The Lowest Places

A lone man sits on a hill, looking down at the desolate valley below. A cold mist hangs in the air as his dirty and blood-stained face is split in two by a single tear tracing down his face. Bodies of his brothers and sisters lie everywhere. Motionless, lifeless, dead. The battle, it seems, is over and we, the people, have lost.

Does that sound like a movie? A dream perhaps? More like a nightmare. But the battle described in the opening paragraph is currently underway. Right now people are dying. The battle is being fought right here. Right now. In this very country and we, the people, are losing. It is the battle for morality and religious freedom.

"Opponents of the moral revolution are to be treated with scorn, contempt, and worse. The terms of moral surrender have been delivered to us, and they are absolute and unconditional. Just ask Japan and Germany what that means." - Albert Mohler

"We The People," have failed. Failed to stand guard, failed to guard the gaps in our moral walls. We have lost the battle for morality.

Nehemiah is usually spoken of as a great leader but today I would like to show you what Nehemiah did when the lives of God's people were threatened. He did something that WE failed to do as a nation.

"7 When Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” - Nehemiah 4:7-14

Nehemiah stationed people with weapons at "the lowest places" in the wall surrounding the city. The places where the wall was lowest and most vulnerable.

When we as a people noticed our enemy (Satan) coming into our "city" (our country's moral character) we should have placed guards. We should have fought. We were massively outnumbered and we . . . we, as a nation, HAVE . . . lost this battle.

But what about us as individual followers of Christ. We can still protect OUR walls, our "low places." And Nehemiah already told us how to do it.

Verse 9 - "And we prayed to our God." - We must pray! The ranks of the enemy are growing daily. It is an uphill battle but "if God is for us, who can be against us." (Romans 8:31). We also must "set a guard . . . day and night." - We must guard our hearts and our minds against the attacks of the enemy. How? Read God's Word. Commit it to memory. Apply it, live it, both day and night.

Verse 13 - "in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

What are your "lowest places? Where are you most vulnerable to attack? What is your biggest weakness? Station a guard there! Find verses to defend yourself. Don't let your moral walls crumble.

We must take action in this battle, even though we are on the losing side of it right now, because God wins in the end. Which side of the moral line will we find ourselves on when He returns? Let me tell you, we do NOT want to find ourselves with crumbling walls and breaches open to the enemy. We must protect our city and the temple where God lives . . . our souls!

This is not a war waged in Washington D.C. That battle is over. The battle we are waging now is in our own minds and in our own hearts. Draw your weapons! Build the walls high! And pray. Pray like you've never prayed before.

Keeping Watch (Part 1) - Ravi Zacharias
Keeping Watch (Part 2) - Ravi Zacharias