:26,920 Somebody ought to give God about 30 seconds of praise. Come on and clap your hands. 111 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:32,920 Come on and open up your mouth. Come on and worship the Lord. 112 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:40,920 There are a few moments. Someone shout hallelujah. You gotta be sober minded and vigilant. 113 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:45,920 You gotta be dressed for battle. You gotta put on the whole armor of God. 114 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:51,920 I feel a fire in my spirit today so you can quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. 115 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:57,920 You gotta be ready. You gotta have the armor of God on. Paul writes these words. 116 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,920 He says for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 117 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,920 But a mighty and God for the pulling down of strongholds. 118 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:13,920 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. 119 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:19,920 Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 120 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,920 You've got to understand that we are engaged in a spiritual battle. 121 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:31,920 We are engaged in a spiritual warfare. And the weapons of our warfare are not physical. 122 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,920 But they are spiritual. Hallelujah. 123 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,920 And so we've got to put on the armor of God. 124 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:44,920 And we've got to be ready to stand ground and defend what is right and what is true. 125 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:50,920 Somebody say man. Anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. 126 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,920 If it contradicts what God has said about you. 127 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,920 If it contradicts the knowledge that God has given you. 128 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,920 About you. About your standing with God. About your salvation. 129 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:09,920 Then you are to strike that lie down and say Satan get thee behind me. 130 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,920 Alaba by Yashamna. 131 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,920 Would you just worship him for a moment. 132 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,920 I feel the spirit of God. 133 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:18,920 Yashamna. Alama. 134 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,920 Yashamna. Alama. 135 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:23,920 Alama. 136 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,920 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Jesus. Hallelujah. 137 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:33,920 I need somebody's faith to rise up today. 138 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:35,920 Alaba by Yashamna. 139 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:38,920 Next up we have Tobiah. 140 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,920 Whose name means Yahweh is good. 141 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,920 What a name. 142 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,920 He was the sidekick of Sambalot. 143 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:51,920 Often appearing right next to Sambalot in protest of the walls. 144 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:59,920 So typically when you see Sambalot operating his sidekick Tobiah was right there. 145 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:01,920 It was like Batman and Robin. 146 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,920 He was right there next to him. 147 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:05,920 He was his sidekick. 148 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,920 And everywhere he went he kind of went with him. 149 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,920 And they sort of worked together. 150 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:17,920 But unlike Sambalot, Tobiah was not an outsider but he was an insider. 151 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,920 Sambalot was an outsider. 152 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,920 But Tobiah was an insider. 153 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:28,920 What I mean by that is that he came from a family of very powerful Jewish aristocrats. 154 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,920 He was a Jew. 155 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:34,920 So essentially he was one of them but he wasn't. 156 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,920 You know what I'm saying? 157 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:42,920 He was part of the Jewish nationality but he was not a Jew spiritually. 158 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:48,920 He was part of the Commonwealth of Israel because he had a name. 159 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,920 He had roots in it. 160 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:56,920 But as we see in the story he wasn't at all interested in seeing the building of the wall. 161 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,920 He kind of had us one foot in and he's got one foot out. 162 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:05,920 Don't mess with the way things are pastor because you know if we get too spiritual you know 163 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:07,920 then things are going to get kind of crazy you know. 164 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,920 I like balance. 165 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,920 I like to kind of keep things as they are you know. 166 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,920 Don't make me too uncomfortable. 167 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:21,920 And so for this reason Tobiah represents the flesh. 168 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:23,920 And Tobiah represents the flesh. 169 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:25,920 Why? Because he's in us. 170 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:27,920 I got bad news for you in a way. 171 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,920 You're not going to get rid of Tobiah because as long as you're living in this body 172 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:32,920 you're going to have to contend with Tobiah. 173 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:34,920 Because he represents the flesh. 174 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,920 And sometimes it's not Satan. 175 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:43,920 It's not evil or spooky or foul spirits that are keeping us from our destiny in Christ. 176 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,920 You know what it is? It's our flesh. 177 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:47,920 Amen. 178 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,920 It's that human sinful nature that we are born with. 179 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:56,920 And we may want to blame the devil and say the devil made me do it. 180 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:04,920 But most often it's our own flesh that gets in the way of us fulfilling our potential in Christ. 181 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:05,920 Amen. 182 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:07,920 I said amen. 183 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,920 It's that part of you that resists the spirit. 184 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:14,920 It resists what the spirit wants. 185 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,920 This is what Paul writes in Galatians 5.17. 186 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:19,920 He says, 187 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:26,920 For the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. 188 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:33,920 And these are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things that you wish. 189 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,920 My God, how many have ever been there before? 190 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:38,920 Paul even said one time, he said, 191 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:43,920 The thing that I want to do, I don't. And the thing I don't want to do, that I do. 192 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,920 He said, Who can deliver me from this body? 193 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,920 And that's the apostle Paul folks that is saying that. 194 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:52,920 He's definitely got the credentials. 195 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,920 He's definitely a man of God. 196 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:00,920 And so that tells us that nobody here is exempt from dealing with this flesh. 197 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,920 It's with us everywhere we go. 198 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:07,920 And he says there's this constant battle going on between that with the spirit wants 199 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:09,920 and what the flesh wants. 200 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,920 And as long as we're in this body, we're going to have to contend. 201 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:18,920 And Nehemiah realized that he struggled to get rid of Tobiah. 202 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:20,920 This guy was pesky. 203 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:22,920 I mean, he was persistent. 204 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:27,920 He just kind of kept hanging around and kept just being right there among the people. 205 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,920 You know that even after the walls were built, brother, 206 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,920 even after they celebrated the building of the wall, 207 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,920 this guy, Tobiah, was still kind of hanging around and still sort of like, 208 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:42,920 you know, sending messages to people on the other side of the wall. 209 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:44,920 And he was still, you know what he was doing? 210 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,920 He was using the fact that he was still nationally speaking, a Jew. 211 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,920 And he still had family connections, you know? 212 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,920 He was reminding everybody about, you know, who my family is, you know? 213 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:58,920 He was showing everybody, you know, his card, I guess, 214 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:00,920 just like, hey, don't forget who I am. 215 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:01,920 I'm one of you. 216 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,920 And then on top of that, the Bible says that he was doing good deeds. 217 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,920 Ha! This is how the flesh hides sometimes. 218 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:10,920 It hides behind good deeds. 219 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:12,920 Y'all ain't ready for this now. 220 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,920 I'm gonna get right into this one right here. 221 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:16,920 It was hiding behind good deeds. 222 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:22,920 It was saying, well, I do good at this and I do good at that, so leave me alone. 223 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,920 Pastor can't preach to me like that. 224 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,920 I can't get because I'm all, I do good. 225 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,920 Well, good that you do good. 226 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:31,920 You're supposed to do good. 227 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:37,920 But just because you do good doesn't give you a license to do whatever else you want to do. 228 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,920 Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! 229 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,920 You can't write a big enough check to the church or to anybody 230 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,920 that say, well, as long as I'm doing this, long enough, I don't, I can't be told, 231 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:52,920 excuse me, what side are you fighting on here? 232 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:54,920 Amen, somebody. 233 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,920 I said, amen, somebody. 234 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:02,920 This is why Nehemiah had a hard time dealing with them because, man, how do I get to this guy? 235 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,920 Everybody likes him. 236 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,920 But he kept, see, this is what the people didn't know, is that, well, everybody likes him. 237 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,920 Oh, everybody likes him. 238 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:16,920 You know, they're taking pictures, you know, they're posting pictures with Tobiah, you know, 239 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,920 there they are, Friday night having dinner with Tobiah. 240 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,920 But what they don't know is that behind the scenes, 241 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,920 they're sending threatening letters to Nehemiah. 242 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:31,920 And the Tobiah spirit, that fleshly spirit will play people like that. 243 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,920 Uh-oh, I'm getting into something else now, huh? 244 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,920 You got to be careful, you got to make sure you're not hanging around with Tobiahs, 245 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,920 because they'll flip it on you. 246 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,920 And it's because they're trying to get to you, they're trying to use you or influence you. 247 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,920 Amen. 248 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,920 And this is where I believe that as a church, as a people, we got to understand, 249 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,920 yes, we've got sambalett, we have the devil that we need to fight, 250 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:54,920 but then there's also this flesh of ours. 251 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,920 And we got to keep this flesh in check, somebody's saying, man, today. 252 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,920 People think that carnality is just about sexual and physical sins, 253 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:10,920 or carnality is just, you know, drinking and partying and that sort of thing. 254 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,920 But you reach a Bible, because in Galatians chapter 5, 255 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:19,920 the apostle Paul lists a whole bunch of other things that involve carnality 256 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:25,920 that have nothing to do with just drinking, partying, and sexual mischievousness and all that. 257 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,920 According to Galatians 5, the works of the flesh include things like hatred. 258 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:32,920 Amen, somebody. 259 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:38,920 It includes things like jealousy, and angry outbursts, and selfish ambition, 260 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,920 and divisions, and envy. 261 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:49,920 Basically, it's any desire or attitude that contradicts the spirit of God. 262 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:54,920 So you may not go out partying and drinking, you may not be, you know, 263 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:59,920 living a perverse life in that way, but you can be just as carnal 264 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,920 if you don't let God move in your life the way that he wants to. 265 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,920 Well, anyhow, you can be just as carnal if you don't, 266 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:14,920 if you react with anger, if you have a selfish ambition, 267 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,920 if your pride is getting in the way, that is also carnality, 268 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,920 and it can keep you from your destiny in cry. 269 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,920 But today, we're going to make sure that we overcome this flesh of ours 270 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,920 so that we can get more that God has for us. 271 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,920 Somebody say amen today. 272 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,920 And Tobiah, you know, sometimes it's hard to detect this guy. 273 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:41,920 It's hard, I'm going to just be a couple more minutes. 274 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:46,920 It's hard to detect him because, you know, he's hiding in plain sight. 275 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,920 But eventually, he'll start to talk because he can't help it. 276 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,920 Tobiah gives us a clue that it's the flesh talking and not the spirit. 277 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,920 If you want to know whether you're, who you're dealing with, 278 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,920 if you're dealing with the, with, with Sambole, who represents the devil, 279 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,920 or if you're dealing with the flesh, here's a clue. 280 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:08,920 Watch what Tobiah, Tobiah said in here in Nehemiah chapter 4 and verse 3. 281 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,920 This is one of the only times that we see him talking on his own. 282 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,920 Every time else he talks, it's in concert with his other gang members. 283 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,920 But here, he speaks for himself and he said this about the work of God. 284 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,920 Whatever they build. 285 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:30,920 He said, whatever they build, even, even if, even a fox goes up on him, 286 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:35,920 he will break down their stone wall. 287 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:40,920 This is how you know that it's the flesh talking and not the spirit. 288 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:46,920 Because the flesh will say something like, well, even if they do it, it's not gonna last. 289 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,920 Even if they do it, it's not going to. 290 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,920 The flesh is unbelieving. 291 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,920 It doubts what God can do. 292 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:56,920 It doubts what's actually possible. 293 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:57,920 You know what it does? 294 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:03,920 Instead of focusing on the wall, instead of focusing on revival, it is all consumed. 295 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,920 It's all fixated on little foxes. 296 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:09,920 You ever met something like that? 297 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:11,920 They're missing the big picture. 298 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,920 You miss the big picture because you got all hung up on a little fox. 299 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,920 Oh, because they didn't sing the song that you like. 300 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:20,920 You're not gonna worship. 301 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,920 Come on, y'all getting quiet on me, huh? 302 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,920 Because they didn't do it, you're gonna focus on that well, because that light was flickering the whole time. 303 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:30,920 I just couldn't get into the service. 304 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,920 Come on now, what are we doing here? 305 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,920 Oh, because that one person looked at me kind of sideways and what's her problem? 306 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:43,920 And you're just gonna let that little fox rob you of the blessings of God, rob you of greater revival, 307 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:45,920 rob you of what God knows. 308 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,920 I decided that this flesh has got to come under subjection. 309 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,920 I'm not gonna let this flesh stop the move of God. 310 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,920 Is there anybody that's with me here today? 311 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,920 Clap your hands and let's give God a hand. 312 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:02,920 Praise the day, hallelujah. 313 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:04,920 You can overcome the flesh. 314 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,920 Somebody say, man, you can overcome the flesh. 315 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,920 How do I overcome the flesh? 316 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,920 Oh, you got to do what Paul did. 317 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,920 He said, I die daily. 318 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,920 Pick up your cross and be crucified with Christ. 319 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,920 That's the only way to do it. Every day you got to make a conscious decision. 320 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:23,920 Flesh, you're not the boss. 321 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,920 Flesh, carnal mind, you're not gonna be. 322 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:28,920 And you do what the scripture teaches us. 323 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:34,920 Paul says, set your affections or set your mind on things above and not on things beneath. 324 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,920 Put your mind in heavenly places. 325 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:39,920 Oh, my Lord, I am believing. 326 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,920 Get ready, but I am believing that this coming month we're gonna see the fruit. 327 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:50,920 We're gonna see the revival of the prayers and the fastings that we've been doing all the month of Chalice. 328 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:55,920 We did not as a church pray and fast all month of January, 329 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,920 just so that we can say have the same kind of services that we always have. 330 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,920 The devil is a liar. 331 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,920 I believe that in this next month, I need somebody to agree with me here today, 332 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,920 that we're gonna get the devil out of the way. 333 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:11,920 We're gonna get the flesh out of the way. 334 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,920 And we're gonna let God do what he wants to in our midst. 335 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,920 Is there somebody that believes what I'm preaching here today? 336 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,920 So we can't let our flesh talk us out of our miracles. 337 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,920 We can't let our flesh talk us out of healing. 338 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,920 We're gonna have a healing month this coming February. 339 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,920 Next Sunday, we're gonna have a healing service. 340 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:41,920 This week, the devil or your flesh gonna tell you can God really do it? 341 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,920 What if you take them? What if you invite them and they don't get healed? 342 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:47,920 Isn't that gonna be awkward? 343 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,920 Isn't that gonna be hard? 344 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,920 Are you sure you wanna stick your foot in your mouth like that? 345 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,920 Are you sure you wanna go and Tobias is trying to say, 346 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,920 you know, why don't you just have church as usual? 347 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:06,920 You know, don't put yourself on the spot like that. 348 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,920 Just keep things the way they are. 349 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,920 And we can keep having church and we can keep doing what we do, 350 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:15,920 sing the songs that we know. 351 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,920 But I feel something in my spirit today. 352 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,920 I feel faith rising up and I believe that miracles, 353 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,920 signs and wonders are upon us even now. 354 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:30,920 But you stand with me today. 355 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:36,920 There's only one more enemy and that is this man named Gesham. 356 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,920 If I had a lot more time, I would preach to you today about Gesham. 357 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:46,920 But this Gesham character, the third one, 358 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,920 he worked in concert with the others. 359 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,920 His name means material substance. 360 00:29:54,920 --> 00:30:01,920 And he tried to entice Nehemiah to get off the wall 361 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,920 and come with me, he said in Nehemiah 6-2. 362 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:11,920 He said, come meet us over here in this valley, in the plain of Ono. 363 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,920 He said, come on over here and meet me in this valley. 364 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,920 Now if you study the background of this valley, 365 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,920 this valley was also known as the Valley of Craftsmen. 366 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,920 The Valley of Work, the Valley of Prosperity. 367 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,920 And this is why Gesham represents the world. 368 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,920 This is the third enemy that, oh my God, 369 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,920 that distracts many Christians from their callings in Christ. 370 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,920 It may not be the devil or himself. 371 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,920 It may not be the flesh on its own. 372 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:54,920 But sometimes it's the love of the world and all that is promising you. 373 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:58,920 It says, give more of yourself to this. 374 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,920 It tries to lure you away. 375 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:06,920 In so many different ways by promising you the world on a string. 376 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:12,920 By saying over here, you can have power, money, sexual pleasure. 377 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:15,920 You can have everything that you want. 378 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,920 You can have the life that you want. 379 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:19,920 You can live how you want. 380 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:22,920 Oh Gesham is trying to tell somebody here today, 381 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,920 don't waste your time on the things of God. 382 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,920 Just live a life of sin because sin is fun 383 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,920 and it's great out there in the world. 384 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,920 The things that you can achieve, the things that you can do. 385 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:41,920 But I'm here to tell you that this world has got nothing to offer you. 386 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:46,920 And the only thing that it can offer you is pain and strife 387 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:52,920 and grief and suffering. 388 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,920 That's all this world has to offer. 389 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,920 But I've seen too many in this hour. 390 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,920 It was not the devil, it was not Tobiah, it was not the flesh. 391 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,920 It's the pursuit of whatever this world is dangling in front of you 392 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:09,920 like a carrot saying, come over here 393 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,920 and it's trying to take you out of your ministry. 394 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:14,920 It's trying to take you out. 395 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,920 And today, I feel the Holy Ghost today, 396 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,920 I have come to say that greater is He that is in you 397 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:45,920 than He that's in the world.