They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Neh 1:3).

Nehemiah was burdened to rebuild the walls, so he prayed, planned, and began getting the building permits and materials together.  I have been responsible for church building programs several times in the past; and there was at least one thing that was in common with all of them: there was always some form of obstacle or opposition.  Our Christian walk is like a building program.  Christ said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24).  When we become burdened to seek to be Jesus’ disciple and to live like him, we must expect obstacles.

Using examples from Nehemiah, Dr. Zacharias cited 3 kinds of obstacles: scorn, force, and internal scheming.  Let's look at each one.

First, we are scorned because of the exclusivity of the Gospel.  It is not one way; it is the only way (Jn 14:6).  We are scorned because we see what other’s don’t see (Jn 3:3).  We see the unseen.  We are scorned because we challenge the sovereignty of man and the devil (Matt 4:10).  And last, we are scorned because we claim to have a morality that transcends the world.

The second obstacle Dr. Zacharias mentioned was that of force.  There are individuals and even governments who will use force to impose their humanistic religion on us.  I see a day, if the Lord tarries, when the 1^st Amendment rights in America will be bulldozed over and Christians will be gathered and arrested for speaking out against sin.  We should expect this and should therefore prepare for it by learning from the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Corrie Ten Boom, who both suffered in Nazi concentration camps for their faith.

The third obstacle mentioned was internal scheming.  Perhaps this is the most insidious opposition of all because we can be a traitor to ourselves.  As the cartoon character, Pogo, said when partially quoting Captain Oliver Hazard Perry (1813), “We have met the enemy and he is us!”  Our own inner conflicts and indecisiveness betray us, whether “us” means a lone individual or a church congregation.

How can we prepare for these obstacles?  Dr. Zacharias suggests three responses.  We must first look to God.  Psalm 127:1 says it well. "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."  John Wesley looked to God, preaching and teaching, and saved England from the terrible results that France experienced during their revolution.  Second, we must reflect on the issues and speak up.  And lastly, just as the workers built with one hand and held a weapon in the other (Neh 4:17), we must be armed in readiness.  Scripture states, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph 6:11).  Are you ready to build? Are you ready to defend the gates?  Are you ready to pay the cost to be a real disciple of Jesus?