A MIND TO WORK
Prayer and humility, along with a hatred for sin, produces a “mind to work.” “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6). True revivals of holiness always produce workers. Books and seminars and lectures don’t—but revival does!
When God is doing something genuine among His people, Satan conspires against it. “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it” (Nehemiah 4:7-8).
The enemy became very angry and conspired to come up against them to fight and to hinder! His tactic was to secretly infiltrate the body by sneaking up on them unexpectedly. “Our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease” (verse 11).
They planned to bring into their midst a secret army of pretenders in disguise. The enemy had no sudden, open, frontal attack, but rather said, “We will come in the midst among them!”
The tactic was inside sabotage! The enemy said, “They will never know it is happening.”
And Satan’s strategy has never changed. Even now he is sending his “angels of light” into gatherings worldwide with doctrinal sabotage and seductions.
How can we detect them? What is our safeguard? “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them” (Nehemiah 4:9). The key here is an intense hatred for sin, true brokenness, fervent prayer and constant vigilance—along with staying saturated with the Word of God. Beloved, allow the Holy Spirit to probe your heart very deeply and very thoroughly, that you may walk wholly blameless before the Lord in this late hour.
When God is doing something genuine among His people, Satan conspires against it. “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it” (Nehemiah 4:7-8).
The enemy became very angry and conspired to come up against them to fight and to hinder! His tactic was to secretly infiltrate the body by sneaking up on them unexpectedly. “Our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease” (verse 11).
They planned to bring into their midst a secret army of pretenders in disguise. The enemy had no sudden, open, frontal attack, but rather said, “We will come in the midst among them!”
The tactic was inside sabotage! The enemy said, “They will never know it is happening.”
And Satan’s strategy has never changed. Even now he is sending his “angels of light” into gatherings worldwide with doctrinal sabotage and seductions.
How can we detect them? What is our safeguard? “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them” (Nehemiah 4:9). The key here is an intense hatred for sin, true brokenness, fervent prayer and constant vigilance—along with staying saturated with the Word of God. Beloved, allow the Holy Spirit to probe your heart very deeply and very thoroughly, that you may walk wholly blameless before the Lord in this late hour.