True Grit | Week 4 | Full Service · Rewind

Pastor Hunter Jones · Mar 15, 2026 · 68 min watch · 3 min read

True Grit | Week 4 | Full Service

Big Idea

On the other side of unreasonable commitment to what God has called you to do is unbelievable transformation.

Drawing from Nehemiah 6, Pastor Hunter Jones argues that every believer is called by God to something specific, and the critical question is whether we will stay unreasonably committed when opposition comes. Using Nehemiah's example of finishing Jerusalem's wall in 52 days against enemy opposition, the sermon teaches that the enemy attacks our calling through distraction, slander, and fear — and that we must respond with uncompromising devotion, an unshakable identity rooted in God, and an unrelenting refocus on who God is. The reward for that kind of commitment is transformation that causes even our opponents to recognize the hand of God.

Key points

1
1When God calls you to something and you step into it, there will be opposition — the enemy works through people to oppose the will of God just as the Holy Spirit works through people to accomplish it.
2
2The first tactic of the enemy against our calling is distraction; to counter it we must have an uncompromising devotion to what God has asked us to do.
3
3The second tactic of the enemy is slander — attacking our image — but we must stand on an unshakable identity that comes from God alone and cannot be taken away.
4
4The third tactic of the enemy is fear, which distorts reality and causes us to forget who we are and who God is; we must have an unrelenting refocus on our identity and God's character.
5
5On the other side of unreasonable commitment is unbelievable transformation — Nehemiah finished the wall in 52 days and his enemies recognized that the work was done with the help of God.

Application

Pastor Hunter closes by asking three pointed questions: What calling has God placed on your life that you have been holding back from? Where are the distractions, the fear of what others think, or the anxieties that are keeping you from fully stepping in? And what would it look like for the people around you to see the hand of God on your life because you chose to commit unreasonably? The practical invitation is to identify your number-one distraction and consider fasting from it leading up to Easter — turning every urge to open that app or show into a moment of prayer. More broadly, the sermon calls every believer to lay down image-management, stand firmly on the identity God has given through the gospel, and trust that He is the provider, the healer, and the one who holds it all together. Our job is simply to stay committed to what He has called us to do.

Take it into your week

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“So, we're in Nehemiah chapter six today. If you have your bibles, I'm gonna invite you to open those up. Nehemiah chapter six”
From the transcript
“Nehemiah chapter six. You guys there? Alright. Here we go. Verse one, Senbalat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall”
From the transcript
“Okay. Verse two. So, Sanballat and Geshem sent the message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the Plain Of Ono”
From the transcript
“And so the second tactic, verse five, says the fifth time, send ballot servant came with an open letter in his hand”
From the transcript
“Okay. So verse six, it said, and this is what it said, there's a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it's true, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel”
From the transcript
“And this is how he replies, verse eight. I replied, there is no truth in any part of your story. You're making up the whole thing”
From the transcript
“Verse 10, later I went to visit Shemaiah son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. What a family. All right. Who is confined to his home”
From the transcript
“Verse 11, but I replied, should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the temple to save his life? No, I won't do it”
From the transcript
“Verse 15, it says, so on October 2, the wall was finished just fifty two days after we had begun”
From the transcript
“Verse 16, it says, when our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. All these enemies that tried to stop Nehemiah from doing what God called him to do”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

There is something worth noticing right at the start of Nehemiah 6: the opposition shows up the moment the work is nearly done. The wall is almost finished. The gaps are closed. And that is exactly when Sanballat and his allies come calling. Pastor Hunter pointed out that this is not a coincidence — when God calls you to something and you step into it, opposition follows. The enemy works through people to oppose the will of God in the same way the Holy Spirit works through people to accomplish it. That framing is important, because it changes how we read resistance. A closed door, a critical voice, a sudden distraction — none of these automatically mean you heard God wrong. Sometimes they mean the opposite. If you are in a season where stepping into something God has stirred in you feels harder than you expected, you are in good company. Nehemiah had a God-given assignment, real momentum, and real enemies — all at the same time. The calling did not make life easier; it made it more contested. That contest is not a sign that God has left. It may well be a sign that what you are building actually matters. The question worth sitting with today is not whether opposition will come, but whether you have named what God has called you to in the first place.

For reflection

What is one thing you sense God has called you to that you have not yet fully named or claimed as yours to do?

Pray

Pray for the courage to honestly name the calling God has placed on your life, and for eyes to see opposition as a signal rather than a stop sign.

Related passage

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Nehemiah and a small crew rebuilt Jerusalem's wall in 52 days while enemies tried everything to stop them — this message asks what that kind of unreasonable commitment looks like for people called by God today.

Discussion questions

1
In Nehemiah 6:1-4, Nehemiah's opponents invite him to a meeting four times, and four times he sends back the same answer: 'I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.' What do you think made that response so hard to give — and what does it tell us about what uncompromising devotion actually costs?
2
In Nehemiah 6:5-8, Sanballat sends an open letter full of accusations designed to damage Nehemiah's reputation. Pastor Hunter described this as the enemy attacking our image. Why do you think slander hits so close to home, and what does Nehemiah's response — going back to the work rather than mounting a public defense — suggest about where our identity has to be anchored?
3
In Nehemiah 6:10-14, a false prophet tries to use fear to get Nehemiah to hide inside the temple. Pastor Hunter said fear distorts reality and causes us to forget who we are and who God is. What does Nehemiah's refusal reveal about the relationship between knowing your calling and being able to resist fear?
4
Nehemiah 6:15-16 says that when the wall was finished in 52 days, the enemies 'were afraid and lost their confidence, for they realized this work had been done with the help of our God.' What does it look like, in everyday life, for people around us to recognize the hand of God on something — and what role does perseverance play in that kind of witness?
5
Pastor Hunter closed by asking what calling God has placed on our lives that we have been holding back from. As a group, how do we help one another stay honest about the difference between wise patience and quietly letting fear or distraction win?
6
Pastor Hunter invited us to identify our number-one distraction and consider fasting from it leading up to Easter — turning every urge toward that distraction into a moment of prayer instead. How might a practice like that actually reshape the habits around how we pursue what God has called us to?

Pray together

Ask God to make clear the calling He has placed on each person, and for the courage to stay committed to it — even when distraction, slander, or fear push back

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Sign in to save this message.

Go deeper

Continue the series

True Grit

Week 4 · 4 messages

Where this passage is preached

Explore related topics

Distraction and Focus Fear and Faith God's Calling Identity in Christ Overcoming Opposition

Related sermons

Courage | Part 6
Pastor Bill Bush · Aug 20, 2018
Shares scripture
Essentials | Week 1
Pastor Hunter Jones · Aug 4, 2026
Same speaker
Playlist For | Week 5
Pastor Hunter Jones · Jun 22, 2026
Same speaker
Never Enough | Week 3
Pastor Hunter Jones · Apr 27, 2026
Same speaker
The Road To Easter | Week 1 | Full Service
Pastor Hunter Jones · Mar 23, 2026
Same speaker
Victory Weekend | Full Service
Pastor Hunter Jones · Jan 5, 2026
Same speaker

Powered by Rewind · make your church's Rewind →