Lessons from the Wall

So we're going to turn to chapter 3 in the book of Nehemiah, if you can.

Chapter 3, and we're going to start at verse 1.

Then Eliashib, the high priest, rose up with his brethren, the priests,

and they builded the sheep gate.

They sanctified it and set up the doors of it,

even unto the tower of Meah, they sanctified it unto the tower of Hananiel.

And next unto him builded the men of Jericho,

and next unto them builded Sekur, the son of Imri.

But the fish gate did the sons of Hassanah build,

who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof,

and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

And next unto them repaired Merimoth, the son of Uriah,

and the son of Koz.

Then next unto them repaired Meshulam, the son of Berichai,

the son of Meshez-Ebel.

And next unto them repaired Zadok, the son of Banna.

And next unto them the Ticoites repaired,

but their nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord.

Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehudiah, the son of Passiah,

and Meshulam, the son of Besodiah.

They laid the beams thereof, and set the doors thereof,

and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

And next unto them repaired Melatiah, the Gibeonite,

and Jadon, the Maranathite,

and the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah,

unto the throne of the governor, on this side of the river.

And next unto them repaired Uziel, the son of Haraniah,

the goldsmiths.

And next unto him repaired Hananiah,

the son of one of the apothecaries.

They fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.

And next unto them repaired Rephiah, the son of Hur,

the ruler of half part of Jerusalem.

And next unto them repaired Jedidiah, the son of Haruhmah,

even against his house.

And next unto him repaired Hattush,

the son of Hashib, Benaiah,

and Malchijah, the son of Hamron,

and Hashib, the son of Pathmoab,

repaired the other piece,

and to the tower of the furnaces.

And next unto him repaired Shalom,

the son of Halohesh,

the ruler of half part of Jerusalem,

he and his daughters.

The valley gate repaired Hanun,

and the inhabitants of Zenoa.

They built it, and set the doors thereof,

the locks thereof, and the bars thereof,

and a thousand cubits of the wall unto the dung gate.

And we're going to leave off the reading of our passage there.

Now I know what you're thinking.

What are we doing here?

What are we doing here in this portion of Nehemiah here?

And I will tell you that it has been my practice,

any opportunity that I've had to share God's word,

that I would not bring something to you,

and to try and teach you something,

if God first has not taught me.

So by way of encouragement,

I was looking to show you from God's word,

how all of God's word is a benefit to you.

And so many of you know this passage,

in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17,

2 Timothy 3:16

it says,

All scripture is God-breathed,

all scripture is God-breathed,

and is profitable for doctrine,

and reproof,

for correction,

for instruction in righteousness,

that the man of God may be perfect,

thoroughly furnished,

furnished unto all good works.

So that means even a list of workers at a construction site,

in God's word,

is going to be profitable to us.

And so we trust that the Holy Spirit will do his work,

and show us what he has for us today.

But as I was trying to attach this verse in 2 Timothy,

as an encouragement for you,

the Lord stopped me.

And for the better part of a week,

I was caused to contemplate the precious breath of God.

The precious breath of God.

I had an image in my head.

This is not from scripture.

This is at best sanctified imagination.

But I had an image in my head,

which I could not get out for nearly a week.

And I found myself,

at the end of my time,

standing before God in judgment,

seeing Jesus,

and running into his arms.

And I began to feel his breath.

His sweet, warm breath on me.

And all of the heartaches of this world.

All of the trials and sorrow.

All of the pain and suffering.

All of my fear and anxiety.

Begins to melt away.

And in his embrace,

sin and shame

and regret

no longer have any meaning.

And with his nail-pierced hands,

he's wiping away my tears.

You know, at the beginning of time,

the Bible says that God breathed into man

the breath of life.

And man became a living soul.

We just read in 2 Timothy

that God breathed scripture for us.

His holy word.

And we cannot forget,

with his dying breath,

he called out,

it is finished.

The precious breath of God.

There is a modern-day hymn.

It says,

Behold the man upon a cross,

my sin upon his shoulders.

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice.

My mocking voice call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held him there

until it was accomplished.

His dying breath has brought me life.

I know that it is finished.

I spent nearly a week of my time

preparing the rest of the message

that, Lord willing,

we'll get to here

because the Lord stopped me

to think about

the precious breath of God.

And I was reminded

that if I am striving today

to encourage you

with godly encouragement,

God says,

I must first encourage you.

Back towards Nehemiah.

Thank you for bearing with me

as we went through these names

this morning.

I wanted to encourage you all,

as I said before,

to dive into all of God's scripture.

How many of us hang out

in the Gospels,

Proverbs,

or Psalms,

hang out in Genesis?

How many of us

venture into Ezra

or Lamentations,

Deuteronomy,

or Leviticus?

Has anybody here read Hosea

or Zathaniah?

I think we still have at the back

these read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans,

and I will tell you,

it is amazing

as you read through

some of these books

how all of a sudden

other parts of the Bible

begin to come to life.

We see here in Nehemiah

what appears to be

a list of workers

at a construction site.

For those of you

who are unfamiliar

with the story of Nehemiah,

he was a cupbearer

in a pagan king's hall.

The nation of Israel

were under captivity

at this time.

And God called him

because of Nehemiah's own heartache

for his people.

The city wall of Jerusalem

had been broken down.

And so God caused him

to have favor with the king

that he served as cupbearer to.

And the king sent him

with letters

to not only

provide him safe passage

back to Jerusalem,

but also to provide him

with the things he would need

to rebuild the wall.

And so we come to this portion here

where we begin to read.

That's not even the whole

list of names here.

And at first glance,

we may look at this

and say there's a list of names.

Well, actually,

I believe there's two lists here.

There's actually two lists here.

We have a list of many names.

And it talks about

their sons and their brothers

and their daughters building.

But then in verse 5 it says,

But their nobles put not

their necks

to the work of the Lord.

And so we actually

have two lists here.

We have a list of those

who did work

and a list of those

who did not work.

We have a list of those

who put their necks

to the work of the Lord

and a list of those

who did not.

So the first thing

I see here in Scripture

is actually God's

plea for salvation

for each and every one of us.

Do you know that

these names are in God's book here?

The Bible that He's given us.

But the Bible tells us

that there's another book somewhere.

It's called

The Book of Life.

And interestingly enough,

in that book

there's a list of names.

In that book

it lists the names

of those who have

cried out to Jesus

in faith

knowing

that His finished work

on the cross

is the only way

to salvation.

Knowing that

from Jesus' own mouth

He says,

None come to the Father

except by me.

And as I

contemplated

these

two lists

that were here

and the names

that were written

in the book here

I thought to myself

were all of our names

written in

the book of life?

It's very interesting

to note

as we look

at the second list

they are known

only as nobles.

God chose

not to even mention

their names

in Scripture.

Do you know

it will be the same

for you

when you see

God in judgment

if you have not

accepted Jesus

as your Lord

and Savior?

In Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

a very familiar

a very

to the point

cautious

point of Scripture

it says

Not everyone

that saith unto me

Lord, Lord

shall enter

into the kingdom

of heaven

but he that

doeth the will

of my Father

which is in heaven

many

many

how many

of you

sitting here today

will be among

that many

many will say

unto me

in that day

Lord, Lord

have we not

prophesied

in thy name

and in thy name

have cast out

devils

and in thy name

have done

many wonderful

works

and then

this is Jesus

I will

profess unto

them

I never

knew you

depart

from me

ye that

work in

equity

when you

stand before

the Lord

in judgment

will he

know your

name

or will

he be

nameless

like these

nobles

I think

it's very

interesting

to us

that we

know

that they

are nobles

because

how many

of us

how many

of the

people

that we

know

how many

people

in this

room

think that

their

position

in life

or their

goodness

in life

these are

nobles

of the

nation

of God's

chosen

people

are you

telling me

these

nobles

never went

to

the

synagogue

are you

telling me

these

nobles

never

celebrated

the

religious

ceremonies

and

did

works

did good

works

of course

they did

of course

they did

but just

like we

see here

in their

ear in

this

passage

their

names

are not

mentioned

this is

a very

solemn

warning

that we

do not

know what

tomorrow

may

bring

and the

day

when you

stand

in front

of the

Lord

it is

forever

and too

late

for you

to decide

I said

this the

last time

I spoke

I remember

speaking at

my great

aunt's

funeral

and I've

told this

story before

and my

grandfather

retired

preacher

asked me

to speak

I don't

know why

he did

that

it was

his

sister

and I

said

we don't

know

whether or

not

she's

saved

we actually

think she

probably

wasn't

saved

when she

passed

I'm like

what do

I say

what do

I say

to that

and he

said

you know

what you

say

now she

knows

without a

shadow

of a

doubt

that there

is a

God

when you

stand

before the

Lord

it is

forever

and too

late

you need

to decide

before that

time

happens

I wonder

if you

are here

today

and you

are similar

to these

nobles

in that

you are

a

respected

member

of the

community

maybe

a respected

regular

tender

of this

church

maybe

you're

a member

of this

church

but you

haven't

actually put

your faith

in Jesus

just as

these

nobles

did not

put their

necks to

the work

of the

Lord

to bend

their backs

over to

build this

wall

maybe

there

are

some

of you

that

have

not

bent

your

heart

yielded

your

soul

to the

Lord

Jesus

I heard

someone say

once

how much

do I

have to

hate

you

to

absolutely

despise

you

to not

tell

you

that

danger

is

coming

if I

was to

see you

walking

into

traffic

and

looking

down

the

road

not

seeing

traffic

come

this

way

how

much

would

I

have

to

hate

you

to

not

call

out

to

you

to

not

if

I

had

an

opportunity

run

and

grab

you

and

pull

you

out

of

traffic

how

much

more

that

we

don't

share

the

gospel

how

much

more

that

I'm

not

honest

with

you

today

we

see

here

in

many

parts

of

the

this

passage

here

we

saw

once

already

and

verse

10

it

says

that

he

built

against

his

house

we

see

also

in

other

places

in

verse

21

from

the

door

of

his

house

verse

23

their

house

built

by

their

house

verse

27

28

in

their

house

29

they

built

in

their

house

towards

their

house

many

many

preachers

I've

heard

preach

on

that

preach

on

the

fact

that

they

worked

on

the

house

worked

on

the

portion

of

the

wall

that

was

in

front

of

their

house

all

these

workers

came

but

they

worked

in

front

of

their

house

and

I

will

mention

some

things

on

that

but

I

think

the

interesting

thing

here

and

it's

by

example

I

think

most

predominantly

in

verse

12

it

says

and

next

unto

him

repaired

Shalom

the

son

of

Halohesh

the

ruler

of

half

part

of

Jerusalem

he

and

his

daughters

builded

the

wall

now

I'm

a sucker

being a

dad

to

girls

but

I

will

tell

you

that

you

cannot

strive

to

do

the

Lord's

work

outside

of

your

house

until

you

work

to

build

the

Lord

and

King

Jesus

inside

your

house

first

when

I

first

came

across

this

passage

I

was

struck

by the

way

that

Shalom's

daughters

brought

him

honor

they're

building a

wall

with bricks

and mortar

this

is

man's

work

this

is

hard

work

but

ultimately

in verse

five

it says

it's

the

work

of

the

Lord

what

kind

of

man

must

shall

have

been

inside

his

home

that

when

he said

I'm

going

outside

to do

the

Lord's

work

his

family

followed

his

daughters

followed

not

concerned

about

how

hard

it

would

be

not

concerned

what

others

would

think

about

doing

man's

work

quote

unquote

I

will

tell

you

Shalom

is a

man

that I

want

to be

like

what

do we

know

about

Shalom

we

know

who

his

dad

was

Hal

Ohesh

we

know

that

he

was

the

half

part

ruler

of

half

of

Jerusalem

and

we

know

that

he

had

daughters

but

by

reason

of

what

he

did

and

what

his

daughters

did

I

can

tell

you

that

he

loved

the

Lord

he

was

a

man

that

I

would

be

willing

to

follow

because

you

can

see

that

what

he

did

inside

his

home

led

to

how

he

behaved

outside

of

his

home

and

no

doubt

he

led

half

of

Jerusalem

well

my

daughters

have

brought

me

honor

not

because

they

strive

to do

the

things

that

make

me

happy

or

make

me

proud

although

they

do

them

but

because

they

strive

to do

what

God

wants

of

them

they

strive

to learn

more

about

God

strive

to

honor

God

with

their

actions

and

I

will

tell

you

that

the

Bible

says

that

those

who

honor

God

he

will

honor

how

many

of you

think

that

Shalom's

daughters

thought

when

they

walked

out

that

door

and

rolled

up

their

sleeves

and

started

making

brick

and

making

mortar

that

they

would

be

in

God's

word

for

all

time

oh

to

be

honored

of

God

just

as

they

stepped

outside

and

looked

at

this

broken

wall

so

we're

stepping

outside

into

a

broken

world

full

of

broken

hearts

and

broken

lives

broken

families

and

broken

relationships

lives

without

Christ

do

you know

that

we

cannot

fix

lives

we

can't

put

them

back

together

but

we

can

be

used

of

God

we

can

point

people

to

Christ

he

is

that

great

rock

that

blessed

cornerstone

that is

the head

of the

corner

on

which

broken

men

and

women

and

children

can

begin

to

rebuild

their

lives

would

we

not

roll

up

our

sleeves

and

be

used

of

God

to

rebuild

lives

and

to

point

people

to

Jesus

I

also

want

to

make

a

point

here

in

verse

five

we've

read

it

before

it

makes

it

very

clear

whose

work

this

is

it

is

the

work

of

the

Lord

it

is

the

Lord's

work

and

as

we

go

through

this

list

we

see

a

little

bit

into

what

it

means

to

serve

the

Lord

we

have

priests

and

we

have

goldsmiths

we

have

men

and

women

we

don't

have

any

ages

so

we

don't

know

if

we

have

young

and

old

probably

do

because

there's

generations

parents

and sons

parents

and

daughters

it is

about

the

Lord

it is

not

about

us

it is

about

the

Lord

it's

not

about

our

abilities

or

our

inabilities

when

God

asks

us

to

do

his

work

it's

not

about

us

it's

about

him

I

don't

know

how

many

of

you

remember

the

story

of

Naaman

the

great

commander

of the

army

but he

was a

leper

he had

leprosy

all over

his body

and he

went to

Elijah

the prophet

the great

man of

God

and he

came with

his

chariots

and

servants

Elijah

didn't

even

meet

him

Elijah

sent

out

a

servant

and

said

tell

him

that

God

says

go

wash

in

the

Jordan

seven

times

so

here

comes

Naaman

with

his

pomp

and

whatever

position

and

stature

he

thinks

he

has

to

see

the

great

man

of

God

to

be

healed

and

the

man

of

God

doesn't

even

go

out

to

see

him

now

this

is

all

orchestrated

by

God

in

heaven

how

this

all

plays

out

and

the

servant

says

my

master

tells

me

that

you

need

to

go

wash

in

the

Jordan

seven

times

and

you'll

be

healed

and

Naaman

doesn't

do it

Naaman

is like

mad

he's

like

I'm

Naaman

I'm

Naaman

you

want me

to go

wash

in

the

dirty

Jordan

river

seven

times

you

want

me

to

take

my

clothes

off

and my

armor

off

like

in front

of my

front

of my

my

subordinates

and hop

in the

water

here

and he

doesn't

do it

but

he

is

humbled

by

one

who

loves

him

because

one

of his

servants

comes

near

to him

2nd

Kings

5

verse

13

says

and

spake

unto him

and say

my

father

if the

prophet

had bid

thee

to do

some

great

thing

what's

thou

not

have

done

it

how

much

rather

than

when he

saith

to thee

wash

and be

clean

I

wonder

how

many

of us

if we

were handed

a microphone

in a

stadium

like Billy

Graham

would be

willing

to share

the gospel

share

your testimony

with somebody

or how

many

of us

through

ministry

of song

in front

of a

great

audience

would

sing

God's

praises

but we

won't even

give thanks

for our

meal

in the

lunchroom

at work

we

won't

even

speak

the name

of Jesus

around

our

neighbor

how

many

of us

if we

were

called

to do

a great

thing

for

God

would

do

it

but I

would

put

to you

today

by

example

of brick

and mortar

that

everything

God

calls you

to do

is a

great

thing

what

greater

thing

than to

point

someone

to

your

savior

do you

think

you're

not

equipped

to do

it

I

don't

know

if

Shalom's

daughters

had much

experience

in

masonry

masonry

I

don't

know

how much

the

goldsmith

had

experience

in

masonry

I

don't

know

how

much

the

soft

hands

of

the

cup

bearer

for

the

king

Nehemiah

himself

had

experience

in

masonry

but God

called

them

to do

it

and I

want to

make

clear

this

isn't

some

great

call

from

heaven

lightning

strikes

and

thunder

bolts

this

was a

righteous

cause

of

Christ

and

when

these

men

listed

here

and

these

sons

and

these

daughters

listed

here

heard

Nehemiah

say

let's

do

this

thing

for

the

Lord

he's

with

us

that's

enough

there

was

no

clouds

and

thunderstorm

on top

of

Mount

Sinai

no

pillars

of

smoke

or

fire

no

great

no

great

speech

from

a

prophet

how

many

of us

already

know

what

the

Lord

wants

us

to

do

and

we're

just

not

doing

it

how

many

of

you

think

it's

the

pastor's

job

to

talk

to

your

neighbor

about

Jesus

if

only

I

can

get

the

pastor

over

when

my

neighbor

is

out

gardening

then

we

can

start

the

conversation

how

many

think

you

know

you're

somebody

Shalom

was

the

half

ruler

of

Jerusalem

what's

he

doing

building

the

wall

men

women

sons

daughters

it's

the

Lord's

work

I

wonder

today

what

he's

been

calling

you

to

do

I

know

that

I

need

to

be

bold

I

know

that

I

need

to

be

not

ashamed

of

the

gospel

it's

very

easy

to

be

worried

about

what

people

will

think

it's

very

easy

to

be

worried

about

your

own

reputation

that's

why