FIGHT

And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Theme: His hands rebuild and restore you so that you can fight the good fight of faith.

Intro: Paul calls us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). But how can you fight this good fight? How can you fight effectively and stand strong against Satan’s schemes? In this season, God wants to teach us to fight. But first, let’s realise that the way the Lord fights is totally different than the way the world battles. Today’s message will feature an acrostic, spelling: HANDS. All the points come from our passage in Nehemiah 2:11-20.

1) H - His Hands (Neh. 2:18; Luke 2:39).

In Nehemiah, we find the image and theme of ‘hands’.

Nehemiah says, “the good hand of my God was on me” (Neh. 2:8; cf. Neh. 2:18).

But this good hand of God on him made Sanballat and Tobiah very angry at Nehemiah.

When God’s hand is on you, it blesses many, but it also angers the devil and those influenced by him.

This is one of the reasons we have to learn how to fight.

God’s hand on Nehemiah caused God’s people to put their hands to the good work of rebuilding and restoring the wall (Neh. 2:18).

When God’s hand is on you, he moves your hands to rebuild and restore.

Jesus’ hands are like Nehemiah’s hands.

Jesus’ hands are hands that restore and rebuild us.

Jesus sees the brokenness in our lives. He sees our pain and weakness. But instead of condemning you, he comforts and reconstructs you.

Observe Jesus’ hands as he raises the cup of the New Covenant.

He is a greater cupbearer than Nehemiah. He is THE CUPBEARER.

In his hands, Jesus’ holds his greatest weapon: the cup of the new covenant.

He holds the sacrifice of his life – the Cup – in his hands.

As Jesus fills your own cup (according to Psalm 23), he does it with his own nail-scarred hands.

In order to give you his life – His Spirit – he took the nails of the crucifixion into his own.

“See my hands and feet” (Luke 24:39).

Jesus’ hands are healing hands. His hands rebuild and restore your brokenness.

His hands restore you so that you can fight the good fight of faith.

Jesus’ hands examine us.

Just like Nehemiah went around the walls of Jerusalem to inspect them, Jesus goes around our lives examining us.

Will you let Jesus inspect your life?

I remember when my Doctor, Jeremiah Levine, used his hands to inspect my stomach when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.

He was then able to put me on a path for healing.

Examination is an important part of our lives being restored.

If you don’t allow Jesus to examine you, there will be no pathway to healing.

Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living". David said, “Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.” (Ps 26:2). Jeremiah proclaimed, “Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord” (La 3:40). Paul even taught, “But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28).

So, how can you examine your own life properly? And how can you do it without falling into condemnation or neglect?

The key thing is letting the Holy Spirit guide the examination.

Let him be the leader and let him shine the light.

When you take examining yourself into your own hands, you get into trouble. You end up condemning yourself and feeling defeated.

2) A - Arise (Neh. 2:18).

When the remnant of God’s people saw that God’s hand was with them, they said, “Let us arise and build.”

Today, God is calling his people to arise. He doesn’t want us to stay in the dust of despair, broken the walls and gates of Jerusalem. He has called us to rebuild with him.

Arise rather than run from the challenge.

Jesus’ hands are extended to you to enable you to arise (Mark 3:27; Acts 3:4-7).

Yesterday, the Holy Spirit moved on me to write this prophetic message, “My people will arise in these end-times to face the Goliaths that are intimidating them. They will be like David. He had no armour, and yet he was clothed with the invisible armour of God. He knew his God and did great exploits.

“It’s in the cocoon – the hidden place of my refuge, my secret place – that I am transforming my people. In this place of protection, a metamorphosis is taking place. They are growing wings and becoming beautiful. They will initiate a butterfly effect that will rock the nations.”

3) N - Negate Negativity (Neh. 2:19-20).

Notice how the enemies of God try to fill Nehemiah and his friends with a truckload of negativity.

The same thing goes today. Demons work overtime to dump on you loads of negativity.

And those who are influenced by these demons will try to flood you with negativity.

It may not be that you have bad mental health. Instead, it could be that the enemy is trying to influence your thoughts so that you live a defeated and demoralised life. He is threatened by what you can do in Jesus.

Say to yourself and others: “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build...” (Neh. 2:20).

Negate negativity

4) D - Develop a Plan (Neh. 2:20).

Every builder has a plan, and as we read Nehemiah, we see his plan to rebuild the walls unfold.

Let the Holy Spirit highlight the broken-down areas of your life.

What are the weak areas? What are the places where the enemy can easily penetrate?

It could be fear and anxiety. It could be your marriage. It could be your children. It could be alcohol. It could be a judgmental spirit.

When the Holy Spirit examines you, he is always looking to restore you, not destroy you. He wants to build you up and not tear you down.

Like Nehemiah, he desires to restore your walls.

Ask the Holy Spirit for a plan. And don’t be afraid of a challenge.

God exposes the weak areas not to humiliate you, but to hone you; not to embarrass you, but to empower you; not to ruin you but to restore you; not to reject you but to renew you.

Use your hands to write out a plan.

5) S - Stand Firm (Eph. 6:10-11).

Ephesians 6:10–11 NASB95

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

CONCLUSION

It’s God’s hands that restore you so that your hands can fight and rebuild others. H - His Hands, A - Arise, N - Negate Negativity, D - Develop a Plan, S - Stand Firm.

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