So one of the dilemmas of course, is we get too busy to build relationships; but we have to build connections with people, through which we can bring the life and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every believer's called to do that. Don't say you're too busy, that is the job. It is the job. Building relationships, bringing the life we have to someone else; and in those relationships, also receiving from others in the body. None of us can do without the others. I need what you have, and you need what I have - we need one another; and so relationships in the body, we're not meant to be just independent of each other, and self-sufficient, and I've got all the anointing I need and I don't need you. That's nonsense, spiritual pride. The Bible says: we can't say we don't need one another - we do. We need one another; and so through relationships, the life flows.
But this is the thing about building. In case you didn't realise it, the devil gets hostile when you try to build something for God. Look at this in Nehemiah, Chapter 4: so it happened when Sanballat - he's the enemy - he heard that we were rebuilding the wall. He was furious! Very angry, and so he had a number of ways he tried to stop the Jews. First he began to mock them and belittle them, and so he said: oh, these feeble Jews, what are they going to do? Going to fortify themselves? They going to offer sacrifices? What do they think, God's going to help with something? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, the stones which are burnt?
And Tobiah, who was beside him said: Ha! Ha! These feeble Jews, what are they doing? It's so pathetic what they're doing. If even a little fox jumped on it, the wall would fall down. Your life is so pathetic - a little problem comes along, you'll fall over. Can you understand, one of the key strategies of the enemy is to belittle us, to mock and laugh at us, to point out how weak we are, to point out in our life where we lack. Why? He wants you just to be discouraged, so you won't build - and its here in the Bible. You want to see how Nehemiah dealt with it, and you'll see how to deal with these issues. There will always mockers and despisers, and scorners and laughers. If you're going to do anything - and I mean anything substantial or different - there will be mockers and scorners and laughers. If you want to build something for God, there'll be mockers and scorners and laughers. If they don't do it to you directly, you'll find demonic spirits will do it - they'll laugh at you, belittle you, and laugh at what you're doing.
In your dark moments, when you're wondering how to go forward, then they push in hard, to make you feel like you have nothing, and you're going nowhere. You have to fight them off, and so this story is about these kinds of weapons, what happened - and so he just got to prayer. Verse 6; we built the wall, and the wall was half way up, and of course when everything's half way through the job, that's when it gets a little difficult doesn't it, you know? We all start well, but we don't always finish well, and so half way through there were some problems; and Sanballat, Verse 7, got very angry. Verse 8, they came and they conspired to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to God. Notice prayer keeps coming through - and so we set a watch against them day and night. And Judah said: the strength of the labourers is failing, there's so much rubbish, we're not able to build; and our adversaries said: ha, they won't know or see anything until we come in the midst and kill them, and cause the work to cease. So it was, the Jews who dwelt near the enemies, they told us 10 times: whatever place you turn, they'll be on you mate. Look out! What negative, pathetic people they are, aren't they?