Connect

Guest (Female): Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've tuned in today. At Connect with Skip, we're passionate about helping you grow in your relationship with Jesus. That's why we share verse-by-verse Bible teaching that's both clear and practical, so you can live out God's truth wherever he's placed you.

And you can stay connected beyond the broadcast when you sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotion. You'll receive weekly biblical encouragement, exclusive content, and helpful resources to guide you deeper into God's word, delivered straight to your inbox.

Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free. Sign up today at connectwithskip.com. That's connectwithskip.com. Now here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: Turn in your Bibles, please, to Nehemiah chapter 4. This is a series we're calling City in Shambles. It's all about the city that was in shambles, the city of Jerusalem. It had been in a state of disrepair for over a century until Nehemiah heard about it and decided to leave where he was working in Persia, go all the way 900 miles and rebuild the city. And we've made it all the way through chapter 3. We're in chapter 4, and we're going to look at the first nine verses this morning.

Now, if you have a bulletin and you have noticed the title of this message, you're thinking, what's up with this title? Why Serving God Is So Hard? And you're thinking maybe Skip needs a vacation and he's about to take it out on us. And maybe you're thinking thoughts like, Pastor, if you're trying to recruit more people to join the Christian faith, this is not a great message title—why it's so hard serving the Lord.

Others of you immediately are going to resonate with that title. Like somebody who asked me what I was speaking on this weekend, I told them the title, and they said, "Ooh, I can relate to that." Because I think most of us instinctively know there are difficulties in the Christian life.

I don't know how this idea got out there, but some people have this naive notion that if you love God and you serve Him, that life's just going to flow smoothly in every direction. And then if you step into the arena, you realize that's really not the case.

But some think that. In fact, there's a whole branch of charismatic theology known as the Word of Faith movement that simply says if you make faith declarations, you can be healthy and wealthy and wise. You can receive healing and joy and prosperity by exercising your God-given authority, by speaking the word of faith.

So you can speak wealth into existence and declare your own health even if you've been diagnosed as sick, you say that's from the devil, the reality is I am perfectly healed, and people have refused medical treatment with that thinking.

What people will say who hold to that is that if your positive confession doesn't work, and if you indeed find it so hard to serve the Lord, it must mean you lack faith. I tell you how bad it can get. I had a couple come to me who had recently lost their little baby. Baby died.

They had been at a church like this, and the pastor told them, "If you have enough faith, your child will be healed." And the child got sicker, and they came to the couple and said, "You don't obviously have enough faith. You need more faith, your child will be healed. God has guaranteed that."

And so they prayed, and they had more faith, and the child died, and the pastor went to them and said, "Your child is dead because you didn't have enough faith." That is adding sorrow to sorrow. None of that is found on the pages of scripture.

What we find on the pages of the Bible, and we'll see it here, is that serving God is hard. We live in a fallen world and that world opposes us. And we're going to talk about opposition today in this chapter. And you should know by now that this doesn't surprise us. This is exactly what we have been promised.

Jesus said, "If anyone come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross." Doesn't sound easy to me. "Take up his cross and follow me." In the Sermon on the Mount, he declared, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

When Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to his young protege, Timothy, in 1 Timothy chapter 6, he said, "Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life." Then he followed that letter up with a second letter, 2 Timothy. And Paul said to him—this, by the way, was the last thing Paul ever wrote, was 2 Timothy.

He said, "You must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." And then he said, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race." Now, why is it that serving God is so hard? I was just thinking through this theme this week, looking through this chapter, and I just sort of scribbled down several thoughts that came to my mind why it is hard serving God in the world in which we live.

Number one, because we deal with temptation. And before we were saved, we dealt with temptation very differently than how we deal with it now. Now we fight it, then we just did it. We yielded to it. We didn't really have to battle.

But now there's the flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and we still have that sin nature, so we have to struggle with temptation in this world. Another reason that came to mind is that everything we believe in basically is out of sync with the fallen world that is around us, fallen human nature.

Everything from our biblical stance on creation, that God created the world in six days, it didn't evolve, that is at odds with most of academia's idea of origins. From that all the way to morality, a biblical morality. And the world's idea of tolerating any behavior whatsoever, any lifestyle.

And so what the unbeliever will say to us, and this is one of the reasons it's hard, is, "Look, we're willing to accept everybody's lifestyle. But you Christians tell people to repent and follow Christ." And that makes it hard.

Then there's a third reason that came to mind: the sheer amount of unrighteousness at any given moment. The sheer amount of unrighteous thought and living at any given moment. The profanity that you have to put up with at work, people talking about your Lord in an unsavory manner, people's belief systems that counteract your own, whether it's abortion or their own self-interest, whatever it might be.

And then I thought of a fourth reason why serving the Lord is hard. And let me put it to you this way: it's hard because of the way God wants us to treat others. We're to treat others with love and forgiveness and being patient with them.

We're even told to love our enemies, right? Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Ever try that? That's hard.

That's not natural. That is not normal to not retaliate when you are being mistreated or attacked. So serving the Lord is hard, but it's the best way to live. I'd have it no other way. Serving the Lord is hard, but it's worth the struggle. Serving the Lord is hard, but it's much harder not serving the Lord in the long run.

So we're talking about opposition here in chapter 4, and I want to give you four characteristics of opposition. Here's the first: opposition is normal. Just let that settle in. Get used to it. It's part of the curriculum. You've got to stand the heat of the kitchen if you're going to be a Christian.

Verse 1 says, "But it so happened"—remember chapter 3, all the different stations building around the walls of the city—"but it so happened when Sanballat"—remember that guy?—"heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant."

Notice that the opposition came because they were successful. They set out to build the wall. They're making progress on the wall. And Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall and so he was furious and very indignant. Listen, success breeds opposition. This is not out of the ordinary, this is not abnormal. This is normal. This is not the exception, it's the rule.

Now, refreshing your memory, Sanballat was the governor of Samaria. I told you a couple weeks ago they found some archaeological digs in Egypt, it's known as the Elephantine Papyri, that says that Sanballat was the governor of a region called Samaria that included jurisdiction over the city of Jerusalem.

So what this means to Sanballat is now that these guys have come in from the king himself to rebuild Jerusalem, that means some of his own territory is going to shrink. That means the revenue is not going to be there. The tax base is shrinking. And so he is up in arms. He is furious and very indignant.

Whenever you attempt anything for God, especially if you succeed, you are going to be opposed. If you do any ministry, if you are in any public ministry whatsoever, you are going to be criticized and opposed. So get used to that.

I think this should actually be an encouragement to us. If you are being opposed and it's from the right sources—or in this case, the wrong sources—that's a good thing. You see, if you are not being opposed, it's because you're not a threat. If you are being opposed, it's because you indeed are a threat.

Guest (Female): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that speaks into real life, bringing clarity, strength, and lasting hope. And this month, we'd like to thank you with two resources designed to help you trust God in difficult seasons and move forward with confidence.

When you give today, you'll receive the Expound Nehemiah seven-message series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. These resources will help you see how God is at work even when life feels uncertain, and how to experience his peace instead of anxiety as you follow him.

Your gift helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people to God's word. Request your resources when you give $50 or more at connectwithskip.com/offer or by calling 800-922-1888. Now, here's more from Pastor Skip.

Skip Heitzig: I'm going to take you back to school days when you were taught Newton's third law of motion. I know you're looking at me like, what is that? Well, I'm going to tell you about it and you'll go, "Oh, I remember that."

Newton's third law of motion, also called the law of action and reaction. So you know this: every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. That's Newton's third law of motion. So, for instance, when you walk and you exert force on the ground with the weight of your body and your foot, the ground also exerts force on your foot, allowing you to be propelled forward. That's what he noticed.

Or, if you were to deck a guy in the jaw with your fist—I don't recommend you do this, by the way—but if you were to do that, your fist would exert force on the jaw, but the jaw would also exert force on the fist, and some people in a fight will get bloody knuckles.

Another example: if a fly hits a moving bus, the bus will give off an equal and opposite force that is being exerted on the fly and splat. He needs to use the windshield wipers after that. Also, when you become God's friend, you become the world's enemy.

Not the world in terms of the earth or the globe, but the world system which is opposed to God. When you become God's friend, you become a target of the world system and in particular of Satan himself. John chapter 15, Jesus said, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." That makes it hard.

Now, some of you might listen to this and go, this has nothing to do with my life. I'm never hassled by Satan. Well, perhaps there's a reason for that. Like you don't have a pulse. You don't have a spiritual pulse. There were two guys who loved hunting. They were out duck hunting one day. They're on a boat. They're shooting ducks. Some are dying, some are wounded.

And so the dogs would go out and get the chase the wounded ones. And so they're talking and one guy tells his friend, "You know, this week has been hard. I feel very oppressed and opposed by Satan," and kind of told his story.

And the other guy was sort of a nominal believer at best and he laughed it off and he said, "You know, Satan never bothers me." And so the friend said, "Well, you know what? There may be a reason for that. The reason Satan doesn't bother you is that you're dead. Like some of those ducks. He only chases live ones."

So if you are a living duck, an authentic, growing believer, you are going to be the target of the devil's guns. So serving God is hard. It's hard because opposition inherently comes with the territory. Paul said to Timothy, "All those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." Notice the caveat: those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

I have a little book in my library, had it for many years, I pull it out from time to time. It's one of the best books on the Christian life I've read. It's called The Fight by John White. John White was a medical doctor from England. He specialized in psychiatry, but he wrote a great book on what it means to be a believer.

And he talks in that book about spiritual warfare—Satan and demons—and he writes this: "Have no delusions about their reality or their hostility. They will also oppose you as you obey Christ. If you play it cool and decide not to be a fanatic about Christianity, you will have no trouble from them. But if you are serious about Christ being your Lord and God, you can expect opposition."

There was a day when Jesus said to Peter something that just flipped Peter out, I'm sure. He said, "Peter, Satan has been asking for you." Now, I don't know how that'd make you feel, but I would be quite unnerved if Jesus told me that Satan has been asking for me lately.

I'm wondering, what did you tell him? Let me finish the statement: "Satan has been asking for you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you. And when you are restored, strengthen your brethren."

Well, that must have really moved Peter and stuck with him, because when Peter writes a letter later on, he said, "Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." Just think of that statement.

What if you were to go to the zoo? And as you're enjoying popcorn or a hot dog, whatever, at the zoo, suddenly over the loudspeakers in the zoo, they make an announcement says, "Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that our lion has escaped its enclosure. It's roaming around the zoo. We don't know where, but be very cautious. Oh, and by the way, the lion has not eaten today."

I'm guessing you'd be pretty nervous at that point and probably want to leave the zoo. But in the very least, we could say that that is going to be hard. Opposition is normal. Second characteristic: opposition is verbal.

I've noticed that when we get opposed by the world, it typically begins at this level, the verbal level. Look at verse 1 again: "It so happened when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious, very indignant, and mocked the Jews." That's verbal.

And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria. Listen to his words: "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish, stones that are burned?" It's a series of loud, sarcastic questions, jibes, ridicule.

This is what they did in chapter 2. That was their first reaction. We read in Nehemiah 2, "They laughed at us and despised us and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing?'" That's ridicule. Now it intensifies. Ridicule is a powerful weapon. I'll prove it.

Think back to the last time you almost posted something on social media but you said, "I better not. This is going to get a lot of blowback if I do." And so you hesitated or you refrained. Think of the last time you almost shared the gospel with someone but you were afraid of perhaps ridicule, the environment that you might have been in.

Nobody wants to hear this, like Sanballat has given out: "You feeble Christians with your little prayer meetings and Bible studies, you are so irrelevant, you are so intellectually out of it." Ridicule.

Now, did you know that the name or the term, the title "devil"—do you know what that means? *Diabolos* is the Greek word for devil. It means slanderer, defamer. That's verbal. And the name "Satan," that's a Hebrew word, *Satan*, means adversary or opposer.

So you put that together and you have an enemy, an adversary who opposes us by slandering and defaming us. And in Revelation 12, Satan is described in his attack as a verbal attacker. He's called the accuser of the brethren who accuses us before God day and night.

This is one of Satan's chief tools to get God's people to shut down: mockery, verbal slander, ridicule. It's not just in Nehemiah, it's throughout scripture. Jesus himself was mocked. The perfect, the only perfect person who ever lived, Jesus, was mocked.

He went to Jairus's house to heal Jairus's daughter, who was on her deathbed and eventually did die, though only temporarily because Jesus showed up. And as he shows up and people are there mourning, Jesus puts them out and he says, "Don't worry, she's not dead. She's only sleeping."

And he was referring to the fact that he's about to raise her up. And it says, "They laughed him to scorn." Then later, when he was arrested and he went through trial before Pontius Pilate, they put a crown of thorns on his head, a reed in his hand, and a robe on his back because they were mocking him, saying that he was the King of the Jews.

And they said, "Oh, hail, King of the Jews!" It was all done in mockery. When he was hanging on the cross, people passed by and shouted out, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" All that is done in mockery.

Early Christians were mocked. And they were mocked because the idea of a crucified God was abhorrent to the mind of the Roman, the Greek, and the Jew. A crucified God.

I'm going to put something up on the screen, I want to show it to you. This is from the second century AD, and this is called the Alexamenos Graffito. And there's a difference between graffiti and graffito. Graffiti is spray paint, graffito is etching something into stone, and that's what they had back then, there were no spray paint cans.

So this guy is mocking—whoever this artist was—is mocking a Christian by the name of Alexamenos who worshipped Jesus Christ. But you'll notice that the picture is a picture of a crucified donkey-headed figure. And underneath it says, "Alexamenos worships his God." All done to mock him and mock Christians.

Guest (Female): We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder: when you give $50 or more this month, we'll send you the Expound Nehemiah seven-message CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind, as our thanks.

These resources offer biblical insight and encouragement to help you trust God in challenging seasons and experience his peace as you follow him. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's word.

Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.