I thank God for his grace again to be among you tonight. I thank God for what he has done in my life and what he is still doing. And I am very sure that you should thank God for what he has done in your life. (Amen). We thank God for the new year that we started. We are now getting to the third month which means the first quarter of 2014, but that doesn’t mean that our blessings are not coming. They are coming abundantly in the Mighty Name of Jesus (Amen). We pray before-I am just going to make a short prayer so that we invite the Holy Spirit to join us with this word that I’m going to actually ask the indulgence of all of you and the Bishop. Probably he’s going to give extra three or four minutes over the fifteen normal minutes because of what I’ve prepared for us tonight. Amen? (Amen). Let’s bow down our heads for his grace again.

You are always with us. You said when we call upon your name, you will be there. Wherever two or three people are that is where you are present. We are calling upon your name. I pray thee tonight to fill me up with your Holy Spirit afresh. Father to speak your word as you have inspired it to your people, to your prophet when they actually wrote this word oh Lord. I pray for you people, prepare their heart, let their heart receive your word and let them be transformed accordingly. In Jesus Mighty Name we Pray. Amen? (Amen).

Tonight, actually what I made was a series. This is going to be part one of what I will be talking about.  The next will be the next hopefully when Bishop comes in. This topic I will call it, “Enemies from Outside and Enemies from Within” during the establishment of good deeds of life.So I will read from Nehemiah Chapter 2, verse 17 to 20. And I want you to place your hand there and Nehemiah chapter 4, 1 to 9. So I want us to place our hand, open the bible to those.

Is there anybody getting there that can read it for us? Nehemiah Chapter 2 verse 17 to 20.

“Then said I unto them. Ye see the distress that we are in. How Jerusalem lies waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem, the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, “What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?” Then I answered them, and said unto them, The God of Heaven he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build, but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.”

Amen? (Amen). So we are going to go to chapter 4 verse 1 to 9. Who has Chapter four?

“But is so happened when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said ‘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? The stones that are burnt?’ Now Tobias the Ammonite was beside him and said ‘Whatever they build even if the fox goes up, he shall break down their stones.  Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!  Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless, we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.”

Amen? (Amen). So what are the enemies? I would like to define what enemies mean.  Enemies are our adversaries, opponents, harmful or opposing forces. And what are the good deeds that we are talking about? The good deeds of life? The good deeds of life might be establishing a ministry or it might be establishing a family. It may be establishing a job. It might be about your wife. It might be about getting a husband. It might be about your children. It might be about getting a house. It might be about your education. It might be about your career and it might be about friendship. It might be because you just know the Lord, you were born again and you are an infant Christian. So I’m going to approach these enemies in three categories. Today we will be talking about the enemies from outside and so the next meeting we will talk about those enemies from inside.

If we look at verse 18-19. He said “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. So they said, let us rise up and build. Then they set their hands to this good work.” When you set your hands to start a good thing of life, something important in your life that you want to start, that is the point of initiation. So there is a challenge of initiation and challenge of foundation because of enemies. So we have enemies like Sanballat. He said “ When Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem, the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said “ What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”.

So when you want to embark on something important in your life. When you start thinking about resolution or you get a direction for something in your life that is when the enemy comes. The enemy like Sanballat. The meaning of Sanballat is actually someone that always like to give sin, he wants to do wickedness all the time in his life. So enemy comes. What is the goal of the enemy? At this time of initiation at the time you want to start to embark on the good deeds of your life, the enemies come and try to threaten you. Why are they saying this? Just to discourage you? To stir up fear in you. So that you will not be able to start that project, so that you aren’t able to start a new business, so that you will not be able to start your new ministry, so that you won’t be able to start getting wife or getting husband, so that you will not be able to start your education, or you will not be able to start building your house, or you will not be able to start doing what God has implanted  in you to start. So the enemy comes. That is the first stage that enemy comes. How do we combat enemy at this stage? We will see in verse 20. “So answer them.” And who was praying? We see Nehemiah said “Answer them and said to them. The God of Heaven himself will prosper us. Therefore we servants will arise and build but you have heritage or right or in the memorial of Jerusalem.”

So when you want to start stuff. You are going to make a prayer point and say, God, Himself---Whatever word of discouragement that enemy says to you, you want to say “The Lord himself prosper us”. But the enemy doesn’t stop. The initial stage is the beginning. When you embark on good deed of your life, when you start and you get to the midway, the other challenge is the challenge of building. That is, when you are at the midway of that good deed for your life, you are at the midway trying to find a wife for your life, you are at the midway getting a husband for yourself, you are at the midway of getting married, you are the midway between your education, you are at the midway for any good deed that God has started in your life, when you want to advance.

So chapter 4 we see verse 1-3, he said “But it so happened that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews. And said  ‘What are these feeble Jews doing?” You will find that when you try to do stuff enemy will say “ What are you trying to do? Who do you think you are? What do you want to become? What do you want to establish in your life? You want to go to school, you want a husband? You want a career?  What do you think you are doing?” The enemy will come and be asking you those question. He said, “ Will they fortify themselves?” Do you think you can make it? Do you think that you can start a ministry? Who do you think you are? You think that you have an anointing? Or you starting a business, where do you think you will be getting the money? Where do you think the money is going to come from? “Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Do you think that this will suffice? Do you think that your children will be able to make it in life? So you have all these challenges of things that enemy will be posing your way. “ Will they revive stones from the heaps of rubbish?” That’s what he’s saying. Then people will be talking.