Class 5 from this series was used in GCT Episode 267.<\/p>\n
2
\n00:00:02,760 –> 00:00:06,880
\nclass.
\nWell, it’s with brother Gillett,<\/p>\n
3
\n00:00:08,320 –> 00:00:12,480
\nand he’s going to deliver his
\nfourth class on the subject, <\/p>\n
4
\n00:00:12,480 –> 00:00:16,640
\nBible men, the way they were.
\nAnd the breakdown for today is <\/p>\n
5
\n00:00:16,640 –> 00:00:20,360
\nentitled Nehemiah, the Sword and
\nthe Trial. <\/p>\n
6
\n00:00:22,080 –> 00:00:27,120
\nNow before we call upon Brother
\nGillett, he’s asked that we read<\/p>\n
7
\n00:00:27,120 –> 00:00:32,840
\nanother chapter, and that’s
\nNehemiah chapter 6, Nehemiah <\/p>\n
8
\n00:00:33,480 –> 00:00:42,120
\nchapter 6.
\nNow I came to pass Bible men the<\/p>\n
9
\n00:00:42,120 –> 00:00:44,880
\nway they were.
\nNehemiah, the sword and the <\/p>\n
10
\n00:00:44,880 –> 00:01:07,680
\ntrowel.
\nGood morning, everyone. <\/p>\n
11
\n00:01:13,480 –> 00:01:19,640
\nThere’s not much detail about
\nthe person of Nehemiah in the <\/p>\n
12
\n00:01:19,640 –> 00:01:22,680
\nbook which in the book which
\nbears his name. <\/p>\n
13
\n00:01:24,840 –> 00:01:31,240
\nYou’ll notice probably from your
\nmemory of the opening verses <\/p>\n
14
\n00:01:31,240 –> 00:01:38,360
\nthat he is described as the son
\nof Akalaya and was probably of <\/p>\n
15
\n00:01:38,360 –> 00:01:44,000
\nthe tribe of Judah.
\nI say probably because there is <\/p>\n
16
\n00:01:44,000 –> 00:01:46,480
\nno direct evidence as to his
\nlineage. <\/p>\n
17
\n00:01:47,480 –> 00:01:51,280
\nIt is deduced rather than
\nexpressed. <\/p>\n
18
\n00:01:52,000 –> 00:01:58,720
\nFor instance, me and I,
\nNehemiah’s kinsman Hanani seems <\/p>\n
19
\n00:01:58,720 –> 00:02:02,400
\nto be of the tribe of Judah.
\nI’m thinking chapter one, verse <\/p>\n
20
\n00:02:02,600 –> 00:02:05,840
\ntwo.
\nIt says that Anani, one of my <\/p>\n
21
\n00:02:05,840 –> 00:02:11,800
\nbrethren, came he and certain
\nmen out of Judah and I asked <\/p>\n
22
\n00:02:11,800 –> 00:02:15,560
\nthem concerning the Jews that
\nhad escaped which were left of <\/p>\n
23
\n00:02:15,560 –> 00:02:18,760
\nthe captivity and concerning
\nJerusalem. <\/p>\n
24
\n00:02:20,000 –> 00:02:25,800
\nSo it looks as though Hanani was
\nof the tribe of Judah, one of <\/p>\n
25
\n00:02:26,320 –> 00:02:32,280
\nNehemiah’s kinsmen.
\nAnd then in chapter 2, verse <\/p>\n
26
\n00:02:32,280 –> 00:02:37,040
\nthree, it looks as though
\nNehemiah’s relatives were buried<\/p>\n
27
\n00:02:37,040 –> 00:02:40,400
\nin Jerusalem.
\nAnd I said unto the king, Let <\/p>\n
28
\n00:02:40,440 –> 00:02:44,440
\nthe king live forever.
\nOne should not my countenance be<\/p>\n
29
\n00:02:44,440 –> 00:02:49,760
\nsad when the city, the place of
\nmy father’s separators, lieth <\/p>\n
30
\n00:02:49,760 –> 00:02:54,160
\nwaste in the gates that are
\nconsumed with fire, so looks as <\/p>\n
31
\n00:02:54,160 –> 00:02:55,680
\nthough his relatives were buried
\nthere. <\/p>\n
32
\n00:02:56,400 –> 00:03:01,520
\nAnd so we deduce that he was of
\nthe tribe of Judah. <\/p>\n
33
\n00:03:03,280 –> 00:03:09,960
\nBut there is one thing about him
\nwhich way it can be cured of, <\/p>\n
34
\n00:03:10,400 –> 00:03:15,240
\nand that is that he was
\nevidently a man of some <\/p>\n
35
\n00:03:15,240 –> 00:03:19,040
\neminence.
\nAs the narrative opens, he is <\/p>\n
36
\n00:03:19,240 –> 00:03:25,000
\nholding high office as the cup
\nbearer of King Artaxerxes of <\/p>\n
37
\n00:03:25,440 –> 00:03:30,400
\nPersia, and he was living in the
\nWinter Palace, the residents of <\/p>\n
38
\n00:03:30,400 –> 00:03:36,640
\nthe king at Yushan.
\nThe King’s full name is <\/p>\n
39
\n00:03:36,640 –> 00:03:44,080
\nArtaxerxes Longimanus, and
\nShushan was a city once the <\/p>\n
40
\n00:03:44,080 –> 00:03:47,120
\ncapital of a country called in
\nthe Bible Elam. <\/p>\n
41
\n00:03:48,720 –> 00:03:51,200
\nThe city came into the
\npossession of the Babylonians <\/p>\n
42
\n00:03:51,200 –> 00:03:58,680
\nand then in turn was captured
\nand divided by Cyrus, and he <\/p>\n
43
\n00:03:58,680 –> 00:04:03,480
\ntransferred Shushan to the
\nPersian dominion of his empire. <\/p>\n
44
\n00:04:05,480 –> 00:04:09,160
\nFrom what you can read about it,
\nit was an attractive place. <\/p>\n
45
\n00:04:10,760 –> 00:04:17,519
\nIt was called Shushan because of
\na variety of Lily that grew <\/p>\n
46
\n00:04:17,519 –> 00:04:21,480
\nthere in profusion.
\nFor those of you are interested <\/p>\n
47
\n00:04:21,480 –> 00:04:29,840
\nin botanical matters, the Lily
\nis called Lilian Shushan and <\/p>\n
48
\n00:04:29,960 –> 00:04:34,280
\nbecause of that the place was
\nknown as Shushan. <\/p>\n
49
\n00:04:35,200 –> 00:04:40,120
\nNow, under Cyrus, this place
\nbecame the metropolis, not <\/p>\n
50
\n00:04:40,120 –> 00:04:44,400
\nPersia, though indeed it’s fair
\nto say that some historians <\/p>\n
51
\n00:04:44,880 –> 00:04:52,040
\nallege that it was Darius who
\nestablished it, rather than <\/p>\n
52
\n00:04:52,040 –> 00:04:55,160
\nCyrus.
\nDoesn’t matter. <\/p>\n
53
\n00:04:55,200 –> 00:05:01,360
\nThe point is that it was in this
\nplace, in the royal palace, that<\/p>\n
54
\n00:05:01,360 –> 00:05:06,920
\nNehemiah the Jew emerges to our
\nview as a man of importance and <\/p>\n
55
\n00:05:06,920 –> 00:05:10,600
\ninfluence.
\nNow what we have to understand, <\/p>\n
56
\n00:05:10,600 –> 00:05:16,080
\nbrother and sisters, is that
\nNehemiah was the civil patriot <\/p>\n
57
\n00:05:16,120 –> 00:05:22,440
\nof his age, as Ezra, for
\nexample, was the ecclesiastical <\/p>\n
58
\n00:05:22,440 –> 00:05:27,560
\npatriot patriot.
\nThat is to say, amid the <\/p>\n
59
\n00:05:27,800 –> 00:05:32,920
\nwreckage of forces around
\nIsrael, he welded together the <\/p>\n
60
\n00:05:33,720 –> 00:05:37,760
\nattributes of nationalism by the
\nforce and the virtue of the law <\/p>\n
61
\n00:05:37,760 –> 00:05:41,560
\nof God.
\nIt was the consolidation of <\/p>\n
62
\n00:05:41,560 –> 00:05:47,160
\nJudaism which later on was to
\nsolidify the nation in the face <\/p>\n
63
\n00:05:47,160 –> 00:05:49,920
\nof the Greek and Roman influence
\nand domination. <\/p>\n
64
\n00:05:51,440 –> 00:05:58,640
\nNow this morning I am going to
\ntry to measure the power and the<\/p>\n
65
\n00:05:58,640 –> 00:06:08,120
\ninfluence and the character of
\nthis man by trying to see his <\/p>\n
66
\n00:06:08,120 –> 00:06:14,760
\ninfluence upon his comrades.
\nI don’t try to make the <\/p>\n
67
\n00:06:14,760 –> 00:06:21,200
\nmeasurement by seeing the effect
\nhe had from those who were with <\/p>\n
68
\n00:06:21,200 –> 00:06:25,200
\nhim.
\nIn other words, in a way he is <\/p>\n
69
\n00:06:25,200 –> 00:06:32,680
\nrevealed in the characters of
\nthose whom he led, and I think <\/p>\n
70
\n00:06:32,680 –> 00:06:36,440
\nwe shall best do it by pondering
\nthe greatest event of his life. <\/p>\n
71
\n00:06:36,880 –> 00:06:41,000
\nThe thing was really the master
\npassion of the book of Nehemiah.<\/p>\n
72
\n00:06:41,400 –> 00:06:46,120
\nThat is the building of the wall
\naround the city of God. <\/p>\n
73
\n00:06:47,000 –> 00:06:54,560
\nIn that enterprise, Nehemiah is
\nrevealed in the men who did the <\/p>\n
74
\n00:06:54,560 –> 00:06:58,320
\nwork.
\nNow, it’s a remarkable thing <\/p>\n
75
\n00:06:58,320 –> 00:07:04,400
\nwhen you ponder it, that the
\nbook of Nehemiah really and <\/p>\n
76
\n00:07:04,400 –> 00:07:07,840
\nsimply is about the building of
\na wall. <\/p>\n
77
\n00:07:08,920 –> 00:07:14,360
\nI mean, if it were a temple or a
\npalace, it would be more <\/p>\n
78
\n00:07:14,360 –> 00:07:18,200
\nimpressive.
\nBut a war? <\/p>\n
79
\n00:07:19,680 –> 00:07:22,720
\nWhat could be more prosaic than
\nbuilding a wall? <\/p>\n
80
\n00:07:25,600 –> 00:07:28,800
\nAnd can I just force to say, I
\nhope I don’t offend any brick <\/p>\n
81
\n00:07:28,800 –> 00:07:32,440
\nlayers in this house, because I
\nhave, I have the deepest respect<\/p>\n
82
\n00:07:32,440 –> 00:07:39,640
\nfor their profession.
\nYou see here is a startling <\/p>\n
83
\n00:07:39,640 –> 00:07:42,320
\nthing.
\nThe building of that wall in a <\/p>\n
84
\n00:07:42,320 –> 00:07:45,920
\nway is microcosmic of God’s
\nrelationship with us. <\/p>\n
85
\n00:07:47,400 –> 00:07:52,920
\nWhat happened at Jerusalem in 52
\ndays is a microcosm of God’s <\/p>\n
86
\n00:07:52,920 –> 00:07:58,320
\nmighty purpose with the world.
\nNow those words which we may <\/p>\n
87
\n00:07:58,320 –> 00:08:01,760
\nread in this book were written
\n2500 years ago. <\/p>\n
88
\n00:08:02,800 –> 00:08:05,360
\nThey come to us with a
\npertinence sometimes which is <\/p>\n
89
\n00:08:05,600 –> 00:08:10,920
\nuncanny, and the details of the
\nnarrative, as you ponder it, <\/p>\n
90
\n00:08:11,160 –> 00:08:14,760
\nreveal a much deeper truth than
\nwould appear on the surface. <\/p>\n
91
\n00:08:16,160 –> 00:08:18,960
\nNow it may have happened a long
\ntime ago in what seems to us <\/p>\n
92
\n00:08:18,960 –> 00:08:23,200
\nperhaps to be a remote corner of
\nthe world, but really this is <\/p>\n
93
\n00:08:23,200 –> 00:08:26,160
\nthe word of God for such as we
\nare. <\/p>\n
94
\n00:08:28,520 –> 00:08:31,560
\nI just think quickly, and let me
\njust remind you of the event <\/p>\n
95
\n00:08:31,680 –> 00:08:33,960
\nwhich preceded the work of
\nNehemiah. <\/p>\n
96
\n00:08:34,320 –> 00:08:37,679
\nThe people of God, as you know,
\nwere exiled in Babylon for a <\/p>\n
97
\n00:08:37,679 –> 00:08:40,480
\nlong time, and then a remnant
\nunder the leadership of <\/p>\n
98
\n00:08:40,480 –> 00:08:45,440
\nZerebrable, and with the help of
\nCyrus the King were driven to <\/p>\n
99
\n00:08:45,600 –> 00:08:50,200
\nreturn to Jerusalem to build the
\nHouse of the Lord in Zion. <\/p>\n
100
\n00:08:51,360 –> 00:08:55,520
\nSo they came to desecrated
\nJerusalem, and the first task <\/p>\n
101
\n00:08:55,520 –> 00:08:59,360
\nwas to build an altar so that
\nthe daily sacrifice could be <\/p>\n
102
\n00:08:59,360 –> 00:09:03,560
\nrestored.
\nFollowing upon that, and they <\/p>\n
103
\n00:09:03,560 –> 00:09:05,920
\ncommenced to build the temple of
\nthe Lord. <\/p>\n
104
\n00:09:06,400 –> 00:09:09,840
\nBut the work was halted by a
\ndecree from our texts. <\/p>\n
105
\n00:09:10,200 –> 00:09:14,160
\nAnd so for 15 years the House of
\nGod lay waste, overgrown with <\/p>\n
106
\n00:09:14,160 –> 00:09:18,240
\nweeds, scene of desolation.
\nIn other words, they began to <\/p>\n
107
\n00:09:18,240 –> 00:09:20,160
\nbuild, but they were not able to
\nfinish. <\/p>\n
108
\n00:09:20,880 –> 00:09:24,360
\nBut later on, under the ministry
\nof Haggai and Zechariah, the <\/p>\n
109
\n00:09:24,360 –> 00:09:28,280
\nwork was recommenced.
\nThe building of the House of the<\/p>\n
110
\n00:09:28,280 –> 00:09:32,160
\nLord, the House of Yahweh was
\nfinished and it was dedicated <\/p>\n
111
\n00:09:32,160 –> 00:09:36,840
\nwith great rejoice.
\nNow, some years after this, <\/p>\n
112
\n00:09:37,400 –> 00:09:43,640
\nNehemiah is found at Shushan.
\nWe’ve remembered already as a <\/p>\n
113
\n00:09:43,640 –> 00:09:47,200
\nhigh official in the court of
\nArtaxerxes. <\/p>\n
114
\n00:09:47,920 –> 00:09:51,560
\nThere, as we may read in
\nNehemiah chapter one, he <\/p>\n
115
\n00:09:51,560 –> 00:09:57,080
\nreceives reports from Jerusalem
\nabout the sad and unhappy <\/p>\n
116
\n00:09:57,080 –> 00:10:00,760
\ncondition of the city and of the
\nresidents of Judea. <\/p>\n
117
\n00:10:02,560 –> 00:10:07,400
\nChapter one verses one to four,
\nthe words of Nehemiah, the son <\/p>\n
118
\n00:10:07,400 –> 00:10:10,520
\nof Hakaliah.
\nNow it came to pass in the month<\/p>\n
119
\n00:10:10,920 –> 00:10:14,600
\nshe’s left.
\nIn the 20th year, as I was in <\/p>\n
120
\n00:10:14,600 –> 00:10:19,520
\nShushan, the palace, the Tanani,
\none of my brethren came he and <\/p>\n
121
\n00:10:19,520 –> 00:10:22,840
\ncertain men out of Judah.
\nAnd I asked them concerning the <\/p>\n
122
\n00:10:22,840 –> 00:10:26,600
\nJews that had escaped, which
\nwere left of the captivity, And <\/p>\n
123
\n00:10:26,600 –> 00:10:31,360
\nconcerning Jerusalem, they said
\nunto me, The remnant that are <\/p>\n
124
\n00:10:31,360 –> 00:10:35,400
\nleft of the captivity there in
\nthe province are in great <\/p>\n
125
\n00:10:35,400 –> 00:10:40,200
\naffliction and reproach.
\nThe wall of Jerusalem also is <\/p>\n
126
\n00:10:40,200 –> 00:10:44,200
\nbroken down, and the gates
\nthereof are burned with fire. <\/p>\n
127
\n00:10:45,040 –> 00:10:48,320
\nAnd it came to pass when I heard
\nthese words. <\/p>\n
128
\n00:10:48,720 –> 00:10:53,280
\nBut I sat down and wept and
\nmourned certain days, and I <\/p>\n
129
\n00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:56,640
\nfasted and prayed before the God
\nof heaven. <\/p>\n
130
\n00:10:59,000 –> 00:11:05,240
\nNow that degenerate condition of
\nthe people and of the city, <\/p>\n
131
\n00:11:07,480 –> 00:11:14,040
\nthink of that and and and notice
\nthat that condition is focused <\/p>\n
132
\n00:11:14,040 –> 00:11:19,280
\nin the fact that the walls of
\nJerusalem were broken down, and <\/p>\n
133
\n00:11:19,280 –> 00:11:23,280
\nthey were neglected and
\novergrown, and the gates of the <\/p>\n
134
\n00:11:23,280 –> 00:11:30,520
\ncity were burned with fire.
\nIn those facts their sorrow and <\/p>\n
135
\n00:11:30,520 –> 00:11:36,800
\ntheir sadness and their
\ndejection is focus. <\/p>\n
136
\n00:11:38,160 –> 00:11:42,400
\nNow you see, to us this is a
\nstrange thing to Western ears. <\/p>\n
137
\n00:11:42,600 –> 00:11:44,640
\nThis does not make sense,
\nreally. <\/p>\n
138
\n00:11:45,040 –> 00:11:48,600
\nI mean, we would regard it
\nperhaps as a superficial thing, <\/p>\n
139
\n00:11:48,960 –> 00:11:51,400
\nan external thing, an incidental
\nthing. <\/p>\n
140
\n00:11:51,560 –> 00:11:54,080
\nThe walls are broken and the
\ngates are burned. <\/p>\n
141
\n00:11:56,160 –> 00:12:00,080
\nBut we must seek to understand
\nit first of all in in in in the <\/p>\n
142
\n00:12:00,120 –> 00:12:04,800
\nlight of Eastern conception of
\nlife, and then in the context of<\/p>\n
143
\n00:12:04,800 –> 00:12:10,480
\nthat time, because broken walls
\nand burn gates were the sign of <\/p>\n
144
\n00:12:10,480 –> 00:12:12,760
\nneglect, of degradation and
\ndecadence. <\/p>\n
145
\n00:12:13,160 –> 00:12:19,480
\nThe the condition robbed
\nJerusalem really of its true <\/p>\n
146
\n00:12:19,480 –> 00:12:25,720
\ndignity as a fortified city.
\nWhen the prophet Isaiah wishes <\/p>\n
147
\n00:12:25,720 –> 00:12:29,680
\nto speak of the highest dignity
\nand the noblest destiny of the <\/p>\n
148
\n00:12:29,680 –> 00:12:32,040
\ncity of Zion, this is what he
\nsays. <\/p>\n
149
\n00:12:32,280 –> 00:12:36,960
\nWasting and destruction will no
\nmore be within thy borders, but <\/p>\n
150
\n00:12:36,960 –> 00:12:40,960
\nI shall call thy wolves
\nsalvation and thy gates. <\/p>\n
151
\n00:12:41,120 –> 00:12:44,520
\nPraise.
\nWhen John the Apostle saw the <\/p>\n
152
\n00:12:44,520 –> 00:12:48,040
\nvision of the New Jerusalem
\ncoming down out of heaven from <\/p>\n
153
\n00:12:48,040 –> 00:12:51,760
\nGod, he saw and described the
\nwalls and the gates, and the <\/p>\n
154
\n00:12:51,760 –> 00:12:58,000
\nwalls were flashing with Jasper,
\nand every gate was occur. <\/p>\n
155
\n00:12:59,320 –> 00:13:06,440
\nSo the Hebrews felt like this.
\nTo the Hebrew mind, the walls <\/p>\n
156
\n00:13:06,440 –> 00:13:10,160
\nand the gates were a telling and
\nsignificant emblem of the <\/p>\n
157
\n00:13:10,160 –> 00:13:13,160
\ngreatness and the security of
\nthe city. <\/p>\n
158
\n00:13:14,000 –> 00:13:18,000
\nAnd because of walls and gates
\npreserved and intact, the things<\/p>\n
159
\n00:13:18,000 –> 00:13:21,560
\nto be retained were retained,
\nand the things to be excluded <\/p>\n
160
\n00:13:21,560 –> 00:13:25,160
\nwere excluded.
\nWalls and gates represent <\/p>\n
161
\n00:13:25,160 –> 00:13:29,800
\nkeeping things kept out and
\nthings kept in. <\/p>\n
162
\n00:13:30,720 –> 00:13:34,760
\nBut when they are broken,
\ndecayed, and burned with fire, <\/p>\n
163
\n00:13:34,760 –> 00:13:39,320
\nwhere instead of strength there
\nis rubble, where instead of <\/p>\n
164
\n00:13:39,320 –> 00:13:47,120
\nsafety there is active, so there
\nis reproach, and so there is <\/p>\n
165
\n00:13:47,120 –> 00:13:50,600
\nsadness.
\nNow this was the reproach and <\/p>\n
166
\n00:13:50,600 –> 00:13:54,040
\nthe sadness then which came to
\nNehemiah, that she shone from <\/p>\n
167
\n00:13:54,040 –> 00:13:58,120
\nJerusalem, and he wept and
\nmourned and fasted, and made <\/p>\n
168
\n00:13:58,120 –> 00:14:03,800
\nprayer before the God of heaven.
\nWe’ve seen that in that passage <\/p>\n
169
\n00:14:03,800 –> 00:14:07,760
\nwe looked at just now.
\nNow, I don’t propose to go on <\/p>\n
170
\n00:14:07,760 –> 00:14:12,280
\nand retell the story because you
\nwill remember it well. <\/p>\n
171
\n00:14:12,280 –> 00:14:17,680
\nI understand in chapter 2 we can
\nread of the King’s permission to<\/p>\n
172
\n00:14:17,680 –> 00:14:24,800
\nNehemiah to go to Jerusalem.
\nAnd he went, as you know, and <\/p>\n
173
\n00:14:24,800 –> 00:14:28,640
\nthe outcome of his visit to
\nJerusalem is the story of his <\/p>\n
174
\n00:14:28,640 –> 00:14:30,960
\nsuccess.
\nI just want to bring you to <\/p>\n
175
\n00:14:30,960 –> 00:14:39,720
\nthree verses next, chapter 2,
\nverses 17 and 18, chapter 2, <\/p>\n
176
\n00:14:39,720 –> 00:14:45,480
\nverses 17 and 18.
\nThen should I. <\/p>\n
177
\n00:14:45,480 –> 00:14:50,320
\nUnto them you see the evil case
\nthat we are in, how Jerusalem <\/p>\n
178
\n00:14:50,920 –> 00:14:54,000
\nlieth waste, and the gates
\nthereof are burned with fire. <\/p>\n
179
\n00:14:54,240 –> 00:14:57,440
\nCome, and let us build up the
\nwall of Jerusalem. <\/p>\n
180
\n00:14:57,440 –> 00:15:02,520
\nThat may be no more a reproach.
\nAnd I told them of the hand of <\/p>\n
181
\n00:15:02,520 –> 00:15:07,280
\nmy God, which was good upon me,
\nand and also of the King’s words<\/p>\n
182
\n00:15:07,280 –> 00:15:11,880
\nthat he had spoken unto me.
\nAnd they said, Let us rise up <\/p>\n
183
\n00:15:12,000 –> 00:15:17,840
\nand build, so they strengthen
\ntheir hands for the good work. <\/p>\n
184
\n00:15:18,680 –> 00:15:31,560
\nNow have a look at chapter 6,
\nverse 15, chapter 6, verse 15. <\/p>\n
185
\n00:15:31,760 –> 00:15:38,280
\nSo the war was finished in the
\n20 and 5th day of the month in <\/p>\n
186
\n00:15:38,280 –> 00:15:46,800
\nRule in 50 and two days we saw
\nthat resolution and we’re able <\/p>\n
187
\n00:15:46,800 –> 00:15:51,200
\nto realise the execution.
\nNow you see, between those two <\/p>\n
188
\n00:15:51,200 –> 00:15:59,240
\nquotations there is a story of
\ncourage, bravery and endurance. <\/p>\n
189
\n00:16:00,520 –> 00:16:03,600
\nAnd the purpose of this
\nmeditation this morning is to <\/p>\n
190
\n00:16:03,600 –> 00:16:07,640
\nobserve the man who came to do
\nit, to mark his method with <\/p>\n
191
\n00:16:07,640 –> 00:16:12,040
\nthose who surrounded him, their
\nresponse to his enthusiasm, <\/p>\n
192
\n00:16:12,560 –> 00:16:16,080
\ntheir will to overcome
\ndifficulties, and so to discover<\/p>\n
193
\n00:16:16,080 –> 00:16:18,440
\nthe very elements which make for
\nsuccess. <\/p>\n
194
\n00:16:19,920 –> 00:16:24,560
\nIn seven weeks the wall was
\nflung around the city of God. <\/p>\n
195
\n00:16:24,560 –> 00:16:29,480
\nAnd what I have come to say
\ntoday is that the things we see <\/p>\n
196
\n00:16:29,480 –> 00:16:33,800
\nhere are micro cosmic of the
\nwork of God in every place and <\/p>\n
197
\n00:16:33,800 –> 00:16:38,040
\nat every time.
\nIn other words, the principles <\/p>\n
198
\n00:16:38,040 –> 00:16:42,200
\nwhich enabled those men to build
\nthe wall are timeless and <\/p>\n
199
\n00:16:42,200 –> 00:16:46,080
\nperpetual.
\nAs you read the story, and I <\/p>\n
200
\n00:16:46,080 –> 00:16:51,400
\nknow you time and time again,
\nyou know that you discover again<\/p>\n
201
\n00:16:51,400 –> 00:16:54,920
\nand again that the first element
\nin their success in which they <\/p>\n
202
\n00:16:54,920 –> 00:16:58,920
\nachieved was a strong belief in
\nthe project itself. <\/p>\n
203
\n00:16:59,280 –> 00:17:03,760
\nIn other words, they were driven
\nby a master passion. <\/p>\n
204
\n00:17:04,440 –> 00:17:07,160
\nNow you see, I happen to believe
\nthat at the back of every life <\/p>\n
205
\n00:17:07,440 –> 00:17:10,800
\nthere is a reason, a motive and
\nimpulse. <\/p>\n
206
\n00:17:11,160 –> 00:17:17,760
\nThat is to say, behind everybody
\nthere is a a master force which <\/p>\n
207
\n00:17:17,760 –> 00:17:21,000
\ndrives.
\nIt may not be recognizable, it <\/p>\n
208
\n00:17:21,000 –> 00:17:23,760
\nmay not be named, but it is
\nthere. <\/p>\n
209
\n00:17:24,560 –> 00:17:27,240
\nI know what your response is.
\nI can read your minds with <\/p>\n
210
\n00:17:27,240 –> 00:17:30,440
\nrespect.
\nYou are wanting to tell me that <\/p>\n
211
\n00:17:30,440 –> 00:17:33,640
\nthere are some people who seem
\nto have no aim and no impulse <\/p>\n
212
\n00:17:33,640 –> 00:17:35,840
\nand no master passion.
\nThat’s what you’re thinking. <\/p>\n
213
\n00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:39,760
\nBut I shall reply to you and
\nsay, they do have a master <\/p>\n
214
\n00:17:39,760 –> 00:17:44,320
\npassion, and it’s a master
\npassion to be lazy and and and <\/p>\n
215
\n00:17:44,320 –> 00:17:48,040
\nit’s sometimes surprising how
\nhard they will work in order to <\/p>\n
216
\n00:17:48,040 –> 00:17:56,360
\nachieve it.
\nEarnestness and persistence <\/p>\n
217
\n00:17:56,360 –> 00:18:00,400
\nusually bring their reward, and
\nwhere the passion is strong <\/p>\n
218
\n00:18:00,400 –> 00:18:04,280
\nenough, there is always the
\nelement of forgetfulness of self<\/p>\n
219
\n00:18:04,720 –> 00:18:09,360
\nin the presence of the need to
\naccomplish the great end which <\/p>\n
220
\n00:18:09,680 –> 00:18:12,440
\nis in view.
\nAnd so it was with these <\/p>\n
221
\n00:18:12,440 –> 00:18:15,640
\nworkers, with Niger Maya.
\nIn the presence of the great <\/p>\n
222
\n00:18:15,640 –> 00:18:22,400
\nneed, each man and woman sent
\nthemselves and worked for the <\/p>\n
223
\n00:18:22,400 –> 00:18:26,160
\ncommon good.
\nIn other words, the very <\/p>\n
224
\n00:18:26,160 –> 00:18:30,640
\nvastness of the work itself, the
\nproject itself, produced in them<\/p>\n
225
\n00:18:30,680 –> 00:18:36,000
\na spirit of self, abnegation.
\nIn each individual there was <\/p>\n
226
\n00:18:36,000 –> 00:18:41,480
\nthat spirit of self abnegation,
\nand then moving together towards<\/p>\n
227
\n00:18:41,480 –> 00:18:46,160
\nthe same end having a common
\npurpose, imports by the same <\/p>\n
228
\n00:18:46,160 –> 00:18:50,000
\nmaster passion.
\nThat spirit in each man and <\/p>\n
229
\n00:18:50,000 –> 00:18:53,680
\nwoman became a corporate self
\nabnegation. <\/p>\n
230
\n00:18:53,800 –> 00:18:56,920
\nAnd in that power the work went
\nforward. <\/p>\n
231
\n00:18:58,000 –> 00:19:01,400
\nThere was unity among the
\nworkers, but it was not an <\/p>\n
232
\n00:19:01,400 –> 00:19:05,760
\narranged unity.
\nIt it arose out of the the the <\/p>\n
233
\n00:19:05,760 –> 00:19:10,560
\nheart and spirit of each person
\nknit together by the same common<\/p>\n
234
\n00:19:10,560 –> 00:19:12,680
\npurpose.
\nIt wasn’t arranged. <\/p>\n
235
\n00:19:12,960 –> 00:19:16,400
\nI mean, it wasn’t the outcome of
\na consultation or the IT wasn’t <\/p>\n
236
\n00:19:16,400 –> 00:19:19,560
\nthe the outcome of of a
\ncommittee meeting. <\/p>\n
237
\n00:19:21,800 –> 00:19:24,320
\nSometimes consultation and
\ncommittees are good and <\/p>\n
238
\n00:19:24,320 –> 00:19:26,920
\nnecessary, but but this was not
\nthe method here. <\/p>\n
239
\n00:19:26,920 –> 00:19:29,280
\nI don’t want you to think that
\nI’m against committees. <\/p>\n
240
\n00:19:29,280 –> 00:19:32,760
\nPlease don’t think that I know
\nthat they’re sometimes <\/p>\n
241
\n00:19:32,760 –> 00:19:35,880
\nessential.
\nYou see, a man once told me that<\/p>\n
242
\n00:19:36,440 –> 00:19:40,720
\nA2 humped camel was really
\nsupposed to be a horse, but it <\/p>\n
243
\n00:19:40,720 –> 00:19:46,600
\nwas arranged by a committee.
\nOf course I don’t believe that. <\/p>\n
244
\n00:19:52,560 –> 00:19:56,240
\nAs a matter of fact, as far as
\nI’m able to see that there is <\/p>\n
245
\n00:19:56,240 –> 00:20:01,200
\nonly one reference in the book
\nof Nehemiah to consultation. <\/p>\n
246
\n00:20:03,240 –> 00:20:07,840
\nIt’s in chapter 5, verse 7, and
\nNehemiah says then I consulted <\/p>\n
247
\n00:20:07,840 –> 00:20:13,920
\nwith myself and contended with
\nthe nobles. <\/p>\n
248
\n00:20:14,880 –> 00:20:18,960
\nWell, sometimes, you know, self
\nconsultation is very profitable.<\/p>\n
249
\n00:20:19,720 –> 00:20:22,840
\nAn audience of 1 sometimes is
\nthe best audience of all. <\/p>\n
250
\n00:20:23,320 –> 00:20:25,160
\nI don’t want you to all start
\nrushing out. <\/p>\n
251
\n00:20:26,680 –> 00:20:30,320
\nHaving said that, I’d like you
\nto stay. <\/p>\n
252
\n00:20:30,320 –> 00:20:36,800
\nPlease now anyway.
\nThe point is that this unity was<\/p>\n
253
\n00:20:36,800 –> 00:20:39,640
\nnot arranged.
\nIt it was the outcome of a <\/p>\n
254
\n00:20:39,640 –> 00:20:41,880
\ncommon need.
\nIt was the outcome of a common <\/p>\n
255
\n00:20:41,880 –> 00:20:46,880
\nambition.
\nThe self denial was unconscious <\/p>\n
256
\n00:20:47,720 –> 00:20:51,880
\nin a sense.
\nI know it’s an old saying and I <\/p>\n
257
\n00:20:51,880 –> 00:20:55,440
\nknow it’s going to sound very
\ntrite, but unity is strength. <\/p>\n
258
\n00:20:56,600 –> 00:20:59,720
\nWe know it’s true really,
\nalthough it’s an old fashioned <\/p>\n
259
\n00:20:59,720 –> 00:21:02,320
\nsaying, we know in our deepest
\nheart that it’s true. <\/p>\n
260
\n00:21:03,040 –> 00:21:06,400
\nTake a fine strand of hemp,
\nshall we say, and you can break <\/p>\n
261
\n00:21:06,400 –> 00:21:07,480
\nit.
\nYou can break it with two <\/p>\n
262
\n00:21:07,480 –> 00:21:11,480
\nfingers, take several and weave
\nthem together. <\/p>\n
263
\n00:21:11,480 –> 00:21:15,760
\nAnd by that entanglement,
\nskillfully arranged, a cable is <\/p>\n
264
\n00:21:15,760 –> 00:21:20,120
\ncreated which will hold ship
\nagainst all the strains and <\/p>\n
265
\n00:21:20,120 –> 00:21:23,360
\nstresses of the current, because
\nunity is strength. <\/p>\n
266
\n00:21:24,320 –> 00:21:25,960
\nAnd so it is with the men of
\nGod. <\/p>\n
267
\n00:21:27,120 –> 00:21:34,320
\nWhen they built the wall, each
\nman built that part which was <\/p>\n
268
\n00:21:34,320 –> 00:21:38,960
\nover against his own house.
\nThat is to say, everybody did <\/p>\n
269
\n00:21:38,960 –> 00:21:39,840
\nthat.
\nWhich were they? <\/p>\n
270
\n00:21:39,960 –> 00:21:44,480
\nWhich they were best able to do?
\nThey built high, but they didn’t<\/p>\n
271
\n00:21:44,480 –> 00:21:49,280
\nforget to build wide and broad
\nas well, so that consequently <\/p>\n
272
\n00:21:49,600 –> 00:21:53,840
\neach man’s work touched his
\nneighbour’s work. <\/p>\n
273
\n00:21:55,120 –> 00:22:00,960
\nAnd as there was cohesion in
\ntheir spirit, so consequently <\/p>\n
274
\n00:22:00,960 –> 00:22:03,600
\nthere was cohesion in the
\nbuilding. <\/p>\n
275
\n00:22:04,240 –> 00:22:07,280
\nYou see, when men build without
\nreference to their neighbour, <\/p>\n
276
\n00:22:07,280 –> 00:22:11,600
\nthey tend to create gaps.
\nAnd through the gaps good things<\/p>\n
277
\n00:22:11,600 –> 00:22:15,080
\nare lost, and through the gaps
\nbad things are infiltrated. <\/p>\n
278
\n00:22:16,360 –> 00:22:19,680
\nUnity, then, is the first
\nelement in the struggle for <\/p>\n
279
\n00:22:19,680 –> 00:22:25,120
\nsuccess.
\nUnity would to God it were in <\/p>\n
280
\n00:22:25,120 –> 00:22:29,920
\nour presence, in our community,
\nbecause unity is strength. <\/p>\n
281
\n00:22:31,600 –> 00:22:36,040
\nThe next thing I ask you to
\nremember is their consecration. <\/p>\n
282
\n00:22:37,240 –> 00:22:40,080
\nThe real idea behind
\nconsecration is that of <\/p>\n
283
\n00:22:40,080 –> 00:22:43,680
\ndiscipline.
\nNow, if you were to ask me for a<\/p>\n
284
\n00:22:43,680 –> 00:22:47,400
\ndefinition of discipline, I
\nwould say it is submission to <\/p>\n
285
\n00:22:47,400 –> 00:22:50,560
\nthe law which is created by each
\nparticular circumstance. <\/p>\n
286
\n00:22:54,360 –> 00:22:56,320
\nLet me give you an illustration
\nof what I mean. <\/p>\n
287
\n00:22:58,760 –> 00:23:01,800
\nSee, when I was at school, there
\nwas one story I used to like <\/p>\n
288
\n00:23:01,880 –> 00:23:06,880
\nbest of all.
\nPerhaps it was The story of The <\/p>\n
289
\n00:23:06,880 –> 00:23:09,600
\nTaking of Cricket Quebec by
\nWolf. <\/p>\n
290
\n00:23:11,720 –> 00:23:15,000
\nNow I hope that the Canadians in
\nthis House won’t be offended if <\/p>\n
291
\n00:23:15,000 –> 00:23:19,360
\nI go through that and tell how
\nthe English captured Quebec. <\/p>\n
292
\n00:23:22,320 –> 00:23:28,360
\nHow they did it was this.
\nThey came by boat up the Saint <\/p>\n
293
\n00:23:28,360 –> 00:23:32,880
\nLawrence River, and they were
\nunder the discipline of strict <\/p>\n
294
\n00:23:32,880 –> 00:23:35,680
\nsilence.
\nI had to turn the heights of <\/p>\n
295
\n00:23:35,680 –> 00:23:41,040
\nAbraham by a narrow defile,
\nwithout a sound, without making <\/p>\n
296
\n00:23:41,040 –> 00:23:45,840
\na sound, because the top of that
\ndefile could be kept by 20 men <\/p>\n
297
\n00:23:46,080 –> 00:23:50,520
\neasily, if they were prepared
\nand if they knew what they were <\/p>\n
298
\n00:23:50,520 –> 00:23:56,680
\nabout South.
\nSilently they came down the <\/p>\n
299
\n00:23:56,680 –> 00:23:59,520
\nriver.
\nSilently they climbed up the <\/p>\n
300
\n00:23:59,520 –> 00:24:04,120
\nheights, and silently they
\nwaited for the order to charge. <\/p>\n
301
\n00:24:05,520 –> 00:24:09,400
\nThat was consecration, and by
\ntheir utter discipline they took<\/p>\n
302
\n00:24:09,400 –> 00:24:13,560
\ntheir objective, and one failure
\nin the discipline would have <\/p>\n
303
\n00:24:13,560 –> 00:24:17,880
\nbrought disaster.
\nDiscipline is submission to <\/p>\n
304
\n00:24:17,880 –> 00:24:22,560
\nauthority, and out of it arises
\nthe call for endurance. <\/p>\n
305
\n00:24:22,800 –> 00:24:30,440
\nYou see, there was a man you can
\nread about in this narrative, <\/p>\n
306
\n00:24:30,760 –> 00:24:36,560
\nNehemiah.
\nIt’s in Nehemiah 3, verse 14, if<\/p>\n
307
\n00:24:36,560 –> 00:24:44,080
\nyou want to look at it, and his
\nname was Malkaya, the son of <\/p>\n
308
\n00:24:44,080 –> 00:24:50,000
\nRecap.
\nNow you can read there what he <\/p>\n
309
\n00:24:50,000 –> 00:24:58,080
\ndid, and the Dungate repaired
\nMalkaya, the son of Recap, the <\/p>\n
310
\n00:24:58,080 –> 00:24:59,800
\nruler of the district of Beth
\nHecker. <\/p>\n
311
\n00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:02,800
\nHim.
\nHe built it and set up the doors<\/p>\n
312
\n00:25:02,800 –> 00:25:06,240
\nthereof, the bolts thereof, and
\nthe bars thereof. <\/p>\n
313
\n00:25:11,080 –> 00:25:13,080
\nEvery word in the Bible is
\nimportant. <\/p>\n
314
\n00:25:15,160 –> 00:25:18,000
\nThere’s a very unpleasant word
\nthere which is very important. <\/p>\n
315
\n00:25:18,320 –> 00:25:22,920
\nI expect you noticed it.
\nHe went and built up the dung <\/p>\n
316
\n00:25:22,920 –> 00:25:26,600
\ngate.
\nI don’t suppose many people got <\/p>\n
317
\n00:25:26,600 –> 00:25:28,320
\ntrampled to death going to do
\nthat. <\/p>\n
318
\n00:25:34,640 –> 00:25:37,320
\nIt was the place where nobody
\nwanted to go, you see, that’s <\/p>\n
319
\n00:25:37,320 –> 00:25:40,400
\nwhat I mean.
\nI don’t have to spell it out, do<\/p>\n
320
\n00:25:40,400 –> 00:25:44,280
\nI?
\nThe place where nobody wanted to<\/p>\n
321
\n00:25:44,280 –> 00:25:46,280
\ngo.
\nNow. <\/p>\n
322
\n00:25:46,280 –> 00:25:53,920
\nClio went there, did the work.
\nThe most unpleasant did it <\/p>\n
323
\n00:25:53,920 –> 00:25:55,000
\nfaithfully.
\nDid it? <\/p>\n
324
\n00:25:55,000 –> 00:25:59,520
\nWell, not minding.
\nStayed there till it was <\/p>\n
325
\n00:25:59,520 –> 00:26:03,960
\nfinished.
\nBolts and bars and doors. <\/p>\n
326
\n00:26:08,000 –> 00:26:10,440
\nNot my name.
\nDiscipline. <\/p>\n
327
\n00:26:13,920 –> 00:26:17,000
\nThere was another man who had a
\nlarger piece of work to do. <\/p>\n
328
\n00:26:17,000 –> 00:26:19,920
\nPerhaps, I don’t know, larger
\nthan some others. <\/p>\n
329
\n00:26:19,920 –> 00:26:27,640
\nPerhaps His name was Shalom and
\nthe record let slip an <\/p>\n
330
\n00:26:27,640 –> 00:26:32,920
\ninteresting theme.
\nIt says his daughters helped <\/p>\n
331
\n00:26:32,920 –> 00:26:36,240
\nhim.
\nHis daughters helped him. <\/p>\n
332
\n00:26:36,600 –> 00:26:39,040
\nI wonder what lies behind the
\nstory of Shalom. <\/p>\n
333
\n00:26:41,320 –> 00:26:49,840
\nNo sons, No wife perhaps?
\nGod knows his daughters helped. <\/p>\n
334
\n00:26:50,560 –> 00:26:54,400
\nThey went and built with their
\nfather Nehemiah. 3 verse 12. <\/p>\n
335
\n00:26:54,400 –> 00:27:02,480
\nIt is next unto him repaired
\nShalom, the son of Holohesh, the<\/p>\n
336
\n00:27:02,480 –> 00:27:04,640
\nruler of half the district of
\nJerusalem. <\/p>\n
337
\n00:27:04,640 –> 00:27:10,440
\nHe and his daughters must have
\nbeen a good family. <\/p>\n
338
\n00:27:12,320 –> 00:27:15,360
\nWell, the work went on in this
\nway the the work went on through<\/p>\n
339
\n00:27:15,360 –> 00:27:17,000
\ndiscipline and through
\nendurance. <\/p>\n
340
\n00:27:18,240 –> 00:27:22,760
\nBut but let us be impressed also
\nby their consistency, by the <\/p>\n
341
\n00:27:22,760 –> 00:27:28,440
\nsisters, and by consistency I
\nmean the all roundness of them. <\/p>\n
342
\n00:27:29,440 –> 00:27:34,120
\nIs she out of this narrative?
\nHas come a phrase, which is a <\/p>\n
343
\n00:27:34,120 –> 00:27:37,560
\ncommonplace phrase now, and we
\nalways think of it when we think<\/p>\n
344
\n00:27:37,560 –> 00:27:40,600
\nof building this wall.
\nAnd it’s the phrase I’ve used in<\/p>\n
345
\n00:27:40,600 –> 00:27:43,720
\nthe subject, The sword and the
\ntrowel. <\/p>\n
346
\n00:27:45,000 –> 00:27:49,120
\nThe trowel was busy and all the
\ntime those who worked with it <\/p>\n
347
\n00:27:49,120 –> 00:27:52,200
\nwere good.
\nWith the sword every man was <\/p>\n
348
\n00:27:52,200 –> 00:27:54,880
\nbuilding, but every man was
\nready for a battle. <\/p>\n
349
\n00:27:55,320 –> 00:27:59,680
\nIt was a splendid merging of of
\nportion and college, a bringing <\/p>\n
350
\n00:27:59,680 –> 00:28:03,280
\ntogether of the sense of danger,
\nand also a readiness to meet it <\/p>\n
351
\n00:28:03,280 –> 00:28:06,280
\nat all costs.
\nThat’s what I mean by <\/p>\n
352
\n00:28:06,280 –> 00:28:08,880
\nconsistency.
\nAll their forces and all their <\/p>\n
353
\n00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:13,640
\nabilities bent to the project,
\nNot peace or not not partial, <\/p>\n
354
\n00:28:13,800 –> 00:28:18,000
\nnothing neglected which was
\nnecessary to complete, nothing <\/p>\n
355
\n00:28:18,000 –> 00:28:22,720
\nleft undone which ought to be.
\nThe whole idea, perhaps is <\/p>\n
356
\n00:28:22,720 –> 00:28:24,760
\nfocused and denounced into one
\nstatement. <\/p>\n
357
\n00:28:24,760 –> 00:28:33,160
\nIt’s in verse nine of chapter 4.
\nBut it says, But we made our <\/p>\n
358
\n00:28:33,160 –> 00:28:36,200
\nprayer unto God and set a watch
\nagainst them day and night. <\/p>\n
359
\n00:28:36,200 –> 00:28:46,320
\nBecause of we made our prayer
\nunto God and set a watch that <\/p>\n
360
\n00:28:46,320 –> 00:28:50,920
\ntells us that praying and
\npreparing are not antagonistic. <\/p>\n
361
\n00:28:51,760 –> 00:28:56,400
\nIt tells us that trying and
\ntrusting are not contradictory, <\/p>\n
362
\n00:28:56,640 –> 00:29:00,840
\nthey are complimentary.
\nThe sword and the trail. <\/p>\n
363
\n00:29:03,280 –> 00:29:06,640
\nRemember I said at the beginning
\nthat this story was micro cosmic<\/p>\n
364
\n00:29:06,640 –> 00:29:10,600
\nof God’s purpose.
\nWell quickly now I’m thinking of<\/p>\n
365
\n00:29:10,600 –> 00:29:15,920
\nLuke chapter 14.
\nRemember in that chapter Jesus <\/p>\n
366
\n00:29:15,920 –> 00:29:18,520
\nis speaking to those who were
\nseeking to be his disciples <\/p>\n
367
\n00:29:19,640 –> 00:29:23,760
\npeople on the perimeter of
\ndiscipleship as it and he said <\/p>\n
368
\n00:29:23,760 –> 00:29:28,720
\nto them, which of you intending
\nto build a tower? <\/p>\n
369
\n00:29:28,880 –> 00:29:33,080
\nSit it not down 1st and count it
\nto the cost, whether he asked <\/p>\n
370
\n00:29:33,080 –> 00:29:38,000
\nsufficient to finish it?
\nOr what king going to make war <\/p>\n
371
\n00:29:38,000 –> 00:29:41,520
\nagainst another king, sit it not
\ndown 1st and consulted. <\/p>\n
372
\n00:29:42,600 –> 00:29:48,720
\nThink of that which of you
\nintending to build a tower, the <\/p>\n
373
\n00:29:48,720 –> 00:29:55,480
\ntrowel, or what team going to
\nmake war the sword. <\/p>\n
374
\n00:29:57,800 –> 00:30:01,920
\nSee how this is related across
\nthe centuries to the challenge <\/p>\n
375
\n00:30:01,920 –> 00:30:06,040
\nof Christ.
\nSo therefore, whoever ye be of <\/p>\n
376
\n00:30:06,040 –> 00:30:09,160
\nyou that forsake is not already
\nhath cannot be my disciples. <\/p>\n
377
\n00:30:09,240 –> 00:30:14,320
\nThe discipline, the very same
\nsituation as it were compressed <\/p>\n
378
\n00:30:14,320 –> 00:30:17,040
\ninto those few sentences of of
\nthe Christ. <\/p>\n
379
\n00:30:17,440 –> 00:30:22,800
\nBut but in addition, and above
\nall this, observe the central <\/p>\n
380
\n00:30:22,800 –> 00:30:32,360
\nsecret of their success.
\nI believe it was enthusiasm, The<\/p>\n
381
\n00:30:32,360 –> 00:30:37,600
\nsecret of their success fixed
\nand focused centrally, and it <\/p>\n
382
\n00:30:37,600 –> 00:30:41,040
\nwas first revealed in Nehemiah.
\nThat’s the thing. <\/p>\n
383
\n00:30:43,360 –> 00:30:47,600
\nIt was revealed in him and
\ncommunicated to his brethren. <\/p>\n
384
\n00:30:48,360 –> 00:30:51,280
\nIt’s expressed, perhaps, in one
\nsentence In chapter 4, verse <\/p>\n
385
\n00:30:51,280 –> 00:31:02,960
\nsix, it says So we built the
\nwall and all the wall was joined<\/p>\n
386
\n00:31:02,960 –> 00:31:06,800
\ntogether under half the height
\nof love for the people had a <\/p>\n
387
\n00:31:06,800 –> 00:31:09,880
\nmind to work.
\nThat’s the explanation. <\/p>\n
388
\n00:31:10,560 –> 00:31:15,240
\nThat is to say, their will was
\ncaptivated by the prospect of <\/p>\n
389
\n00:31:15,240 –> 00:31:20,040
\nthe final outcome.
\nSo the task was commenced, it <\/p>\n
390
\n00:31:20,040 –> 00:31:22,040
\nwas continued and it was
\ncompleted. <\/p>\n
391
\n00:31:23,800 –> 00:31:25,520
\nNow I want to tell you something
\nabout it. <\/p>\n
392
\n00:31:26,320 –> 00:31:32,440
\nIt was not done by talking.
\nI know talking is important. <\/p>\n
393
\n00:31:32,440 –> 00:31:38,360
\nI know that.
\nI know it’s important. <\/p>\n
394
\n00:31:39,960 –> 00:31:47,360
\nYes, I think it is.
\nIt wasn’t done by talking, <\/p>\n
395
\n00:31:47,400 –> 00:31:50,960
\nthough.
\nI mean, it may have started by <\/p>\n
396
\n00:31:50,960 –> 00:31:54,400
\ntalking, but it bricks are not
\nlaid by talking. <\/p>\n
397
\n00:31:55,640 –> 00:32:01,320
\nIt wasn’t done by speculating.
\nIt wasn’t done by deprecating. <\/p>\n
398
\n00:32:02,800 –> 00:32:07,520
\nIt wasn’t done by disparaging.
\nIt wasn’t done by carping <\/p>\n
399
\n00:32:07,520 –> 00:32:14,680
\ncriticism.
\nIt was done by men with burning <\/p>\n
400
\n00:32:14,680 –> 00:32:20,200
\nhearts and shining faces.
\nIt wasn’t done in cold blood <\/p>\n
401
\n00:32:20,200 –> 00:32:23,040
\neither.
\nIt was done with warmth and <\/p>\n
402
\n00:32:23,040 –> 00:32:26,680
\npassion and enthusiasm.
\nIt was done by united, <\/p>\n
403
\n00:32:26,680 –> 00:32:31,400
\nconsecrated people.
\nAnd proceeding from that <\/p>\n
404
\n00:32:31,400 –> 00:32:35,800
\nenthusiasm comes a blessed
\nquality which which supports <\/p>\n
405
\n00:32:35,800 –> 00:32:40,480
\nsuccess, and that is stability.
\nThink, think of the words of <\/p>\n
406
\n00:32:40,480 –> 00:32:44,080
\nPaul to the Corinthian church,
\nhe said to the Corinthian <\/p>\n
407
\n00:32:44,080 –> 00:32:47,760
\necclesia.
\nHe said, be you, steadfast, <\/p>\n
408
\n00:32:48,200 –> 00:32:51,880
\nunmovable, always abounding in
\nthe work of the Lord. <\/p>\n
409
\n00:32:52,760 –> 00:32:56,920
\nNow steadfast and unmovable are
\ninteresting words. <\/p>\n
410
\n00:32:56,920 –> 00:33:00,640
\nThey appear to be alike, but
\nthey are not quite the same <\/p>\n
411
\n00:33:00,640 –> 00:33:05,440
\nthing.
\nSteadfastness is that strong, <\/p>\n
412
\n00:33:06,080 –> 00:33:10,640
\nburn back quality of fidelity
\nwhich stays at work however long<\/p>\n
413
\n00:33:10,640 –> 00:33:15,600
\nit may take, However hard it may
\nbe, however much drudgery there <\/p>\n
414
\n00:33:15,600 –> 00:33:20,240
\nmay be in it, and however much
\nwillingness may result from it, <\/p>\n
415
\n00:33:20,600 –> 00:33:25,720
\nthat steadfastness, but
\nunmovableness, is the same <\/p>\n
416
\n00:33:25,720 –> 00:33:28,680
\nquality but in the face of
\nopposition. <\/p>\n
417
\n00:33:29,960 –> 00:33:33,920
\nStability in the face of forces
\nwhich are actively antagonistic,<\/p>\n
418
\n00:33:33,920 –> 00:33:39,680
\nthat is, unmovable.
\nNow Nehemiah and his brethren <\/p>\n
419
\n00:33:39,680 –> 00:33:43,320
\nhad to face active opposition,
\nyou know. <\/p>\n
420
\n00:33:44,720 –> 00:33:48,680
\nBut this man refused to be
\nhindered. <\/p>\n
421
\n00:33:49,680 –> 00:33:53,600
\nHe refused to be wooed away from
\nthe task for any reason <\/p>\n
422
\n00:33:53,600 –> 00:33:59,840
\nwhatsoever, and the spirit of
\nNehemiah permeated his comrades.<\/p>\n
423
\n00:34:00,560 –> 00:34:03,160
\nYou remember we read today how
\nindignantly he said. <\/p>\n
424
\n00:34:03,600 –> 00:34:08,600
\nYou’re such a man as I flee.
\nOr again, why should the work <\/p>\n
425
\n00:34:08,600 –> 00:34:11,639
\ncease while I leave it and come
\ndown to you to talk? <\/p>\n
426
\n00:34:14,239 –> 00:34:17,120
\nThey could not be moved.
\nThey would not be hindered, <\/p>\n
427
\n00:34:17,120 –> 00:34:19,639
\nbecause their enterprise was
\ndeeply rooted. <\/p>\n
428
\n00:34:19,840 –> 00:34:23,120
\nIn the presence of the
\nopposition was deeply rooted, <\/p>\n
429
\n00:34:23,120 –> 00:34:27,440
\nand in the presence of the
\nopposition it became even more <\/p>\n
430
\n00:34:27,440 –> 00:34:32,000
\nsteadfast and unmovable.
\nI’d like to remind you just <\/p>\n
431
\n00:34:32,199 –> 00:34:37,120
\nquickly of the circumstances
\nwhich constituted the opposition<\/p>\n
432
\n00:34:37,120 –> 00:34:39,679
\nas we read them in that 6th
\nchapter. <\/p>\n
433
\n00:34:40,239 –> 00:34:44,639
\nAs you know, the opposition
\nmainly was focused in three <\/p>\n
434
\n00:34:44,639 –> 00:34:49,560
\ncharacters and there was San
\nBallot, Tobiah and Geishem. <\/p>\n
435
\n00:34:50,520 –> 00:34:56,480
\nSan Ballot was a Moabite, Tobiah
\nwas an Ammonite and Geishem was <\/p>\n
436
\n00:34:56,480 –> 00:35:03,000
\nan Arabian, and they combined to
\noppose and hinder Nehemiah in <\/p>\n
437
\n00:35:03,000 –> 00:35:07,640
\nevery possible way.
\nNo doubt in the 1st place their <\/p>\n
438
\n00:35:07,640 –> 00:35:13,640
\nopposition was provoked as a
\nresult of their jealousy. <\/p>\n
439
\n00:35:13,640 –> 00:35:16,520
\nThey also were in the service of
\nthe Queen, remember, and they <\/p>\n
440
\n00:35:16,520 –> 00:35:19,840
\nwere no doubt envious of
\nNehemiah’s preferment and his <\/p>\n
441
\n00:35:20,240 –> 00:35:24,400
\nadvancement.
\nI know they’d also son Bala <\/p>\n
442
\n00:35:24,400 –> 00:35:31,640
\nhated Jerusalem and this
\nConfederation plan to fall upon <\/p>\n
443
\n00:35:31,640 –> 00:35:35,960
\nthe builders with arms to put a
\nstop to the work. <\/p>\n
444
\n00:35:35,960 –> 00:35:40,120
\nBut the plan was thwarted by the
\nprudence and the vigilance of <\/p>\n
445
\n00:35:40,120 –> 00:35:42,760
\nNehemiah, the sword and the
\ntrail. <\/p>\n
446
\n00:35:42,760 –> 00:35:47,400
\nThe sword was always handy for
\ndefence as well as a trail for <\/p>\n
447
\n00:35:47,680 –> 00:35:50,560
\nbuilding.
\nAnd then after that, another <\/p>\n
448
\n00:35:50,560 –> 00:35:54,120
\nplan, as we read in that
\nchapter, was to bring Nehemiah <\/p>\n
449
\n00:35:54,320 –> 00:35:57,120
\ninto a place of suspicion with
\nthe king. <\/p>\n
450
\n00:35:57,360 –> 00:36:03,280
\nThat is, they they fabricated a
\nreport that he intended to set <\/p>\n
451
\n00:36:03,280 –> 00:36:06,680
\nhimself up as an independent
\nking in Jerusalem as soon as the<\/p>\n
452
\n00:36:06,680 –> 00:36:12,280
\nwall was completed.
\nThis nearly succeeded because <\/p>\n
453
\n00:36:13,800 –> 00:36:16,600
\nthe king may have halted the
\nrespiration until the position <\/p>\n
454
\n00:36:16,600 –> 00:36:20,160
\nposition was clarified.
\nI say it nearly succeeded and he<\/p>\n
455
\n00:36:20,160 –> 00:36:24,480
\nmay have done so because I’m not
\nsure can. <\/p>\n
456
\n00:36:24,480 –> 00:36:28,440
\nIt hasn’t been stated in so many
\nwords, but we can deduce certain<\/p>\n
457
\n00:36:28,440 –> 00:36:29,880
\nthings.
\nLet me just give you an example.<\/p>\n
458
\n00:36:29,880 –> 00:36:38,720
\nHave a look at Nehemiah 13.
\nCan we read verses one to seven <\/p>\n
459
\n00:36:40,520 –> 00:36:52,040
\nof Nehemiah?
\n13 On that day they read in the <\/p>\n
460
\n00:36:52,040 –> 00:36:54,800
\nbook of Moses in the audience of
\nthe people, and therein was <\/p>\n
461
\n00:36:54,800 –> 00:36:58,120
\nfound written that an Ammonite
\nand a Moabite should not enter <\/p>\n
462
\n00:36:58,120 –> 00:37:02,480
\ninto the Assembly of God
\nforever, because they met not <\/p>\n
463
\n00:37:02,480 –> 00:37:06,280
\nthe children of Israel with
\nbread and with water That but <\/p>\n
464
\n00:37:06,280 –> 00:37:08,640
\nhired Balaam against them to
\ncurse them. <\/p>\n
465
\n00:37:08,920 –> 00:37:11,680
\nAnd be it our God turned the
\ncurse into a blessing. <\/p>\n
466
\n00:37:12,240 –> 00:37:14,920
\nThey came to pass, when they had
\nheard the law, that they <\/p>\n
467
\n00:37:15,320 –> 00:37:17,880
\nseparated from Israel all the
\nmixed multitude. <\/p>\n
468
\n00:37:18,760 –> 00:37:21,880
\nNow before this Elijah of the
\npriest who was appointed over <\/p>\n
469
\n00:37:21,880 –> 00:37:25,960
\nthe chambers of the House of our
\nGod, being allied unto Tobiah, <\/p>\n
470
\n00:37:26,560 –> 00:37:30,520
\nhad prepared for him a great
\nchamber, where before time they <\/p>\n
471
\n00:37:30,840 –> 00:37:34,480
\nlaid the meal offerings,
\nfrankincense, and the vessels, <\/p>\n
472
\n00:37:34,480 –> 00:37:38,040
\nand the ties of the corn and
\nwine and the oil which were <\/p>\n
473
\n00:37:38,040 –> 00:37:41,680
\ngiven by commandments of the
\nLevites, and the singers and the<\/p>\n
474
\n00:37:41,680 –> 00:37:44,720
\nporters, and the heave offerings
\nfor the priests. <\/p>\n
475
\n00:37:45,280 –> 00:37:48,640
\nBut in all this time I was not
\nat Jerusalem. <\/p>\n
476
\n00:37:48,640 –> 00:37:54,000
\nThat’s an interesting statement.
\nAll this time I was not at <\/p>\n
477
\n00:37:54,000 –> 00:37:57,920
\nJerusalem, but in the two and
\n30th year of Artaxerxes king of <\/p>\n
478
\n00:37:57,920 –> 00:38:00,840
\nAbraham.
\nI went on to the king after <\/p>\n
479
\n00:38:00,840 –> 00:38:04,640
\ncertain days asked I leave of
\nthe king, and I came to <\/p>\n
480
\n00:38:04,640 –> 00:38:08,600
\nJerusalem and understood the
\nevil that Elijah had done for <\/p>\n
481
\n00:38:08,600 –> 00:38:10,920
\nthe boy, and propelling him a
\nchamber in the court of the <\/p>\n
482
\n00:38:10,920 –> 00:38:14,160
\nHouse of God.
\nIt looks as though you see <\/p>\n
483
\n00:38:17,120 –> 00:38:21,360
\nNehemiah for some reason was
\nrecalled to Shushan the king <\/p>\n
484
\n00:38:21,360 –> 00:38:24,280
\nArtaxerxes.
\nAnd all I’m saying is it might <\/p>\n
485
\n00:38:24,280 –> 00:38:28,760
\nhave been to clear his name
\nbecause of the evil report which<\/p>\n
486
\n00:38:29,080 –> 00:38:34,800
\nthis Trinity of evil men had
\ncirculated to the king in order <\/p>\n
487
\n00:38:34,800 –> 00:38:40,280
\nto try to hinder the world.
\nSo Nehemiah and his brethren had<\/p>\n
488
\n00:38:40,280 –> 00:38:46,440
\nto face active opposition.
\nBut he refused resolutely to be <\/p>\n
489
\n00:38:46,680 –> 00:38:50,360
\nhindered all away from the task
\nfor any reason, and this spirit <\/p>\n
490
\n00:38:50,360 –> 00:38:56,000
\npermeated his breath.
\nNow can I finally draw attention<\/p>\n
491
\n00:38:56,000 –> 00:38:58,440
\nto one other vital factor,
\nBrendan Sisters. <\/p>\n
492
\n00:39:00,880 –> 00:39:05,520
\nAs I read the record, one thing
\nstrikes me finally, what I would<\/p>\n
493
\n00:39:05,520 –> 00:39:08,960
\ncall the sobriety of the rank
\nand file. <\/p>\n
494
\n00:39:08,960 –> 00:39:14,640
\nNow I I use the word sobriety in
\nit’s pure sense that is steady, <\/p>\n
495
\n00:39:15,200 –> 00:39:20,240
\nbalanced, and so on.
\nThat is the good blooding work <\/p>\n
496
\n00:39:20,240 –> 00:39:23,360
\nof all the men whose names are
\nnot written in this narrative, <\/p>\n
497
\n00:39:24,000 –> 00:39:26,680
\nbut whose deeds made the success
\npossible. <\/p>\n
498
\n00:39:27,760 –> 00:39:31,960
\nIn the final analysis, you see
\ngreat enterprises are nearly <\/p>\n
499
\n00:39:31,960 –> 00:39:37,680
\nover, which won by the steady,
\nsober, self controlled <\/p>\n
500
\n00:39:37,680 –> 00:39:43,320
\nfaithfulness of ordinary people.
\nI know there’s a place for the <\/p>\n
501
\n00:39:43,320 –> 00:39:45,760
\nmeteoric.
\nI know there’s a place for the <\/p>\n
502
\n00:39:45,760 –> 00:39:47,360
\nvolcanic element.
\nI know that. <\/p>\n
503
\n00:39:48,440 –> 00:39:53,600
\nBut it is not that really that
\nwins the victory very often. <\/p>\n
504
\n00:39:53,920 –> 00:39:56,160
\nI mean, nature can be an
\nillustration. <\/p>\n
505
\n00:39:58,440 –> 00:40:02,440
\nThere’s a place in nature for
\nthe volcanic, but it’s nearly <\/p>\n
506
\n00:40:02,440 –> 00:40:05,760
\nalways occasional.
\nI think you will agree that the <\/p>\n
507
\n00:40:05,760 –> 00:40:09,200
\nvolcanic is occasional.
\nIt’s never regular. <\/p>\n
508
\n00:40:10,920 –> 00:40:14,040
\nNot long ago I was reading
\nsomething about the little <\/p>\n
509
\n00:40:14,040 –> 00:40:17,600
\nislands in the Pacific.
\nMost of them are things of <\/p>\n
510
\n00:40:17,600 –> 00:40:21,040
\nbeauty and wonder I understand
\noccasionally. <\/p>\n
511
\n00:40:21,040 –> 00:40:24,320
\nOne of these islands was thrown
\nup suddenly overnight, a <\/p>\n
512
\n00:40:24,320 –> 00:40:27,640
\nvolcanic island.
\nBut the truth is, the great <\/p>\n
513
\n00:40:27,640 –> 00:40:30,680
\nmajority of them didn’t come in
\nthis way at all. <\/p>\n
514
\n00:40:31,200 –> 00:40:35,600
\nThe majority were formed by the
\ntedious, persistent work of <\/p>\n
515
\n00:40:35,600 –> 00:40:41,560
\ncoral insects operating over
\nthousands of years, adding year <\/p>\n
516
\n00:40:41,560 –> 00:40:44,480
\nby year to the formation and
\nbeauty of the coral reef. <\/p>\n
517
\n00:40:45,400 –> 00:40:49,280
\nThat, in a way, is a figure.
\nThis is how it is with the worth<\/p>\n
518
\n00:40:49,280 –> 00:40:53,240
\nof God.
\nYou see, when the city of God is<\/p>\n
519
\n00:40:53,240 –> 00:40:58,200
\nfinally built, and when the
\nLord’s purpose is finally <\/p>\n
520
\n00:40:58,200 –> 00:41:02,520
\nmanifest, there will no doubt be
\nrecognition of those who did <\/p>\n
521
\n00:41:02,520 –> 00:41:07,520
\nthings exclusively, who did
\nthings suddenly and <\/p>\n
522
\n00:41:08,240 –> 00:41:16,960
\nmagnificently, meteorically.
\nBut there are also, perhaps most<\/p>\n
523
\n00:41:16,960 –> 00:41:19,480
\nof all, there will be
\nrecognition of those who didn’t,<\/p>\n
524
\n00:41:20,640 –> 00:41:25,640
\nof those who worked quietly and
\nsteadily, going on when the way <\/p>\n
525
\n00:41:25,640 –> 00:41:30,960
\nwas hard, going on when the
\nshadows were dark, when the way <\/p>\n
526
\n00:41:30,960 –> 00:41:32,880
\nseemed full of hopeless
\nmonotony. <\/p>\n
527
\n00:41:33,040 –> 00:41:36,480
\nGoing on in spite of the
\nopposition not minding the <\/p>\n
528
\n00:41:36,480 –> 00:41:41,200
\nantagonism, seem thy duty
\nclearly and doing it faithfully <\/p>\n
529
\n00:41:41,200 –> 00:41:43,920
\nand quietly.
\nThis is how the Wall was built, <\/p>\n
530
\n00:41:45,360 –> 00:41:47,520
\nand this is how it goes on being
\nbuilt. <\/p>\n
531
\n00:41:49,400 –> 00:41:53,360
\nThere are those here today in
\nthis House I know, who have, who<\/p>\n
532
\n00:41:53,360 –> 00:41:58,480
\nwere building the Wall 50 years
\nago in the truth, and they still<\/p>\n
533
\n00:41:58,480 –> 00:42:01,760
\nare.
\nAnd they have come through the <\/p>\n
534
\n00:42:01,760 –> 00:42:04,320
\nstress and the toil and the
\nstorm. <\/p>\n
535
\n00:42:04,320 –> 00:42:07,400
\nThey have prayed and they have
\nhoped and they have believed and<\/p>\n
536
\n00:42:07,400 –> 00:42:10,240
\nthey have wrought and they have
\nbeloved for their faithfulness. <\/p>\n
537
\n00:42:11,600 –> 00:42:15,320
\nAnd we know in our hearts that
\nthe day is coming when the city <\/p>\n
538
\n00:42:15,320 –> 00:42:19,160
\nof God shall be finally built,
\nwhen it’s just. <\/p>\n
539
\n00:42:19,160 –> 00:42:23,080
\nThe walls will flash with glory,
\nwhen its streets will shine with<\/p>\n
540
\n00:42:23,080 –> 00:42:27,360
\ngold.
\nAnd God’s victory will be won, <\/p>\n
541
\n00:42:28,640 –> 00:42:33,080
\nbut it’s not won yet.
\nIt’s this vision on the distant <\/p>\n
542
\n00:42:33,080 –> 00:42:36,400
\nboundary which fills us with the
\nMaster Passion. <\/p>\n
543
\n00:42:36,960 –> 00:42:40,480
\nAnd if you add to that Master
\nPassion the spirit of self, <\/p>\n
544
\n00:42:40,480 –> 00:42:43,800
\nAbnegation.
\nAnd then the readiness to work <\/p>\n
545
\n00:42:44,160 –> 00:42:47,160
\nthat is doing the thing which we
\nare best able to do. <\/p>\n
546
\n00:42:47,520 –> 00:42:50,440
\nDoing that which is nearing us,
\nnearest to us. <\/p>\n
547
\n00:42:50,760 –> 00:42:54,560
\nDoing that the next thing.
\nDoing it gladly. <\/p>\n
548
\n00:42:56,160 –> 00:42:58,520
\nAccepting the discipline of the
\nword of God. <\/p>\n
549
\n00:42:59,280 –> 00:43:03,760
\nBeing steadfast and unmovable,
\nready to build and ready to <\/p>\n
550
\n00:43:03,760 –> 00:43:07,680
\nbattle, never diminishing our
\nenthusiasm. <\/p>\n
551
\n00:43:08,080 –> 00:43:12,000
\nDoing it in warm blood with a
\npassion. <\/p>\n
552
\n00:43:13,040 –> 00:43:17,720
\nMerging courage and caution with
\nstability and quiet steadiness <\/p>\n
553
\n00:43:17,720 –> 00:43:25,120
\nand self-control.
\nSo the wall will be built, and <\/p>\n
554
\n00:43:25,120 –> 00:43:28,560
\nin the light of all this then,
\nand accepting the principle that<\/p>\n
555
\n00:43:28,560 –> 00:43:32,640
\nI propose to you at the
\nbeginning, but the character of <\/p>\n
556
\n00:43:32,640 –> 00:43:36,360
\nMihimaya is revealed in the life
\nof those he led. <\/p>\n
557
\n00:43:37,200 –> 00:43:40,000
\nHow, finally shall we mark and
\nmeasure him? <\/p>\n
558
\n00:43:41,400 –> 00:43:46,040
\nWell, first of all, it seems to
\nme that you have the idea that <\/p>\n
559
\n00:43:46,040 –> 00:43:54,640
\nthis man had a very strong and
\nstrenuous personality is one of <\/p>\n
560
\n00:43:54,640 –> 00:43:58,280
\nhis great accurate.
\nHe’s his absolute fidelity to <\/p>\n
561
\n00:43:58,280 –> 00:44:01,200
\nthe courts.
\nI’ve said before, I don’t know <\/p>\n
562
\n00:44:01,200 –> 00:44:04,760
\nwhether I said it at this
\nschool, but I’ve said it before <\/p>\n
563
\n00:44:04,760 –> 00:44:15,680
\non this tour that personally I
\nplace on loyal a great deal of <\/p>\n
564
\n00:44:15,680 –> 00:44:21,040
\nemphasis.
\nI I love men who are loyal. <\/p>\n
565
\n00:44:24,040 –> 00:44:24,840
\nRight?
\nYou know, when you’ve been a <\/p>\n
566
\n00:44:24,840 –> 00:44:28,200
\nrecording brother for a long
\ntime, then you learn that it’s <\/p>\n
567
\n00:44:28,200 –> 00:44:32,120
\nloyal man who can.
\nAs I said before, I’ll forgive a<\/p>\n
568
\n00:44:32,120 –> 00:44:34,720
\nman a lot he’s been.
\nIf he’s loyal for the truth, <\/p>\n
569
\n00:44:35,440 –> 00:44:38,640
\nI’ll forgive him for having a
\ndifferent opinion from myself. <\/p>\n
570
\n00:44:40,520 –> 00:44:42,920
\nI’ll even forgive him for
\nthinking his intellect is better<\/p>\n
571
\n00:44:42,920 –> 00:44:46,440
\nthan mine.
\nIf he’s loyal, if he’ll join <\/p>\n
572
\n00:44:46,440 –> 00:44:49,560
\nhands with me and and be true to
\nthe faith. <\/p>\n
573
\n00:44:52,080 –> 00:44:57,920
\nNow Nehemiah was this kind.
\nHis absolute fidelity was the <\/p>\n
574
\n00:44:57,920 –> 00:45:01,520
\nsecret.
\nThe master passion mastered him.<\/p>\n
575
\n00:45:01,960 –> 00:45:06,000
\nThen you add to that the three
\noutstanding things, honesty and <\/p>\n
576
\n00:45:06,000 –> 00:45:10,080
\ntact and sagacity.
\nAnd under his influence, not <\/p>\n
577
\n00:45:10,080 –> 00:45:13,840
\nonly did the work go forward
\nfrom dawn till dusk, but the <\/p>\n
578
\n00:45:13,840 –> 00:45:17,360
\npeople themselves, they they
\ngrew stronger and better in <\/p>\n
579
\n00:45:17,360 –> 00:45:22,920
\nurban life as the work went on.
\nThe inspiration provided by <\/p>\n
580
\n00:45:22,920 –> 00:45:26,680
\nNehemiah resulted in a
\nresurrection of nationals, a <\/p>\n
581
\n00:45:26,680 –> 00:45:29,520
\nnational spirit of independence
\nwhich perhaps had been <\/p>\n
582
\n00:45:29,520 –> 00:45:33,360
\nslumbering for some time,
\ndormant and unrecognised, <\/p>\n
583
\n00:45:34,400 –> 00:45:38,920
\nNehemiah was a strong man, but
\nhe found it difficult to <\/p>\n
584
\n00:45:38,920 –> 00:45:42,600
\ntolerate schemers and fiddlers
\nand strivers. <\/p>\n
585
\n00:45:44,640 –> 00:45:47,880
\nHe was a reformer.
\nHe was a man of action, the <\/p>\n
586
\n00:45:47,880 –> 00:45:52,840
\ncivil patriot of his age, and as
\nI said, was the ecclesiastical <\/p>\n
587
\n00:45:52,840 –> 00:45:56,800
\npatriot.
\nAnd through him so that through <\/p>\n
588
\n00:45:56,800 –> 00:46:00,120
\nhim the men of the nation were
\nconsolidated. <\/p>\n
589
\n00:46:00,120 –> 00:46:03,680
\nThey were ready for the trials
\nwhich were lying ahead of the <\/p>\n
590
\n00:46:03,680 –> 00:46:06,600
\nrace.
\nHe was no theorizer. <\/p>\n
591
\n00:46:07,520 –> 00:46:12,960
\nThere are too many of them here.
\nHe was a man of faith and work, <\/p>\n
592
\n00:46:13,400 –> 00:46:17,680
\na strong man, but at the same
\ntime a sensitive man because <\/p>\n
593
\n00:46:17,680 –> 00:46:23,120
\nhe’s sometimes strong men tend
\nto become hard and sometimes <\/p>\n
594
\n00:46:23,120 –> 00:46:25,280
\nsensitive men tend to become
\nweak. <\/p>\n
595
\n00:46:26,960 –> 00:46:32,080
\nIt seems to me that in Ihimaya
\nthe opposing forces are rightly <\/p>\n
596
\n00:46:32,080 –> 00:46:35,800
\nmerged, balanced, merging of all
\nthese forces. <\/p>\n
597
\n00:46:37,560 –> 00:46:41,640
\nHe is a humble man, and yet
\ncompelled to honesty, he spoke <\/p>\n
598
\n00:46:41,640 –> 00:46:47,200
\nthe truth truthfully.
\nSerious men in this world have <\/p>\n
599
\n00:46:47,200 –> 00:46:52,600
\nno time for subtleties.
\nNehemiah is straightforward in <\/p>\n
600
\n00:46:52,600 –> 00:46:57,960
\nhis speech, in his passion in
\nhis life, and I think in that <\/p>\n
601
\n00:46:57,960 –> 00:47:01,520
\nlay his greatness.
\nAnd it was by that that he built<\/p>\n
602
\n00:47:01,520 –> 00:47:06,320
\nthe wall around the city of God,
\nand he built in the hearts and <\/p>\n
603
\n00:47:06,320 –> 00:47:09,800
\nthe spirits of those men who
\nwere with him the devotion and <\/p>\n
604
\n00:47:09,800 –> 00:47:13,800
\nthe dedication to the cause of
\nGod that that brought success. <\/p>\n
605
\n00:47:15,320 –> 00:47:20,000
\nSo in in the recollection of his
\nexample, let us let us take <\/p>\n
606
\n00:47:20,000 –> 00:47:23,960
\ncourage, brother and the sisters
\nin the final sense. <\/p>\n
607
\n00:47:24,280 –> 00:47:30,840
\nThe wall is not yet built, but
\nit will be, God be praised. <\/p>\n
608
\n00:47:31,040 –> 00:47:34,480
\nIt will.
\nThat is the master passion of <\/p>\n
609
\n00:47:34,480 –> 00:47:37,320
\nour faith.
\nThat is the pole style of our <\/p>\n
610
\n00:47:37,320 –> 00:47:41,040
\nlife.
\nIt’s the one thing that nerves <\/p>\n
611
\n00:47:41,040 –> 00:47:44,760
\nus in the day of battle.
\nIt steals us in the face of <\/p>\n
612
\n00:47:44,760 –> 00:47:47,280
\nopposition.
\nIt will be built. <\/p>\n
613
\n00:47:49,000 –> 00:47:51,920
\nAnd why are we so sure it will
\nbe built? <\/p>\n
614
\n00:47:52,240 –> 00:47:55,800
\nWhat is the what is the force of
\nour assurance? <\/p>\n
615
\n00:47:57,880 –> 00:48:04,680
\nBecause there was one who came
\nafter Nihimaya, the man of the <\/p>\n
616
\n00:48:04,680 –> 00:48:10,000
\nages he was, and he came like
\nNihimaya, and he visited the <\/p>\n
617
\n00:48:10,000 –> 00:48:16,040
\nruin and inspected it.
\nAnd then he gave all and placed <\/p>\n
618
\n00:48:16,040 –> 00:48:21,160
\nall at the disposal of God for
\nthe winning of the victim and <\/p>\n
619
\n00:48:21,160 –> 00:48:23,560
\ntaking counsel with no man save
\nGod. <\/p>\n
620
\n00:48:23,560 –> 00:48:30,960
\nOnly he did what had to be done.
\nAnd he is coming again soon to <\/p>\n
621
\n00:48:30,960 –> 00:48:35,960
\nwrite the summary of the
\nbuilding and of the battle of <\/p>\n
622
\n00:48:35,960 –> 00:48:38,240
\nthe ages.
\nAnd you know what he is going to<\/p>\n
623
\n00:48:38,240 –> 00:48:44,720
\nwrite?
\nThe wall is finished. <\/p>\n
624
\n00:48:48,960 –> 00:48:54,920
\nThose words express the triumph
\nof God’s victory among men. <\/p>\n
625
\n00:48:55,680 –> 00:49:01,240
\nThe wall is finished.
\nNow these things will be ours, <\/p>\n
626
\n00:49:01,240 –> 00:49:05,880
\nbrothers and sisters, according
\nas we stand with him now in the <\/p>\n
627
\n00:49:05,880 –> 00:49:14,080
\nSpirit of Nehemiah, building and
\nfighting until the world is <\/p>\n
628
\n00:49:14,080 –> 00:49:14,440
\ndone.\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Class 5 from this series was used in GCT Episode 267. 1 00:00:00,240 –> 00:00:02,760 Well,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":786,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/s\/8765608\/podcast\/play\/78040734\/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2023-10-1%2F2244e78f-6701-d100-7f0e-76681a0dedb0.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:49:14","filesize":"33.75M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"tags":[26],"series":[18],"class_list":["post-1022","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-season-6","series-gct-ext"],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1319730-1546836077275-ad9b1fa65b482-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1319730-1546836075997-e4feb369d8bf.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1","download_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-download\/1022\/dennis-gillett-bible-men-the-way-they-were-class-4-nehemiah-the-sword-and-the-trowel","player_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1022\/dennis-gillett-bible-men-the-way-they-were-class-4-nehemiah-the-sword-and-the-trowel","audio_player":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1022\/dennis-gillett-bible-men-the-way-they-were-class-4-nehemiah-the-sword-and-the-trowel<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"anchor":{"key":"anchor","url":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/gct-extended","label":"Anchor","class":"anchor","icon":"anchor.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended\/id1451458376?mt=2&uo=4","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"breaker":{"key":"breaker","url":"","label":"Breaker","class":"breaker","icon":"breaker.png"},"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"https:\/\/castbox.fm\/channel\/id1440738","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NzY1NjA4L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"overcast":{"key":"overcast","url":"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1451458376\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Overcast","class":"overcast","icon":"overcast.png"},"pocketcasts":{"key":"pocketcasts","url":"https:\/\/pca.st\/s6u6","label":"PocketCasts","class":"pocketcasts","icon":"pocketcasts.png"},"podbean":{"key":"podbean","url":"","label":"Podbean","class":"podbean","icon":"podbean.png"},"radio_public":{"key":"radio_public","url":"https:\/\/radiopublic.com\/good-christadelphian-talks-extend-8X4LpA","label":"Radio Public","class":"radio_public","icon":"radio-public.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/572NtU94bGKGknHF4gmlM6","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/anchor-podcasts\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/GoodChristadelphianTalksPodcast","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/feed\/podcast\/gct-ext","embedCode":"Dennis Gillett – Bible Men The Way They Were – Class 4 – Nehemiah – The Sword and the Trowel<\/a><\/blockquote>