I felt God telling me to teach on one word: “abide,” and there’s a reason for it. I’m going to guide you through the theme of Nehemiah, then we’ll move on to the book of John. By the time you reach Nehemiah chapter 4, you’ll see the conditions set in place—Ezra has led them to a point of profound repentance. This topic of repentance is something I’ll revisit because it’s essential. Without true, heartfelt repentance, we won’t move forward. Repentance is the key to progress. We cry out to God for our nation, for our families, and for change. We must repent and turn away from sin.

Nehemiah was so anointed that when he called out sin, people didn’t resist it. Instead, they repented because true repentance, when led by the Spirit, brings change. Without the anointing, people often tune out when sin is addressed, but with God’s guidance, hearts are transformed. We need that anointing to confront the sin that holds our nation back. It’s not about making moral judgments or personal attacks—it’s about recognizing how we’ve aligned ourselves with things contrary to God’s will, and making a decision to follow Jesus instead.

When you reach Nehemiah chapter 4, you’ll see that the gates of Jerusalem are being repaired. I’ll explain what each of the twelve gates represents, but the key point is this: severe opposition follows. Whenever the church unites, as Nehemiah’s people did, the opposition doesn’t diminish—it intensifies. The church, standing together, faces growing resistance, but unity in Christ makes us stronger. We see examples of this unity in leaders from different denominations, like John MacArthur and Paula White, coming together to stand against persecution. It’s not about our ethnicity, gender, or denomination. It’s about the blood of Jesus uniting us as one body.

As the church unites, opposition will rise, but that’s when we need to press on. The battle intensifies, but through God’s Word, we can find practical steps to overcome. The battle often comes from both external forces and internal struggles. External pressure can create internal tension, and that’s where we must remain steadfast. In Nehemiah chapter 4, the internal battle was caused by the weariness and discouragement of the workers.

This is often the enemy’s strategy: to wear you down so you’re too tired to stand in your position. When external pressures mount, the internal battle of discouragement becomes overwhelming. The enemy seeks to wear you out, but you must press on because God has raised you up for such a time as this. The enemy’s goal is to make you weary so you can’t finish the work God has called you to do.

In Nehemiah 4:12-22, we see why they were weary. The workers never went home. They were selfless and committed to rebuilding the wall in just 52 days, despite facing great scorn. Nehemiah had to confront not just taunts but real threats from their enemies, including Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. These threats grew more intense, but Nehemiah led with boldness and faith, trusting in God’s provision to carry them through. We too must stand strong in our faith, even when the opposition intensifies.