“Our God will give us success, therefore, we will arise and build” (Neh. 2:20).

In lesson one, we focused on what we must do to build like Nehemiah. In lesson two, we considered what Satan would do to threaten our work. In this third lesson, we will recognize what God will do to accomplish His work through us. First, let’s review.

How to Build Like Nehemiah

If we want to follow Nehemiah’s example of faithful building, we must:

1. Care about the Work — The needs of the lost and the spiritual condition of God’s people must matter to us (Neh. 1:4).
2. Own the Work — We must take personal responsibility, or nothing will get done (Neh. 2:2-8).
3. Plan the Work — Honestly appraise the situation before diving in (Neh. 2:12-16).
4. Encourage the Work — Let us support and urge one another to keep working (Neh. 2:17-18).
5. Work the Work — EVERYONE must get a job (Neh. 2:17-3:32).

How to Keep Building when Satan Attacks

The Devil will target faithful, working churches, and we can not let him thwart the work God has given us.

1. Keep Believing When Critics Plant Doubts — Satan will target our faith in our work’s importance & God’s power to accomplish it. Still, we will maintain our trust in the Lord (Neh. 2:19,4:2-3,6).
2. Keep Working When Brethren Refuse to Help — Like the Tekoites, we will find new places to contribute, unphased by those who choose not to join in (Neh. 3:5,27).
3. Keep Courage When People Just Want to Fight — At times, we’ll need to contend for the faith, and we will not run from a fight, nor will we go around looking for one. With the Sword of the Spirit in one hand, we will build with the other (Neh. 4:8-9,13-20,23).
4. Keep Focused when Distractions Pull at Us — Our confidence that “we are doing a great work” keeps us on track when other demands tempt us to abandon our work (Neh. 6:2-16).

How God’s Promises Establish Our Work

What would you be willing to take on if you knew you couldn’t fail? How would you live differently if you knew success was guaranteed?

When the enemies of the Jews threatened Nehemiah, he said, “Our God will give us success, therefore, we will arise and build” (Neh. 2:20). We don’t stop working because God promises success. In fact, like Nehemiah, we are motivated to “arise and build” because of God’s promise. We can not fail. Therefore, we boldly dive into our work.

1. God Remembers, Therefore We Pray

“Remember me with favor, my God” (Neh. 13:31).

Nehemiah did not act without prayer, and he didn’t pray without following it with action. When we pray, we initiate God’s plan for success. Prayer is the beginning of our work. It is the sustainer of our work. It is the source of our confidence in the work we do. We don’t take on this work alone. God remembers us like Nehemiah when he prayed, “Remember me with favor, my God” (Neh. 13:31).

2. God Fights for Us, Therefore We Stand

Though they worked in different areas, they rallied to the need wherever they heard the trumpet call. That’s what we do, too. We stand together as a family and answer the call to action. Together, we can do more. We’re stronger, standing side by side. We can have confidence in our work because God fights for us (Neh. 4:14-15, 19-20).

3. God Gives Us Success, Therefore We Work

Nehemiah set out to complete the work of rebuilding a wall. Our work is people work. We work with God to build a new temple for a new Jerusalem—a spiritual house made of living stones (1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 12:22-24). Our work is building up the body of Christ. We evangelize, encourage, strengthen, serve, support, teach, and give, all to the glory and praise of God.

Unlike Nehemiah, we won’t complete our work in 52 days. We’ll spend our lives working. So how will we know if we’re successful as God promised? We can just look around to see how God has answered our prayers: we have a new elder, new deacons, exceptional bible class programs, young people who sit together, study together, initiate spiritual conversations with each other, baptisms, restorations — and we could go on. When God’s people strive to serve him, God will give the growth (1 Cor. 3:7).

The great builder still works with us, our helper, our equipper.

Jesus the Builder

Like everything in the Bible, we can find Jesus in Nehemiah. Jesus had work to do that was his alone, and he pushed through to the end, dying for our sins. He determined to “work the works of Him who sent” him (John 9:4). His work continues in us: “And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Luke 10:2).

Remember, Jesus was a builder in His secular work (Mark 6:3), and he is a builder in his spiritual work (Matt. 16:18). The great builder still works with us, our helper, our equipper (Heb. 13:6,20-21). Today, his word calls to us: “Let us arise and build” (cf. 1 Cor. 3:5-17, Eph. 4:7-16, Neh. 2:18-20). What are you building?