Fight the enemy together.

Nehemiah and the Israelites were working together as God’s Team to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  Sanballat and the others in the surrounding area were not too happy about this rebuilding project.

They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. (Nehemiah 4:8-9 NLT)

The building project just got tougher.  The team, who are already working outside of their normal areas of giftedness to build this wall, now needs to protect itself from outside intruders.  They need to be prepared to fight their enemy.

Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!"  (Nehemiah 4:14 NLT)

When we are a part of a large building project like helping a city walk together with God, we will encounter enemies, too.  The enemies we face, though, are not the people we encounter.  They are the ones who influence people to fight one another.  These enemies require a different kind of training and battle on our part.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. (2 Corinthians 10:3 NIV84)

As God’s Church, we are God’s Team.  The enemies we fight will be God’s enemies.  Those enemies, however, won’t be beaten with normal implements of war.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:11-18 NIV84)

As we rebuild our local city, we need to fight the real enemy together as God’s army.  When we do, the enemy will be kept at bay and God’s building project will continue to move forward.

During this time, none of us--not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me--ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water. (Nehemiah 4:23 NLT)

How about you?  Do you equip yourself to fight your real enemy, the devil?  Do you fight the enemy and love God?  Do you fight the enemy and love people?  Do you fight the enemy together with others as God’s army?