Dennis Gillett – Bible Men The Way They Were – Class 4 – Nehemiah – The Sword and the Trowel

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Well, brothers and sisters,
we’re ready to begin our first

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class.
Well, it’s with brother Gillett,

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and he’s going to deliver his
fourth class on the subject,

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Bible men, the way they were.
And the breakdown for today is

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entitled Nehemiah, the Sword and
the Trial.

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Now before we call upon Brother
Gillett, he’s asked that we read

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another chapter, and that’s
Nehemiah chapter 6, Nehemiah

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chapter 6.
Now I came to pass Bible men the

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way they were.
Nehemiah, the sword and the

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trowel.
Good morning, everyone.

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There’s not much detail about
the person of Nehemiah in the

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book which in the book which
bears his name.

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You’ll notice probably from your
memory of the opening verses

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that he is described as the son
of Akalaya and was probably of

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the tribe of Judah.
I say probably because there is

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no direct evidence as to his
lineage.

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It is deduced rather than
expressed.

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For instance, me and I,
Nehemiah’s kinsman Hanani seems

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to be of the tribe of Judah.
I’m thinking chapter one, verse

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two.
It says that Anani, one of my

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brethren, came he and certain
men out of Judah and I asked

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them concerning the Jews that
had escaped which were left of

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the captivity and concerning
Jerusalem.

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So it looks as though Hanani was
of the tribe of Judah, one of

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Nehemiah’s kinsmen.
And then in chapter 2, verse

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three, it looks as though
Nehemiah’s relatives were buried

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in Jerusalem.
And I said unto the king, Let

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the king live forever.
One should not my countenance be

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sad when the city, the place of
my father’s separators, lieth

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waste in the gates that are
consumed with fire, so looks as

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though his relatives were buried
there.

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And so we deduce that he was of
the tribe of Judah.

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But there is one thing about him
which way it can be cured of,

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and that is that he was
evidently a man of some

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eminence.
As the narrative opens, he is

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holding high office as the cup
bearer of King Artaxerxes of

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Persia, and he was living in the
Winter Palace, the residents of

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the king at Yushan.
The King’s full name is

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Artaxerxes Longimanus, and
Shushan was a city once the

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capital of a country called in
the Bible Elam.

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The city came into the
possession of the Babylonians

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and then in turn was captured
and divided by Cyrus, and he

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transferred Shushan to the
Persian dominion of his empire.

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From what you can read about it,
it was an attractive place.

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It was called Shushan because of
a variety of Lily that grew

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there in profusion.
For those of you are interested

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in botanical matters, the Lily
is called Lilian Shushan and

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because of that the place was
known as Shushan.

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Now, under Cyrus, this place
became the metropolis, not

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Persia, though indeed it’s fair
to say that some historians

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allege that it was Darius who
established it, rather than

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Cyrus.
Doesn’t matter.

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The point is that it was in this
place, in the royal palace, that

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Nehemiah the Jew emerges to our
view as a man of importance and

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influence.
Now what we have to understand,

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brother and sisters, is that
Nehemiah was the civil patriot

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of his age, as Ezra, for
example, was the ecclesiastical

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patriot patriot.
That is to say, amid the

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wreckage of forces around
Israel, he welded together the

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attributes of nationalism by the
force and the virtue of the law

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of God.
It was the consolidation of

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Judaism which later on was to
solidify the nation in the face

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of the Greek and Roman influence
and domination.

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Now this morning I am going to
try to measure the power and the

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influence and the character of
this man by trying to see his

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influence upon his comrades.
I don’t try to make the

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measurement by seeing the effect
he had from those who were with

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him.
In other words, in a way he is

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revealed in the characters of
those whom he led, and I think

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we shall best do it by pondering
the greatest event of his life.

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The thing was really the master
passion of the book of Nehemiah.

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That is the building of the wall
around the city of God.

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In that enterprise, Nehemiah is
revealed in the men who did the

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work.
Now, it’s a remarkable thing

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when you ponder it, that the
book of Nehemiah really and

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simply is about the building of
a wall.

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I mean, if it were a temple or a
palace, it would be more

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impressive.
But a war?

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What could be more prosaic than
building a wall?

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And can I just force to say, I
hope I don’t offend any brick

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layers in this house, because I
have, I have the deepest respect

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for their profession.
You see here is a startling

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thing.
The building of that wall in a

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way is microcosmic of God’s
relationship with us.

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What happened at Jerusalem in 52
days is a microcosm of God’s

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mighty purpose with the world.
Now those words which we may

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read in this book were written
2500 years ago.

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They come to us with a
pertinence sometimes which is

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uncanny, and the details of the
narrative, as you ponder it,

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reveal a much deeper truth than
would appear on the surface.

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Now it may have happened a long
time ago in what seems to us

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perhaps to be a remote corner of
the world, but really this is

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the word of God for such as we
are.

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I just think quickly, and let me
just remind you of the event

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which preceded the work of
Nehemiah.

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The people of God, as you know,
were exiled in Babylon for a

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long time, and then a remnant
under the leadership of

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Zerebrable, and with the help of
Cyrus the King were driven to

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return to Jerusalem to build the
House of the Lord in Zion.

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So they came to desecrated
Jerusalem, and the first task

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was to build an altar so that
the daily sacrifice could be

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restored.
Following upon that, and they

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commenced to build the temple of
the Lord.

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But the work was halted by a
decree from our texts.

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And so for 15 years the House of
God lay waste, overgrown with

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weeds, scene of desolation.
In other words, they began to

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build, but they were not able to
finish.

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But later on, under the ministry
of Haggai and Zechariah, the

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work was recommenced.
The building of the House of the

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Lord, the House of Yahweh was
finished and it was dedicated

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with great rejoice.
Now, some years after this,

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Nehemiah is found at Shushan.
We’ve remembered already as a

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high official in the court of
Artaxerxes.

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There, as we may read in
Nehemiah chapter one, he

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receives reports from Jerusalem
about the sad and unhappy

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condition of the city and of the
residents of Judea.

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Chapter one verses one to four,
the words of Nehemiah, the son

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of Hakaliah.
Now it came to pass in the month

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she’s left.
In the 20th year, as I was in

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Shushan, the palace, the Tanani,
one of my brethren came he and

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certain men out of Judah.
And I asked them concerning the

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Jews that had escaped, which
were left of the captivity, And

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concerning Jerusalem, they said
unto me, The remnant that are

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left of the captivity there in
the province are in great

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affliction and reproach.
The wall of Jerusalem also is

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broken down, and the gates
thereof are burned with fire.

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And it came to pass when I heard
these words.

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But I sat down and wept and
mourned certain days, and I

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fasted and prayed before the God
of heaven.

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Now that degenerate condition of
the people and of the city,

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think of that and and and notice
that that condition is focused

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in the fact that the walls of
Jerusalem were broken down, and

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they were neglected and
overgrown, and the gates of the

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city were burned with fire.
In those facts their sorrow and

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their sadness and their
dejection is focus.

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Now you see, to us this is a
strange thing to Western ears.

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This does not make sense,
really.

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I mean, we would regard it
perhaps as a superficial thing,

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an external thing, an incidental
thing.

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The walls are broken and the
gates are burned.

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But we must seek to understand
it first of all in in in in the

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light of Eastern conception of
life, and then in the context of

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that time, because broken walls
and burn gates were the sign of

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neglect, of degradation and
decadence.

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The the condition robbed
Jerusalem really of its true

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dignity as a fortified city.
When the prophet Isaiah wishes

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to speak of the highest dignity
and the noblest destiny of the

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city of Zion, this is what he
says.

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Wasting and destruction will no
more be within thy borders, but

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I shall call thy wolves
salvation and thy gates.

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Praise.
When John the Apostle saw the

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vision of the New Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from

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God, he saw and described the
walls and the gates, and the

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walls were flashing with Jasper,
and every gate was occur.

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So the Hebrews felt like this.
To the Hebrew mind, the walls

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and the gates were a telling and
significant emblem of the

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greatness and the security of
the city.

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And because of walls and gates
preserved and intact, the things

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to be retained were retained,
and the things to be excluded

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were excluded.
Walls and gates represent

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keeping things kept out and
things kept in.

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But when they are broken,
decayed, and burned with fire,

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where instead of strength there
is rubble, where instead of

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safety there is active, so there
is reproach, and so there is

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sadness.
Now this was the reproach and

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the sadness then which came to
Nehemiah, that she shone from

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Jerusalem, and he wept and
mourned and fasted, and made

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prayer before the God of heaven.
We’ve seen that in that passage

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we looked at just now.
Now, I don’t propose to go on

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and retell the story because you
will remember it well.

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I understand in chapter 2 we can
read of the King’s permission to

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Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem.
And he went, as you know, and

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the outcome of his visit to
Jerusalem is the story of his

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success.
I just want to bring you to

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three verses next, chapter 2,
verses 17 and 18, chapter 2,

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verses 17 and 18.
Then should I.

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Unto them you see the evil case
that we are in, how Jerusalem

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lieth waste, and the gates
thereof are burned with fire.

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Come, and let us build up the
wall of Jerusalem.

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That may be no more a reproach.
And I told them of the hand of

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my God, which was good upon me,
and and also of the King’s words

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that he had spoken unto me.
And they said, Let us rise up

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and build, so they strengthen
their hands for the good work.

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Now have a look at chapter 6,
verse 15, chapter 6, verse 15.

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So the war was finished in the
20 and 5th day of the month in

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Rule in 50 and two days we saw
that resolution and we’re able

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to realise the execution.
Now you see, between those two

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quotations there is a story of
courage, bravery and endurance.

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And the purpose of this
meditation this morning is to

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observe the man who came to do
it, to mark his method with

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those who surrounded him, their
response to his enthusiasm,

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their will to overcome
difficulties, and so to discover

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the very elements which make for
success.

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In seven weeks the wall was
flung around the city of God.

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And what I have come to say
today is that the things we see

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here are micro cosmic of the
work of God in every place and

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at every time.
In other words, the principles

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which enabled those men to build
the wall are timeless and

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perpetual.
As you read the story, and I

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know you time and time again,
you know that you discover again

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and again that the first element
in their success in which they

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achieved was a strong belief in
the project itself.

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In other words, they were driven
by a master passion.

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Now you see, I happen to believe
that at the back of every life

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there is a reason, a motive and
impulse.

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That is to say, behind everybody
there is a a master force which

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drives.
It may not be recognizable, it

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may not be named, but it is
there.

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I know what your response is.
I can read your minds with

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respect.
You are wanting to tell me that

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there are some people who seem
to have no aim and no impulse

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and no master passion.
That’s what you’re thinking.

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But I shall reply to you and
say, they do have a master

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passion, and it’s a master
passion to be lazy and and and

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it’s sometimes surprising how
hard they will work in order to

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00:17:48,040 –> 00:17:56,360
achieve it.
Earnestness and persistence

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00:17:56,360 –> 00:18:00,400
usually bring their reward, and
where the passion is strong

218
00:18:00,400 –> 00:18:04,280
enough, there is always the
element of forgetfulness of self

219
00:18:04,720 –> 00:18:09,360
in the presence of the need to
accomplish the great end which

220
00:18:09,680 –> 00:18:12,440
is in view.
And so it was with these

221
00:18:12,440 –> 00:18:15,640
workers, with Niger Maya.
In the presence of the great

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00:18:15,640 –> 00:18:22,400
need, each man and woman sent
themselves and worked for the

223
00:18:22,400 –> 00:18:26,160
common good.
In other words, the very

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00:18:26,160 –> 00:18:30,640
vastness of the work itself, the
project itself, produced in them

225
00:18:30,680 –> 00:18:36,000
a spirit of self, abnegation.
In each individual there was

226
00:18:36,000 –> 00:18:41,480
that spirit of self abnegation,
and then moving together towards

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00:18:41,480 –> 00:18:46,160
the same end having a common
purpose, imports by the same

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00:18:46,160 –> 00:18:50,000
master passion.
That spirit in each man and

229
00:18:50,000 –> 00:18:53,680
woman became a corporate self
abnegation.

230
00:18:53,800 –> 00:18:56,920
And in that power the work went
forward.

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00:18:58,000 –> 00:19:01,400
There was unity among the
workers, but it was not an

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00:19:01,400 –> 00:19:05,760
arranged unity.
It it arose out of the the the

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00:19:05,760 –> 00:19:10,560
heart and spirit of each person
knit together by the same common

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00:19:10,560 –> 00:19:12,680
purpose.
It wasn’t arranged.

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00:19:12,960 –> 00:19:16,400
I mean, it wasn’t the outcome of
a consultation or the IT wasn’t

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00:19:16,400 –> 00:19:19,560
the the outcome of of a
committee meeting.

237
00:19:21,800 –> 00:19:24,320
Sometimes consultation and
committees are good and

238
00:19:24,320 –> 00:19:26,920
necessary, but but this was not
the method here.

239
00:19:26,920 –> 00:19:29,280
I don’t want you to think that
I’m against committees.

240
00:19:29,280 –> 00:19:32,760
Please don’t think that I know
that they’re sometimes

241
00:19:32,760 –> 00:19:35,880
essential.
You see, a man once told me that

242
00:19:36,440 –> 00:19:40,720
A2 humped camel was really
supposed to be a horse, but it

243
00:19:40,720 –> 00:19:46,600
was arranged by a committee.
Of course I don’t believe that.

244
00:19:52,560 –> 00:19:56,240
As a matter of fact, as far as
I’m able to see that there is

245
00:19:56,240 –> 00:20:01,200
only one reference in the book
of Nehemiah to consultation.

246
00:20:03,240 –> 00:20:07,840
It’s in chapter 5, verse 7, and
Nehemiah says then I consulted

247
00:20:07,840 –> 00:20:13,920
with myself and contended with
the nobles.

248
00:20:14,880 –> 00:20:18,960
Well, sometimes, you know, self
consultation is very profitable.

249
00:20:19,720 –> 00:20:22,840
An audience of 1 sometimes is
the best audience of all.

250
00:20:23,320 –> 00:20:25,160
I don’t want you to all start
rushing out.

251
00:20:26,680 –> 00:20:30,320
Having said that, I’d like you
to stay.

252
00:20:30,320 –> 00:20:36,800
Please now anyway.
The point is that this unity was

253
00:20:36,800 –> 00:20:39,640
not arranged.
It it was the outcome of a

254
00:20:39,640 –> 00:20:41,880
common need.
It was the outcome of a common

255
00:20:41,880 –> 00:20:46,880
ambition.
The self denial was unconscious

256
00:20:47,720 –> 00:20:51,880
in a sense.
I know it’s an old saying and I

257
00:20:51,880 –> 00:20:55,440
know it’s going to sound very
trite, but unity is strength.

258
00:20:56,600 –> 00:20:59,720
We know it’s true really,
although it’s an old fashioned

259
00:20:59,720 –> 00:21:02,320
saying, we know in our deepest
heart that it’s true.

260
00:21:03,040 –> 00:21:06,400
Take a fine strand of hemp,
shall we say, and you can break

261
00:21:06,400 –> 00:21:07,480
it.
You can break it with two

262
00:21:07,480 –> 00:21:11,480
fingers, take several and weave
them together.

263
00:21:11,480 –> 00:21:15,760
And by that entanglement,
skillfully arranged, a cable is

264
00:21:15,760 –> 00:21:20,120
created which will hold ship
against all the strains and

265
00:21:20,120 –> 00:21:23,360
stresses of the current, because
unity is strength.

266
00:21:24,320 –> 00:21:25,960
And so it is with the men of
God.

267
00:21:27,120 –> 00:21:34,320
When they built the wall, each
man built that part which was

268
00:21:34,320 –> 00:21:38,960
over against his own house.
That is to say, everybody did

269
00:21:38,960 –> 00:21:39,840
that.
Which were they?

270
00:21:39,960 –> 00:21:44,480
Which they were best able to do?
They built high, but they didn’t

271
00:21:44,480 –> 00:21:49,280
forget to build wide and broad
as well, so that consequently

272
00:21:49,600 –> 00:21:53,840
each man’s work touched his
neighbour’s work.

273
00:21:55,120 –> 00:22:00,960
And as there was cohesion in
their spirit, so consequently

274
00:22:00,960 –> 00:22:03,600
there was cohesion in the
building.

275
00:22:04,240 –> 00:22:07,280
You see, when men build without
reference to their neighbour,

276
00:22:07,280 –> 00:22:11,600
they tend to create gaps.
And through the gaps good things

277
00:22:11,600 –> 00:22:15,080
are lost, and through the gaps
bad things are infiltrated.

278
00:22:16,360 –> 00:22:19,680
Unity, then, is the first
element in the struggle for

279
00:22:19,680 –> 00:22:25,120
success.
Unity would to God it were in

280
00:22:25,120 –> 00:22:29,920
our presence, in our community,
because unity is strength.

281
00:22:31,600 –> 00:22:36,040
The next thing I ask you to
remember is their consecration.

282
00:22:37,240 –> 00:22:40,080
The real idea behind
consecration is that of

283
00:22:40,080 –> 00:22:43,680
discipline.
Now, if you were to ask me for a

284
00:22:43,680 –> 00:22:47,400
definition of discipline, I
would say it is submission to

285
00:22:47,400 –> 00:22:50,560
the law which is created by each
particular circumstance.

286
00:22:54,360 –> 00:22:56,320
Let me give you an illustration
of what I mean.

287
00:22:58,760 –> 00:23:01,800
See, when I was at school, there
was one story I used to like

288
00:23:01,880 –> 00:23:06,880
best of all.
Perhaps it was The story of The

289
00:23:06,880 –> 00:23:09,600
Taking of Cricket Quebec by
Wolf.

290
00:23:11,720 –> 00:23:15,000
Now I hope that the Canadians in
this House won’t be offended if

291
00:23:15,000 –> 00:23:19,360
I go through that and tell how
the English captured Quebec.

292
00:23:22,320 –> 00:23:28,360
How they did it was this.
They came by boat up the Saint

293
00:23:28,360 –> 00:23:32,880
Lawrence River, and they were
under the discipline of strict

294
00:23:32,880 –> 00:23:35,680
silence.
I had to turn the heights of

295
00:23:35,680 –> 00:23:41,040
Abraham by a narrow defile,
without a sound, without making

296
00:23:41,040 –> 00:23:45,840
a sound, because the top of that
defile could be kept by 20 men

297
00:23:46,080 –> 00:23:50,520
easily, if they were prepared
and if they knew what they were

298
00:23:50,520 –> 00:23:56,680
about South.
Silently they came down the

299
00:23:56,680 –> 00:23:59,520
river.
Silently they climbed up the

300
00:23:59,520 –> 00:24:04,120
heights, and silently they
waited for the order to charge.

301
00:24:05,520 –> 00:24:09,400
That was consecration, and by
their utter discipline they took

302
00:24:09,400 –> 00:24:13,560
their objective, and one failure
in the discipline would have

303
00:24:13,560 –> 00:24:17,880
brought disaster.
Discipline is submission to

304
00:24:17,880 –> 00:24:22,560
authority, and out of it arises
the call for endurance.

305
00:24:22,800 –> 00:24:30,440
You see, there was a man you can
read about in this narrative,

306
00:24:30,760 –> 00:24:36,560
Nehemiah.
It’s in Nehemiah 3, verse 14, if

307
00:24:36,560 –> 00:24:44,080
you want to look at it, and his
name was Malkaya, the son of

308
00:24:44,080 –> 00:24:50,000
Recap.
Now you can read there what he

309
00:24:50,000 –> 00:24:58,080
did, and the Dungate repaired
Malkaya, the son of Recap, the

310
00:24:58,080 –> 00:24:59,800
ruler of the district of Beth
Hecker.

311
00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:02,800
Him.
He built it and set up the doors

312
00:25:02,800 –> 00:25:06,240
thereof, the bolts thereof, and
the bars thereof.

313
00:25:11,080 –> 00:25:13,080
Every word in the Bible is
important.

314
00:25:15,160 –> 00:25:18,000
There’s a very unpleasant word
there which is very important.

315
00:25:18,320 –> 00:25:22,920
I expect you noticed it.
He went and built up the dung

316
00:25:22,920 –> 00:25:26,600
gate.
I don’t suppose many people got

317
00:25:26,600 –> 00:25:28,320
trampled to death going to do
that.

318
00:25:34,640 –> 00:25:37,320
It was the place where nobody
wanted to go, you see, that’s

319
00:25:37,320 –> 00:25:40,400
what I mean.
I don’t have to spell it out, do

320
00:25:40,400 –> 00:25:44,280
I?
The place where nobody wanted to

321
00:25:44,280 –> 00:25:46,280
go.
Now.

322
00:25:46,280 –> 00:25:53,920
Clio went there, did the work.
The most unpleasant did it

323
00:25:53,920 –> 00:25:55,000
faithfully.
Did it?

324
00:25:55,000 –> 00:25:59,520
Well, not minding.
Stayed there till it was

325
00:25:59,520 –> 00:26:03,960
finished.
Bolts and bars and doors.

326
00:26:08,000 –> 00:26:10,440
Not my name.
Discipline.

327
00:26:13,920 –> 00:26:17,000
There was another man who had a
larger piece of work to do.

328
00:26:17,000 –> 00:26:19,920
Perhaps, I don’t know, larger
than some others.

329
00:26:19,920 –> 00:26:27,640
Perhaps His name was Shalom and
the record let slip an

330
00:26:27,640 –> 00:26:32,920
interesting theme.
It says his daughters helped

331
00:26:32,920 –> 00:26:36,240
him.
His daughters helped him.

332
00:26:36,600 –> 00:26:39,040
I wonder what lies behind the
story of Shalom.

333
00:26:41,320 –> 00:26:49,840
No sons, No wife perhaps?
God knows his daughters helped.

334
00:26:50,560 –> 00:26:54,400
They went and built with their
father Nehemiah. 3 verse 12.

335
00:26:54,400 –> 00:27:02,480
It is next unto him repaired
Shalom, the son of Holohesh, the

336
00:27:02,480 –> 00:27:04,640
ruler of half the district of
Jerusalem.

337
00:27:04,640 –> 00:27:10,440
He and his daughters must have
been a good family.

338
00:27:12,320 –> 00:27:15,360
Well, the work went on in this
way the the work went on through

339
00:27:15,360 –> 00:27:17,000
discipline and through
endurance.

340
00:27:18,240 –> 00:27:22,760
But but let us be impressed also
by their consistency, by the

341
00:27:22,760 –> 00:27:28,440
sisters, and by consistency I
mean the all roundness of them.

342
00:27:29,440 –> 00:27:34,120
Is she out of this narrative?
Has come a phrase, which is a

343
00:27:34,120 –> 00:27:37,560
commonplace phrase now, and we
always think of it when we think

344
00:27:37,560 –> 00:27:40,600
of building this wall.
And it’s the phrase I’ve used in

345
00:27:40,600 –> 00:27:43,720
the subject, The sword and the
trowel.

346
00:27:45,000 –> 00:27:49,120
The trowel was busy and all the
time those who worked with it

347
00:27:49,120 –> 00:27:52,200
were good.
With the sword every man was

348
00:27:52,200 –> 00:27:54,880
building, but every man was
ready for a battle.

349
00:27:55,320 –> 00:27:59,680
It was a splendid merging of of
portion and college, a bringing

350
00:27:59,680 –> 00:28:03,280
together of the sense of danger,
and also a readiness to meet it

351
00:28:03,280 –> 00:28:06,280
at all costs.
That’s what I mean by

352
00:28:06,280 –> 00:28:08,880
consistency.
All their forces and all their

353
00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:13,640
abilities bent to the project,
Not peace or not not partial,

354
00:28:13,800 –> 00:28:18,000
nothing neglected which was
necessary to complete, nothing

355
00:28:18,000 –> 00:28:22,720
left undone which ought to be.
The whole idea, perhaps is

356
00:28:22,720 –> 00:28:24,760
focused and denounced into one
statement.

357
00:28:24,760 –> 00:28:33,160
It’s in verse nine of chapter 4.
But it says, But we made our

358
00:28:33,160 –> 00:28:36,200
prayer unto God and set a watch
against them day and night.

359
00:28:36,200 –> 00:28:46,320
Because of we made our prayer
unto God and set a watch that

360
00:28:46,320 –> 00:28:50,920
tells us that praying and
preparing are not antagonistic.

361
00:28:51,760 –> 00:28:56,400
It tells us that trying and
trusting are not contradictory,

362
00:28:56,640 –> 00:29:00,840
they are complimentary.
The sword and the trail.

363
00:29:03,280 –> 00:29:06,640
Remember I said at the beginning
that this story was micro cosmic

364
00:29:06,640 –> 00:29:10,600
of God’s purpose.
Well quickly now I’m thinking of

365
00:29:10,600 –> 00:29:15,920
Luke chapter 14.
Remember in that chapter Jesus

366
00:29:15,920 –> 00:29:18,520
is speaking to those who were
seeking to be his disciples

367
00:29:19,640 –> 00:29:23,760
people on the perimeter of
discipleship as it and he said

368
00:29:23,760 –> 00:29:28,720
to them, which of you intending
to build a tower?

369
00:29:28,880 –> 00:29:33,080
Sit it not down 1st and count it
to the cost, whether he asked

370
00:29:33,080 –> 00:29:38,000
sufficient to finish it?
Or what king going to make war

371
00:29:38,000 –> 00:29:41,520
against another king, sit it not
down 1st and consulted.

372
00:29:42,600 –> 00:29:48,720
Think of that which of you
intending to build a tower, the

373
00:29:48,720 –> 00:29:55,480
trowel, or what team going to
make war the sword.

374
00:29:57,800 –> 00:30:01,920
See how this is related across
the centuries to the challenge

375
00:30:01,920 –> 00:30:06,040
of Christ.
So therefore, whoever ye be of

376
00:30:06,040 –> 00:30:09,160
you that forsake is not already
hath cannot be my disciples.

377
00:30:09,240 –> 00:30:14,320
The discipline, the very same
situation as it were compressed

378
00:30:14,320 –> 00:30:17,040
into those few sentences of of
the Christ.

379
00:30:17,440 –> 00:30:22,800
But but in addition, and above
all this, observe the central

380
00:30:22,800 –> 00:30:32,360
secret of their success.
I believe it was enthusiasm, The

381
00:30:32,360 –> 00:30:37,600
secret of their success fixed
and focused centrally, and it

382
00:30:37,600 –> 00:30:41,040
was first revealed in Nehemiah.
That’s the thing.

383
00:30:43,360 –> 00:30:47,600
It was revealed in him and
communicated to his brethren.

384
00:30:48,360 –> 00:30:51,280
It’s expressed, perhaps, in one
sentence In chapter 4, verse

385
00:30:51,280 –> 00:31:02,960
six, it says So we built the
wall and all the wall was joined

386
00:31:02,960 –> 00:31:06,800
together under half the height
of love for the people had a

387
00:31:06,800 –> 00:31:09,880
mind to work.
That’s the explanation.

388
00:31:10,560 –> 00:31:15,240
That is to say, their will was
captivated by the prospect of

389
00:31:15,240 –> 00:31:20,040
the final outcome.
So the task was commenced, it

390
00:31:20,040 –> 00:31:22,040
was continued and it was
completed.

391
00:31:23,800 –> 00:31:25,520
Now I want to tell you something
about it.

392
00:31:26,320 –> 00:31:32,440
It was not done by talking.
I know talking is important.

393
00:31:32,440 –> 00:31:38,360
I know that.
I know it’s important.

394
00:31:39,960 –> 00:31:47,360
Yes, I think it is.
It wasn’t done by talking,

395
00:31:47,400 –> 00:31:50,960
though.
I mean, it may have started by

396
00:31:50,960 –> 00:31:54,400
talking, but it bricks are not
laid by talking.

397
00:31:55,640 –> 00:32:01,320
It wasn’t done by speculating.
It wasn’t done by deprecating.

398
00:32:02,800 –> 00:32:07,520
It wasn’t done by disparaging.
It wasn’t done by carping

399
00:32:07,520 –> 00:32:14,680
criticism.
It was done by men with burning

400
00:32:14,680 –> 00:32:20,200
hearts and shining faces.
It wasn’t done in cold blood

401
00:32:20,200 –> 00:32:23,040
either.
It was done with warmth and

402
00:32:23,040 –> 00:32:26,680
passion and enthusiasm.
It was done by united,

403
00:32:26,680 –> 00:32:31,400
consecrated people.
And proceeding from that

404
00:32:31,400 –> 00:32:35,800
enthusiasm comes a blessed
quality which which supports

405
00:32:35,800 –> 00:32:40,480
success, and that is stability.
Think, think of the words of

406
00:32:40,480 –> 00:32:44,080
Paul to the Corinthian church,
he said to the Corinthian

407
00:32:44,080 –> 00:32:47,760
ecclesia.
He said, be you, steadfast,

408
00:32:48,200 –> 00:32:51,880
unmovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord.

409
00:32:52,760 –> 00:32:56,920
Now steadfast and unmovable are
interesting words.

410
00:32:56,920 –> 00:33:00,640
They appear to be alike, but
they are not quite the same

411
00:33:00,640 –> 00:33:05,440
thing.
Steadfastness is that strong,

412
00:33:06,080 –> 00:33:10,640
burn back quality of fidelity
which stays at work however long

413
00:33:10,640 –> 00:33:15,600
it may take, However hard it may
be, however much drudgery there

414
00:33:15,600 –> 00:33:20,240
may be in it, and however much
willingness may result from it,

415
00:33:20,600 –> 00:33:25,720
that steadfastness, but
unmovableness, is the same

416
00:33:25,720 –> 00:33:28,680
quality but in the face of
opposition.

417
00:33:29,960 –> 00:33:33,920
Stability in the face of forces
which are actively antagonistic,

418
00:33:33,920 –> 00:33:39,680
that is, unmovable.
Now Nehemiah and his brethren

419
00:33:39,680 –> 00:33:43,320
had to face active opposition,
you know.

420
00:33:44,720 –> 00:33:48,680
But this man refused to be
hindered.

421
00:33:49,680 –> 00:33:53,600
He refused to be wooed away from
the task for any reason

422
00:33:53,600 –> 00:33:59,840
whatsoever, and the spirit of
Nehemiah permeated his comrades.

423
00:34:00,560 –> 00:34:03,160
You remember we read today how
indignantly he said.

424
00:34:03,600 –> 00:34:08,600
You’re such a man as I flee.
Or again, why should the work

425
00:34:08,600 –> 00:34:11,639
cease while I leave it and come
down to you to talk?

426
00:34:14,239 –> 00:34:17,120
They could not be moved.
They would not be hindered,

427
00:34:17,120 –> 00:34:19,639
because their enterprise was
deeply rooted.

428
00:34:19,840 –> 00:34:23,120
In the presence of the
opposition was deeply rooted,

429
00:34:23,120 –> 00:34:27,440
and in the presence of the
opposition it became even more

430
00:34:27,440 –> 00:34:32,000
steadfast and unmovable.
I’d like to remind you just

431
00:34:32,199 –> 00:34:37,120
quickly of the circumstances
which constituted the opposition

432
00:34:37,120 –> 00:34:39,679
as we read them in that 6th
chapter.

433
00:34:40,239 –> 00:34:44,639
As you know, the opposition
mainly was focused in three

434
00:34:44,639 –> 00:34:49,560
characters and there was San
Ballot, Tobiah and Geishem.

435
00:34:50,520 –> 00:34:56,480
San Ballot was a Moabite, Tobiah
was an Ammonite and Geishem was

436
00:34:56,480 –> 00:35:03,000
an Arabian, and they combined to
oppose and hinder Nehemiah in

437
00:35:03,000 –> 00:35:07,640
every possible way.
No doubt in the 1st place their

438
00:35:07,640 –> 00:35:13,640
opposition was provoked as a
result of their jealousy.

439
00:35:13,640 –> 00:35:16,520
They also were in the service of
the Queen, remember, and they

440
00:35:16,520 –> 00:35:19,840
were no doubt envious of
Nehemiah’s preferment and his

441
00:35:20,240 –> 00:35:24,400
advancement.
I know they’d also son Bala

442
00:35:24,400 –> 00:35:31,640
hated Jerusalem and this
Confederation plan to fall upon

443
00:35:31,640 –> 00:35:35,960
the builders with arms to put a
stop to the work.

444
00:35:35,960 –> 00:35:40,120
But the plan was thwarted by the
prudence and the vigilance of

445
00:35:40,120 –> 00:35:42,760
Nehemiah, the sword and the
trail.

446
00:35:42,760 –> 00:35:47,400
The sword was always handy for
defence as well as a trail for

447
00:35:47,680 –> 00:35:50,560
building.
And then after that, another

448
00:35:50,560 –> 00:35:54,120
plan, as we read in that
chapter, was to bring Nehemiah

449
00:35:54,320 –> 00:35:57,120
into a place of suspicion with
the king.

450
00:35:57,360 –> 00:36:03,280
That is, they they fabricated a
report that he intended to set

451
00:36:03,280 –> 00:36:06,680
himself up as an independent
king in Jerusalem as soon as the

452
00:36:06,680 –> 00:36:12,280
wall was completed.
This nearly succeeded because

453
00:36:13,800 –> 00:36:16,600
the king may have halted the
respiration until the position

454
00:36:16,600 –> 00:36:20,160
position was clarified.
I say it nearly succeeded and he

455
00:36:20,160 –> 00:36:24,480
may have done so because I’m not
sure can.

456
00:36:24,480 –> 00:36:28,440
It hasn’t been stated in so many
words, but we can deduce certain

457
00:36:28,440 –> 00:36:29,880
things.
Let me just give you an example.

458
00:36:29,880 –> 00:36:38,720
Have a look at Nehemiah 13.
Can we read verses one to seven

459
00:36:40,520 –> 00:36:52,040
of Nehemiah?
13 On that day they read in the

460
00:36:52,040 –> 00:36:54,800
book of Moses in the audience of
the people, and therein was

461
00:36:54,800 –> 00:36:58,120
found written that an Ammonite
and a Moabite should not enter

462
00:36:58,120 –> 00:37:02,480
into the Assembly of God
forever, because they met not

463
00:37:02,480 –> 00:37:06,280
the children of Israel with
bread and with water That but

464
00:37:06,280 –> 00:37:08,640
hired Balaam against them to
curse them.

465
00:37:08,920 –> 00:37:11,680
And be it our God turned the
curse into a blessing.

466
00:37:12,240 –> 00:37:14,920
They came to pass, when they had
heard the law, that they

467
00:37:15,320 –> 00:37:17,880
separated from Israel all the
mixed multitude.

468
00:37:18,760 –> 00:37:21,880
Now before this Elijah of the
priest who was appointed over

469
00:37:21,880 –> 00:37:25,960
the chambers of the House of our
God, being allied unto Tobiah,

470
00:37:26,560 –> 00:37:30,520
had prepared for him a great
chamber, where before time they

471
00:37:30,840 –> 00:37:34,480
laid the meal offerings,
frankincense, and the vessels,

472
00:37:34,480 –> 00:37:38,040
and the ties of the corn and
wine and the oil which were

473
00:37:38,040 –> 00:37:41,680
given by commandments of the
Levites, and the singers and the

474
00:37:41,680 –> 00:37:44,720
porters, and the heave offerings
for the priests.

475
00:37:45,280 –> 00:37:48,640
But in all this time I was not
at Jerusalem.

476
00:37:48,640 –> 00:37:54,000
That’s an interesting statement.
All this time I was not at

477
00:37:54,000 –> 00:37:57,920
Jerusalem, but in the two and
30th year of Artaxerxes king of

478
00:37:57,920 –> 00:38:00,840
Abraham.
I went on to the king after

479
00:38:00,840 –> 00:38:04,640
certain days asked I leave of
the king, and I came to

480
00:38:04,640 –> 00:38:08,600
Jerusalem and understood the
evil that Elijah had done for

481
00:38:08,600 –> 00:38:10,920
the boy, and propelling him a
chamber in the court of the

482
00:38:10,920 –> 00:38:14,160
House of God.
It looks as though you see

483
00:38:17,120 –> 00:38:21,360
Nehemiah for some reason was
recalled to Shushan the king

484
00:38:21,360 –> 00:38:24,280
Artaxerxes.
And all I’m saying is it might

485
00:38:24,280 –> 00:38:28,760
have been to clear his name
because of the evil report which

486
00:38:29,080 –> 00:38:34,800
this Trinity of evil men had
circulated to the king in order

487
00:38:34,800 –> 00:38:40,280
to try to hinder the world.
So Nehemiah and his brethren had

488
00:38:40,280 –> 00:38:46,440
to face active opposition.
But he refused resolutely to be

489
00:38:46,680 –> 00:38:50,360
hindered all away from the task
for any reason, and this spirit

490
00:38:50,360 –> 00:38:56,000
permeated his breath.
Now can I finally draw attention

491
00:38:56,000 –> 00:38:58,440
to one other vital factor,
Brendan Sisters.

492
00:39:00,880 –> 00:39:05,520
As I read the record, one thing
strikes me finally, what I would

493
00:39:05,520 –> 00:39:08,960
call the sobriety of the rank
and file.

494
00:39:08,960 –> 00:39:14,640
Now I I use the word sobriety in
it’s pure sense that is steady,

495
00:39:15,200 –> 00:39:20,240
balanced, and so on.
That is the good blooding work

496
00:39:20,240 –> 00:39:23,360
of all the men whose names are
not written in this narrative,

497
00:39:24,000 –> 00:39:26,680
but whose deeds made the success
possible.

498
00:39:27,760 –> 00:39:31,960
In the final analysis, you see
great enterprises are nearly

499
00:39:31,960 –> 00:39:37,680
over, which won by the steady,
sober, self controlled

500
00:39:37,680 –> 00:39:43,320
faithfulness of ordinary people.
I know there’s a place for the

501
00:39:43,320 –> 00:39:45,760
meteoric.
I know there’s a place for the

502
00:39:45,760 –> 00:39:47,360
volcanic element.
I know that.

503
00:39:48,440 –> 00:39:53,600
But it is not that really that
wins the victory very often.

504
00:39:53,920 –> 00:39:56,160
I mean, nature can be an
illustration.

505
00:39:58,440 –> 00:40:02,440
There’s a place in nature for
the volcanic, but it’s nearly

506
00:40:02,440 –> 00:40:05,760
always occasional.
I think you will agree that the

507
00:40:05,760 –> 00:40:09,200
volcanic is occasional.
It’s never regular.

508
00:40:10,920 –> 00:40:14,040
Not long ago I was reading
something about the little

509
00:40:14,040 –> 00:40:17,600
islands in the Pacific.
Most of them are things of

510
00:40:17,600 –> 00:40:21,040
beauty and wonder I understand
occasionally.

511
00:40:21,040 –> 00:40:24,320
One of these islands was thrown
up suddenly overnight, a

512
00:40:24,320 –> 00:40:27,640
volcanic island.
But the truth is, the great

513
00:40:27,640 –> 00:40:30,680
majority of them didn’t come in
this way at all.

514
00:40:31,200 –> 00:40:35,600
The majority were formed by the
tedious, persistent work of

515
00:40:35,600 –> 00:40:41,560
coral insects operating over
thousands of years, adding year

516
00:40:41,560 –> 00:40:44,480
by year to the formation and
beauty of the coral reef.

517
00:40:45,400 –> 00:40:49,280
That, in a way, is a figure.
This is how it is with the worth

518
00:40:49,280 –> 00:40:53,240
of God.
You see, when the city of God is

519
00:40:53,240 –> 00:40:58,200
finally built, and when the
Lord’s purpose is finally

520
00:40:58,200 –> 00:41:02,520
manifest, there will no doubt be
recognition of those who did

521
00:41:02,520 –> 00:41:07,520
things exclusively, who did
things suddenly and

522
00:41:08,240 –> 00:41:16,960
magnificently, meteorically.
But there are also, perhaps most

523
00:41:16,960 –> 00:41:19,480
of all, there will be
recognition of those who didn’t,

524
00:41:20,640 –> 00:41:25,640
of those who worked quietly and
steadily, going on when the way

525
00:41:25,640 –> 00:41:30,960
was hard, going on when the
shadows were dark, when the way

526
00:41:30,960 –> 00:41:32,880
seemed full of hopeless
monotony.

527
00:41:33,040 –> 00:41:36,480
Going on in spite of the
opposition not minding the

528
00:41:36,480 –> 00:41:41,200
antagonism, seem thy duty
clearly and doing it faithfully

529
00:41:41,200 –> 00:41:43,920
and quietly.
This is how the Wall was built,

530
00:41:45,360 –> 00:41:47,520
and this is how it goes on being
built.

531
00:41:49,400 –> 00:41:53,360
There are those here today in
this House I know, who have, who

532
00:41:53,360 –> 00:41:58,480
were building the Wall 50 years
ago in the truth, and they still

533
00:41:58,480 –> 00:42:01,760
are.
And they have come through the

534
00:42:01,760 –> 00:42:04,320
stress and the toil and the
storm.

535
00:42:04,320 –> 00:42:07,400
They have prayed and they have
hoped and they have believed and

536
00:42:07,400 –> 00:42:10,240
they have wrought and they have
beloved for their faithfulness.

537
00:42:11,600 –> 00:42:15,320
And we know in our hearts that
the day is coming when the city

538
00:42:15,320 –> 00:42:19,160
of God shall be finally built,
when it’s just.

539
00:42:19,160 –> 00:42:23,080
The walls will flash with glory,
when its streets will shine with

540
00:42:23,080 –> 00:42:27,360
gold.
And God’s victory will be won,

541
00:42:28,640 –> 00:42:33,080
but it’s not won yet.
It’s this vision on the distant

542
00:42:33,080 –> 00:42:36,400
boundary which fills us with the
Master Passion.

543
00:42:36,960 –> 00:42:40,480
And if you add to that Master
Passion the spirit of self,

544
00:42:40,480 –> 00:42:43,800
Abnegation.
And then the readiness to work

545
00:42:44,160 –> 00:42:47,160
that is doing the thing which we
are best able to do.

546
00:42:47,520 –> 00:42:50,440
Doing that which is nearing us,
nearest to us.

547
00:42:50,760 –> 00:42:54,560
Doing that the next thing.
Doing it gladly.

548
00:42:56,160 –> 00:42:58,520
Accepting the discipline of the
word of God.

549
00:42:59,280 –> 00:43:03,760
Being steadfast and unmovable,
ready to build and ready to

550
00:43:03,760 –> 00:43:07,680
battle, never diminishing our
enthusiasm.

551
00:43:08,080 –> 00:43:12,000
Doing it in warm blood with a
passion.

552
00:43:13,040 –> 00:43:17,720
Merging courage and caution with
stability and quiet steadiness

553
00:43:17,720 –> 00:43:25,120
and self-control.
So the wall will be built, and

554
00:43:25,120 –> 00:43:28,560
in the light of all this then,
and accepting the principle that

555
00:43:28,560 –> 00:43:32,640
I propose to you at the
beginning, but the character of

556
00:43:32,640 –> 00:43:36,360
Mihimaya is revealed in the life
of those he led.

557
00:43:37,200 –> 00:43:40,000
How, finally shall we mark and
measure him?

558
00:43:41,400 –> 00:43:46,040
Well, first of all, it seems to
me that you have the idea that

559
00:43:46,040 –> 00:43:54,640
this man had a very strong and
strenuous personality is one of

560
00:43:54,640 –> 00:43:58,280
his great accurate.
He’s his absolute fidelity to

561
00:43:58,280 –> 00:44:01,200
the courts.
I’ve said before, I don’t know

562
00:44:01,200 –> 00:44:04,760
whether I said it at this
school, but I’ve said it before

563
00:44:04,760 –> 00:44:15,680
on this tour that personally I
place on loyal a great deal of

564
00:44:15,680 –> 00:44:21,040
emphasis.
I I love men who are loyal.

565
00:44:24,040 –> 00:44:24,840
Right?
You know, when you’ve been a

566
00:44:24,840 –> 00:44:28,200
recording brother for a long
time, then you learn that it’s

567
00:44:28,200 –> 00:44:32,120
loyal man who can.
As I said before, I’ll forgive a

568
00:44:32,120 –> 00:44:34,720
man a lot he’s been.
If he’s loyal for the truth,

569
00:44:35,440 –> 00:44:38,640
I’ll forgive him for having a
different opinion from myself.

570
00:44:40,520 –> 00:44:42,920
I’ll even forgive him for
thinking his intellect is better

571
00:44:42,920 –> 00:44:46,440
than mine.
If he’s loyal, if he’ll join

572
00:44:46,440 –> 00:44:49,560
hands with me and and be true to
the faith.

573
00:44:52,080 –> 00:44:57,920
Now Nehemiah was this kind.
His absolute fidelity was the

574
00:44:57,920 –> 00:45:01,520
secret.
The master passion mastered him.

575
00:45:01,960 –> 00:45:06,000
Then you add to that the three
outstanding things, honesty and

576
00:45:06,000 –> 00:45:10,080
tact and sagacity.
And under his influence, not

577
00:45:10,080 –> 00:45:13,840
only did the work go forward
from dawn till dusk, but the

578
00:45:13,840 –> 00:45:17,360
people themselves, they they
grew stronger and better in

579
00:45:17,360 –> 00:45:22,920
urban life as the work went on.
The inspiration provided by

580
00:45:22,920 –> 00:45:26,680
Nehemiah resulted in a
resurrection of nationals, a

581
00:45:26,680 –> 00:45:29,520
national spirit of independence
which perhaps had been

582
00:45:29,520 –> 00:45:33,360
slumbering for some time,
dormant and unrecognised,

583
00:45:34,400 –> 00:45:38,920
Nehemiah was a strong man, but
he found it difficult to

584
00:45:38,920 –> 00:45:42,600
tolerate schemers and fiddlers
and strivers.

585
00:45:44,640 –> 00:45:47,880
He was a reformer.
He was a man of action, the

586
00:45:47,880 –> 00:45:52,840
civil patriot of his age, and as
I said, was the ecclesiastical

587
00:45:52,840 –> 00:45:56,800
patriot.
And through him so that through

588
00:45:56,800 –> 00:46:00,120
him the men of the nation were
consolidated.

589
00:46:00,120 –> 00:46:03,680
They were ready for the trials
which were lying ahead of the

590
00:46:03,680 –> 00:46:06,600
race.
He was no theorizer.

591
00:46:07,520 –> 00:46:12,960
There are too many of them here.
He was a man of faith and work,

592
00:46:13,400 –> 00:46:17,680
a strong man, but at the same
time a sensitive man because

593
00:46:17,680 –> 00:46:23,120
he’s sometimes strong men tend
to become hard and sometimes

594
00:46:23,120 –> 00:46:25,280
sensitive men tend to become
weak.

595
00:46:26,960 –> 00:46:32,080
It seems to me that in Ihimaya
the opposing forces are rightly

596
00:46:32,080 –> 00:46:35,800
merged, balanced, merging of all
these forces.

597
00:46:37,560 –> 00:46:41,640
He is a humble man, and yet
compelled to honesty, he spoke

598
00:46:41,640 –> 00:46:47,200
the truth truthfully.
Serious men in this world have

599
00:46:47,200 –> 00:46:52,600
no time for subtleties.
Nehemiah is straightforward in

600
00:46:52,600 –> 00:46:57,960
his speech, in his passion in
his life, and I think in that

601
00:46:57,960 –> 00:47:01,520
lay his greatness.
And it was by that that he built

602
00:47:01,520 –> 00:47:06,320
the wall around the city of God,
and he built in the hearts and

603
00:47:06,320 –> 00:47:09,800
the spirits of those men who
were with him the devotion and

604
00:47:09,800 –> 00:47:13,800
the dedication to the cause of
God that that brought success.

605
00:47:15,320 –> 00:47:20,000
So in in the recollection of his
example, let us let us take

606
00:47:20,000 –> 00:47:23,960
courage, brother and the sisters
in the final sense.

607
00:47:24,280 –> 00:47:30,840
The wall is not yet built, but
it will be, God be praised.

608
00:47:31,040 –> 00:47:34,480
It will.
That is the master passion of

609
00:47:34,480 –> 00:47:37,320
our faith.
That is the pole style of our

610
00:47:37,320 –> 00:47:41,040
life.
It’s the one thing that nerves

611
00:47:41,040 –> 00:47:44,760
us in the day of battle.
It steals us in the face of

612
00:47:44,760 –> 00:47:47,280
opposition.
It will be built.

613
00:47:49,000 –> 00:47:51,920
And why are we so sure it will
be built?

614
00:47:52,240 –> 00:47:55,800
What is the what is the force of
our assurance?

615
00:47:57,880 –> 00:48:04,680
Because there was one who came
after Nihimaya, the man of the

616
00:48:04,680 –> 00:48:10,000
ages he was, and he came like
Nihimaya, and he visited the

617
00:48:10,000 –> 00:48:16,040
ruin and inspected it.
And then he gave all and placed

618
00:48:16,040 –> 00:48:21,160
all at the disposal of God for
the winning of the victim and

619
00:48:21,160 –> 00:48:23,560
taking counsel with no man save
God.

620
00:48:23,560 –> 00:48:30,960
Only he did what had to be done.
And he is coming again soon to

621
00:48:30,960 –> 00:48:35,960
write the summary of the
building and of the battle of

622
00:48:35,960 –> 00:48:38,240
the ages.
And you know what he is going to

623
00:48:38,240 –> 00:48:44,720
write?
The wall is finished.

624
00:48:48,960 –> 00:48:54,920
Those words express the triumph
of God’s victory among men.

625
00:48:55,680 –> 00:49:01,240
The wall is finished.
Now these things will be ours,

626
00:49:01,240 –> 00:49:05,880
brothers and sisters, according
as we stand with him now in the

627
00:49:05,880 –> 00:49:14,080
Spirit of Nehemiah, building and
fighting until the world is

628
00:49:14,080 –> 00:49:14,440
done.