Well, good morning, brothers and sisters.
I’d like to read a few verses—not all the verses we’ll cover in the message, but just a few to help us get our focus.
Turn to Revelation 19:10.
And I fell before his feet to do him homage.
Now, you know, this is John the apostle falling before the angel, and he says to me—that is, the angel:
See thou do it not: I am thy fellow bondman, and the fellow bondman of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus: do homage to God: for the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
I’d like to read one other verse—well, maybe just a few. Turn to Psalm 78:5. I think this verse is full of explanation about what the Old Testament is concerned with, just that first part of verse 5:
For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel.
And then, just read a few of the verses that are on my heart this morning. Turn to Nehemiah 6. If you don’t know where Nehemiah is, it’s before Psalms. Go before Psalms; you’ll find it.
Nehemiah 6:3 says:
And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
And then Nehemiah 6:15-16, I believe you’re familiar with:
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
And they perceived that this work was wrought by our God.
Now let’s have a word of prayer.
Lord, we always, always come to You in total dependence when we read Your Word. Unless the Holy Spirit illumines, unless You grant us eyes to see and ears to hear, we cannot comprehend what is in Your Word.
So give us, Lord, this morning, the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him. And Lord, we just pray: You alone have the words of eternal life. It is to You we come, to no one else, and we pray You will speak as we are in Your presence, and we will hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
We do this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
Okay, well, this is the second of a several-part series. I’m not sure if I’ll tell you how many yet, lest you stop coming. A several-part series on this single word: testimony.
That word has been very much on our heart. You know that this year’s family conference—the whole family conference—dealt with passing the torch of testimony. And for ten years, this word has been on my heart: testimony.
It is a word that is very important. And if you don’t understand this single word, testimony, you can’t understand what the Scriptures are about.
So we’re sort of looking at this global look of the Scriptures—sort of God’s first movies and His last movies—and an overall perspective of the Word of God, to begin to understand what this word testimony means. The overall burden is the testimony of God.
Now, I know all of us are familiar with the word testimony to some degree. We understand the Christian life is about testimony, or witness, if you prefer that word. But we’re often thinking of testimony in regard to personal testimony, or my testimony.
Now, I don’t want to demean that whatsoever. I believe you have to have a personal testimony when it comes to the Lord. You must know Him yourself.
But there is something grander. There is something bigger. There is something greater that is dealt with in the Word of God, and that is God’s testimony. Your personal testimony is part of that bigger picture. I hope you understand that.
God’s testimony is the consuming subject of the Bible from the beginning to the end.
So we were reading this one verse, at least this morning. Again, we read it last week in Revelation 19:10. I think when you come to Revelation, you begin to understand how much this issue of testimony is on God’s heart.
You begin to see this, what I call, biblically concluding phrase: the testimony of Jesus.
John said that was the whole reason the letter, or the Book of Revelation, was written. He stated it was the whole reason he was on the Isle of Patmos: for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
And when you come to the end of the book—in Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 19:10—we read that wonderful phrase: those that have the testimony of Jesus.
Now, that was the impetus for this burden. That word have, years ago, jumped off the page to me. And I said, “Lord, it seems to me the issue is not just that we understand some words concerning the testimony of Jesus.”
It is not that we can describe what we think, in theory, the testimony of Jesus is. But this is a bit of a play on words: when you come to the end of the Bible, the end of the book, in the end, what is important is that we have the testimony of Jesus.
So, if you understand those basic points, you begin to understand the genesis of the burden.
I love the way it ends in Revelation 19:10:
For the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
Now, what does that mean? I think it speaks volumes. What it simply says is that every prophetic word is summed up in this single thing: the testimony of Jesus.
The fulfillment of everything God has done, wants to do, and will do for eternity is concluded in this thought: the testimony of Jesus. The word simply means the essence of everything is the testimony of Jesus.
So that is sort of a beginning thought. We shared last time on the testimony of God revealed. Today, we will share on the testimony of God recovered.
Now, last time we just spoke about the Old Testament, the beginning. You know, the word testimony first occurs in the Old Testament. And the first time it occurs, it is capitalized in the English version. I think that is remarkable when you read it.
This testimony begins to make us understand what testimony is. This capitalized “Testimony,” when you read it, is God Himself.
They were told to put it before the Testimony, to place it before the Lord, to make it clear: God Himself is the testimony. Don’t ever make the mistake that we are the testimony. We are part of His testimony—thank God for that—but He is the testimony.
So we begin to understand, in the very first corporate move of God, what the testimony is in that first word.
We also see the second usage of that word: the ark of testimony, or the ark of the covenant, if you like to say it that way. But I prefer the way it is first spoken of: the ark of testimony.
In that ark, that single vessel, is everything. Everything is in that vessel. Here is the incorruptible Word, the Man that had no sin: the Lord Jesus.
That incorruptible wood—He is without sin, sin apart. He is gold all throughout, in and without, as it says of the ark of the testimony. And that ark speaks of the One alone who was very God of very God.
And then He is the mercy seat. You remember the cherubim over the ark of testimony, and God made this remarkable statement to the children of Israel. He said, “I will meet with you there.”
Where does He meet us? He meets us in the Lord Jesus. Our mercy seat is not an ark of gold, but a Person: the Lord Jesus.
And then you know the rest. We talked about the contents, how they speak of the testimony that is complete in the Lord Jesus.
That testimony: that bread, that manna that was put there, that omer of manna that speaks of the bread of life; that rod of Aaron that budded, that speaks of resurrection life. Where else is it but in the Lord Jesus?
And finally, not only that, but the tables, as they are described—the tables of testimony. The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the entire law.
And then we looked at another point: the tabernacle of testimony. If you forget that third point, there is no full testimony.
Brothers and sisters, that is not my word to sort of advance upon your thought—something of church teaching. That is God’s Word. The tabernacle of testimony is at the center of this thing of testimony.
The house of God is at the very center of His heart regarding testimony. And that fullness that is expressed in God Himself, the testimony, and that is fully expressed in the Lord Jesus, that vessel, the ark of testimony, is ultimately expressed in a people: the tabernacle of testimony.
So that is the testimony revealed, the first movement of God. Today, we are going to look at the testimony of God recovered.
And we are going to look at Nehemiah. Now, many people do not understand where Nehemiah falls in the Scripture. They think because it is before Psalms and Job, you know, surely it is one of the older books of the Old Testament. But it is at the end of the Old Testament.
It is the last historical book of the Old Testament. It is contemporary with the Book of Malachi, the prophecy of Malachi, and it covers a period from 445 to 420 BC.
So you have to keep Nehemiah in perspective. And the reason I am so strong about this is because it is the last movement of God in the Old Testament.
I happen to believe that first words are important: therefore, the Testimony. I happen to believe that last words are important: therefore, Revelation 19:10, and even in the Old Testament, the closing of the Old Testament record, Nehemiah.
So that is what we want to look at today.
Now, some people take the historic books of the Bible and read them simply as history. I am not against history. I love history. Well, I got A’s in both of my history courses, believe it or not.
I didn’t take your course. I get it. I would not have gotten an A; I would have been begging for mercy.
But they do not understand that this history is not just history. When you come to the New Testament, the Holy Spirit begins to explain what this history was all about.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:11—now, listen to this very carefully:
Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
That is a very important verse. Now you can read the Old Testament without thinking; you are just slogging through Jim’s lectures. Or you can read the Old Testament with a grand view in mind.
You can begin to think, “Here, God is speaking to us in the Word.” And these things that were done for them in types and representations were actually meant for us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.
That is a great explanation of the Old Testament. I am glad Paul committed it to the Word of God.
Now, what is the lesson with Nehemiah? Let’s put this in perspective as we begin to dig a little deeper in the book.
The lesson, I think, of Nehemiah is this: in the end, all of God’s energies are for the recovering of His testimony.
That is a very great lesson. You know, God could have given up on the children of Israel. And maybe you are a little bit like me and think He should have given up.
But the glory of the conclusion of the Old Testament is that we see all of God’s energies are focused on the recovering of His testimony. Isn’t that beautiful?
To me, that is incredibly beautiful.
It was a book that made a deep impression. You’ve heard me say this before. Some of you may even remember it.
There is a book that made a deep, deep impression upon me when I was a young believer. Someone handed me T. Austin-Sparks’ book—more like a booklet; it was so small.
Engineers do not like to read, I can tell you, and we will never read War and Peace. Forget it. Don’t give it to me. But a booklet I can handle.
And that booklet was The Recovering of the Lord’s Testimony in Fullness.
Those pages of that book, from that dear brother, opened up a universe to me of what the Bible meant. I thought, “Lord, this is it. This is what You are after. This is what You are doing.”
And that little book—if you have not read it—I make it required reading, and you will get an F in my class if you do not read that little booklet.
So that book, a small book, made a great impact on my Christian life: recovering the Lord’s testimony.
Let’s dig a little deeper. Recovering the Lord’s testimony in Nehemiah is illustrated by the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
Now, you may think, “What on earth does the wall of Jerusalem that was in ruin have to do with recovering the Lord’s testimony?” Well, the wall defined the city of Jerusalem.
Within those boundaries, God’s testimony was represented on earth. That is what the wall means. In that thing, this is of God. What is outside of that thing? This is not of God. This is the world.
So, in an illustrative way, Nehemiah’s theme and energies about the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem tell exactly what the testimony is all about. It is the expression of the life of God within the city.
The wall was in ruin. I already said it. And if you are going to understand the recovering of the Lord’s testimony, you are going to have to see the city. You’ve got to see it.
You remember what God said. He said, “I will choose a place, one place, one city; and in that one city,” He said, “there I will set My name.”
That is remarkable. He did not say that about Washington, DC. He did not say that about Paris, France. He said it about Jerusalem.
And I believe it is because the expression of His testimony is there. You remember when the Lord was on the earth, near the end of His earthly ministry, in Luke 13:34, when He came to Jerusalem finally and looked over it. You remember the verse, I am sure. He uttered these words:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not!
You see the Lord’s love for the city: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.”
You remember, at the end of the New Testament, Revelation 21:2. That is what is in view: the recovery of the New Jerusalem.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
That is the end. The end is for that city to be recovered.
You think of Abraham. It says in Hebrews 11:10, I believe:
For he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
What Abraham did, we should be doing. We should be looking. We should be longing. We should be loving and desiring that city. If you do not understand this concept, you cannot understand Nehemiah.
I remember, people—I am a Southerner. You can tell that by the long, drawn-out words. But I am a Southerner, and I visited New York, New York City, on numerous occasions.
And the people that love that city are transfixed by it. They think the smells, the sights, the sounds—they will say, “Nothing like New York.”
They do not even use the name New York City sometimes; they just say, “There is nothing like the city.” That is what they will tell you: “We need to go to the city. The other day, I went to the city.”
They are always talking about the city as though it is some remarkable place.
Well, I tell you, New York City is not the remarkable city. The city of God’s heart is Jerusalem.
And there His testimony will be recovered, as we read in this book, but it is to be expressed. It is a people who are named by His name, redeemed by His blood, and expressing together in fellowship with Him all that He is.
That is the city that Nehemiah is concerned about.
Well, there are a few things we are going to look at today. Maybe you can remember a few things; even I can remember a few things.
We are going to look at the concern for the testimony. Okay? That is one thing. I think this is very important, so if you take a nap, take a nap after this first main point, because I would like to communicate that part to you.
Not only that, I would like to look at the construction of the wall. That is quite informative when we read Nehemiah. And then, finally, the conflict against the work. It is tremendous.
And if you do not understand some of the conflict, the Book of Nehemiah will begin to be a little bit confounding to you. So may the Lord help us as we look at these things.
I believe God’s focus, when we talk about concern for the testimony, is that God is looking for those who have a concern for His testimony. I believe that is the lesson.
And He is looking for those who love that city, who value that city, and—listen to this—who will return and give their energies to the building of that city, and who are willing to pay the cost for the building of that wall.
I believe this is the lesson of Nehemiah.
First, there is a sobering fact. We would not be talking about recovery at all if it were not true that the testimony can be lost. Isn’t that a scary thing?
You think about it, brothers and sisters. The testimony of God can be lost.
Now, you might say, “Brother, I am in disagreement with you. It cannot be lost.” But if you read the record of the children of Israel, that is precisely what happened.
Now, the testimony of God Himself—the big T, you remember we illustrated—can never be lost. God’s testimony will never be lost in that sense. That testimony in the Lord Jesus, that is altogether—the ark of testimony—can never be lost.
That is all of God. But the expression of that testimony here on the earth can be lost. And that, to me, is an incredibly sobering thought. We need to think about it.
The corporate expression in a people can be lost. God’s people, the children of Israel, turned away from Him. You know, they turned to idols. You remember how He gave them up to captivity.
There was no distinguishing effect about the children of Israel from those of the world. Think about the church today for a moment. Is there any distinguishing element about us as the people of God, so that people would look at us and say, as they were to say of the children of Israel, “These are God’s people”?
I believe that is how the testimony is lost.
Babylon, being taken into captivity in Babylon—Babylon means confusion. And Nebuchadnezzar, under whom they went into Babylon, means, even more remarkably, “confusing the lord of treasure.”
Now, I understand what I just said: “confusing the lord of treasure.” It sounds kind of not very clear, does it? But when you think that God’s testimony is God’s treasure, when it is taken captive, when its expression on the earth is ruined and lost, Nebuchadnezzar indeed means confusing the lord of treasure.
So I think the testimony was lost. There is an expression that occurs—I will read you a few verses—that is so graphic. I think it shows the state when this testimony is lost.
Look at Nehemiah 1:4:
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
You will notice it does not say “the God of the heavens and the earth.” It is very precise. The Holy Spirit is very precise in the Word of God.
It is “the God of the heavens” because, on the earth, that aspect of the testimony has been lost.
Now, when you read Ezra, and when you read Nehemiah, and when you read Daniel—and we do not have time—you will see a proliferation of this phrase over and over again.
You read it seven times in Ezra. You will read it seven times in Daniel. I could give you all the references if you want; I am willing. You will read it again and again in Nehemiah.
So the issue of lost testimony is that God Himself becomes the God of the heavens, and not the God of the heavens and the God of earth. How sad that is.
Now, you would think God would just give up. Now, if it were you—and I will speak for you because I am up here—and if it were me, and you know it would be true, if it were me, I would have given up.
But He never gives up.
That is the beauty of Nehemiah. Once He determines a purpose, once He sets it upon His heart and it is in the eternal counsels, He will never give up on His purpose.
Brothers and sisters, that ought to encourage you to no end.
I believe that is the lesson behind Nehemiah. You see that phrase again in Nehemiah 1:5: “the God of the heavens.” You see it in Nehemiah 2:20. I have already talked about other places.
But the great news, the good news, the precious news, is that this God of recovery never gives up.
And what does He do? Turn with me. I know I told you we were studying Nehemiah, and I’ve got you half believing it, but turn to Ezra 1. I think this is very important and very illustrative.
This is how God begins to recover. It is very important. Ezra 1, right before Nehemiah, if you are wondering, verses 1 through 3:
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whosoever there is among you of all His people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.
Now, you have to see what is in His heart, and you have to see how remarkable this is.
So, when this God of recovery begins to recover, the first principle you have to notice is: it is He Himself who moves, not us. He sovereignly moves.
Now, He could not pick a more unlikely candidate than Cyrus, king of Persia, this Gentile king. But yet this is how remarkable this God of recovery is.
He can take this Gentile king, Cyrus, and He can put His purpose in his heart, and He can accomplish His eternal will through this Gentile king. It is amazing.
This is the principle. Don’t forget it. It always begins with the sovereign move of God—always.
You can think of the story of Daniel. You remember Daniel? He realized the years in Jeremiah; he realized that, and Daniel began to pray.
He moves sovereignly in captivity upon this man, and something begins to happen.
Now, that is where we are going: concern for the testimony. But if you miss this thought—that it always begins with His sovereign moving—you will take way too much credit for it if God uses you.
He always does it. He is always the inspiration, and He is always the inception. That is of very great importance.
But there is a second component that is very vital. Now, stay with me. If I put you to sleep, wake up, please. This is the part I want you to remember if you forget everything else.
There is a great mystery in the Word of God, because this God, who is the God of recovery, who never gives up on His purpose and always moves sovereignly, will not move until He finds a response from a vessel that responds to Him—a vessel into whose heart He can put His concern for the testimony.
You get that? Am I being slow enough? I mean, clear enough?
He will not move. This sovereign God will refuse to move unless He can find a vessel into whose heart He can put that concern. This sovereign God and this response of man are wedded together so that God can begin to recover His testimony.
That is the story of Cyrus. That is the story of Daniel. That is the story of Ezra. That is the story of Nehemiah. That is the story of every recovery throughout the Bible.
This sovereign God begins to put something into the heart of man so that there would be a testimony on earth—something deep of His concern.
I hope you get that. I think that is absolutely vital. And if we miss that, we miss a great deal.
God’s sovereignty and man’s concern is how He recovers His testimony in fullness.
I think this is the whole definition of burden. You know, we often think of burden. You hear that word a lot around here, right? You wonder, “What do they mean by burden? Are they always so weighed down?”
But I think this defines what burden is. God is looking for those that have His concern. Number one—or better, vessels in whom He can put His concern. Into them, even better. That is what He does.
This is the definition of real burden.
Look at Nehemiah 1:2. Let me see if I can get to that.
Nehemiah 1:2. I will begin in verse 1:
And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
Notice that word: concerning. Concerning who was left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
Look at Nehemiah 2:10. I think this is an incredibly important verse for understanding Nehemiah:
And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
It grieved these enemies that there had come one—or there was manifested one—who had God’s concern. That defines Nehemiah. This is what it means: concern for the testimony.
Now, look at the condition of the testimony. Look again at chapter 1. Let me read to you verses 3 and 4, because when you read the condition, this is where you and I would be looking for an exit plan.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Here is a man of concern. He did not say, “Well, that is terrible. Let us give up.” Listen to this man of concern.
Here is one God found, one into whose heart He could write His concern.
And brothers and sisters, I believe that is what the Lord is looking for today. Are there any Nehemiahs in the church today?
Do we care about the condition of the testimony?
When we read, “The walls are in ruins and its gates are burned with fire,” and we look at the general condition of the church, does it evoke any emotion whatsoever? Does it stir anything in our heart?
I believe what we ought to say is, “Lord, raise up Nehemiahs today—ones in whom You can put Your concern.”
Those will be the ones that respond. And I believe this is what this book is about.
Well, let me bore you with some of the history of Richmond. To many of you, this is ancient history, but it is true nevertheless.
The Lord raised up—I used to think they were very old. I thought they must have been fifty when I came, but remember, I was but twenty-one.
These sisters began to see something in the heart of God. And they travailed with prayer.
They said, “Lord, would You raise up a testimony in Richmond? A place where You can put Your name. A place where You can express Yourself. A place where Christ is everything. A place where we can receive every brother and sister in Christ.”
I think these were Nehemiahs. I think God used them greatly.
I am eternally indebted, as this foolish young twenty-one-year-old that was just saved, to be brought into the presence of these dear ones that had something deeply impressed upon their hearts.
Forgive my emotion. It changed me forever.
As we like to say about the kids, it stuck. And I was caught. And I knew this was something deeply in the heart of God.
Another one—I get on real thin ice here—Brother Stephen.
The Lord raised up this brother, and he came to us and visited us for years, sharing his heart. And one day I was alone with him, and I asked him, “Brother, would you say your ministry concerns recovery?”
And unlike me, Stephen, a man of few words, said, “Yes.”
Here was a Nehemiah the Lord sent into our midst to implant something in our hearts and to cause us to see the value of the thing He wants to do.
And to so affect us that we would be spoiled for a lifetime, and changed for a lifetime, and no longer would everything be, “What is for us in life?” But from then on, everything began to be God’s testimony.
To me, this is not ancient history. This is our history. May the Lord give us such a thought.
And in Nehemiah 2:11-12, when Nehemiah went out and surveyed the ruins and looked around, he went out, and it says:
Neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.
I think anyone today—you know, every brother and sister you hear is ready to give a testimony and says, “God told me this,” and “God told me that.” But here is Nehemiah, and he said, “I did not tell anybody what God put in my heart to do.”
It was so sacred to him.
Well, I think you get the point. He had to pay a great cost. That is another thing about Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. Now, I do not think Barack Obama or Donald Trump, if he ever makes it in, will have a cupbearer. But in the old days, they had a cupbearer.
The cupbearer had the run of the palace. He had all the riches of the palace. He had everything. As a matter of fact, being a cupbearer meant he was the one and most trusted servant of the king.
They always handed the king’s cup to the cupbearer first. And if the cupbearer drank from the cup and keeled over, the king was saved and the cupbearer was lost. Such is the life of a cupbearer.
He was the trusted one of the king. He had a dream job. You know, we use that phrase. He had the palace. He had the riches of the palace. He had everything in this world one could imagine.
And you cannot even explain it, yet one day he showed up before the king with sadness on his face. That was a death sentence to a cupbearer.
You know, the king could be sad and ornery and grouchy, let me tell you. The king could be. But the cupbearer could not. He always had to have a smile on his face.
And then the king said, “What is this sadness in your heart?”
And he could not resist. He told about his brethren in Jerusalem. He told about the ruin of the testimony.
And God, the sovereign God who is for the recovery of His testimony, showed incredible favor to Nehemiah in the presence of the king. And the king said, “Do what is in your heart.”
Thank God He goes before.
The point I want to make is that there is always a cost to those that will bear this concern.
Paul spoke about it in Philippians 3:7-8. We will not read it; we do not have time. But he said, “I have lost everything for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and count it but dung.”
Listen to me very carefully. We should count the cost. The Lord said, whenever you build, make sure you count the cost.
But those that bear the cost, that see what His concern is, never, ever see it as a loss. They never see it again as any great cost, because what they have obtained far exceeds anything they ever gave up.
This is the story of Nehemiah. This is the story of the apostle Paul.
Well, this is the part I wanted to really hit you with mainly: this burden, this concern. God is looking for those today like Nehemiah.
And I am not going to tell you how to pray, but I would encourage you to pray that the Lord would find some Nehemiahs today—maybe even here among us.
The next thing is the construction of the wall. I think it is very important.
It is not a theological discussion. I hear people wax and wane about the building of the house of God, the building of the wall of Jerusalem. But the building of the house of God is not a thesis that you write or a doctrine you espouse.
It is actually, believe it or not, actually to be built. It is to be reality.
So when you read Nehemiah, you begin to see that this wall is not a concept, but something we, as the people of God, have to be committed to if there is going to be real recovery.
I think a lot of people—and please, I am not talking down to you. Pray for me. Pray for me, please, that I would have this concern in my heart—but I think a lot of people have the concept, and I do not know how many are committed.
I think that is the difference with a Nehemiah.
I want to say something. If you read Ephesians 2:21-22, it talks about being fitted together and being built together. I want to say something profoundly simple:
To be fitted together and to be built together, you must be together.
Now, that may sound too simple for your blood, but I believe it is precisely what the message of Nehemiah is.
Some people look at church as a building, or as a place they visit infrequently, I might add. I believe if we have an infrequent, distant relationship, there will be no recovery of the testimony of Jesus concerning us.
I do not think we should have long-distance marriages. Now, I know some people work—I am very easy; I am not a hard person. I think most people that really know me would tell you that.
But I understand there are exceptions in life. We should not have a long-distance relationship from one another. We should be joined to one another.
We should not have a distant friendship from one another. We should be joined to one another in a single purpose. And the church should not be a place of occasional meeting.
I believe that is the lesson of Nehemiah.
There is a phrase when you read Nehemiah—read it very carefully. It begins in chapter 3, and it occurs so many times that you begin to get the sense of what it means.
Now, the Holy Spirit did not put this phrase in Nehemiah for nothing. The Holy Spirit does not ever waste words. When a phrase is repeated, if it is repeated twice in the Bible, pay attention to it.
If a phrase, like in this case, is repeated numerous times, you had better pay attention to it. The Holy Spirit is saying something.
So when you begin in Nehemiah 3:2, it says, “next unto them.” I will just read a few examples because we want to get to a few points:
And next unto him built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri.
And verse 4:
And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Hakkoz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel.
It is not required that you be able to repeat all biblical names to go to heaven, let me tell you that. If it were, we would all be lost.
“Next unto them,” over and over again. You catch that phrase?
Brothers and sisters, the whole point of the Book of Nehemiah is to show how they were fitted together and built together. There was this inseparable relationship in the Lord Jesus, and in that inseparable relationship, the testimony of God was recovered.
That is the point of this phrase.
There is another phrase. It begins to change beginning in verse 16. It occurs numerous times:
After him repaired.
“After him repaired. After him repaired.” Numerous times.
So you begin to see “next unto them” and “after him,” and you begin to understand the vital principle of recovery: we have to be joined in one heart, in one burden, as one soul before the Lord, that He would accomplish His work.
This is what the biblical phrase one accord means in Acts.
So I think this is vital. If you do not see that, you begin to miss it. I believe the Spirit of God repeats this over and over again for a reason. And if we do not see it, we will begin to miss it.
Now, here is a point. I do not want to offend anybody. I want to lovingly say this. Please try to receive it in the spirit it is meant.
If you do not see this, you will never appreciate gathering. Gathering will simply become meetings, and meetings will then become inconvenient based on your lifestyle, your schedule, and all the demands that this world puts on us.
Brothers and sisters, we should not look at this proximity, this being built together—next to them, after them—as meetings.
We should have a relationship in and out of meetings that expresses the testimony of God in a fuller way.
I am hurt when I hear people refer to meetings derogatorily. I do not believe you can read the record in the Book of Acts and see that they met house to house daily, and begin to develop that concept.
May the Lord help us to begin to see.
I tell you, there is another secret. In Nehemiah 4:6, it says:
For the people had a mind to work.
Now, is that not an issue? I think that is part of our problem. Work is a real four-letter word, but to a lot of us it is a four-letter word, if you know what I mean. You get it? Okay. Thank you for the innocent in the room.
But this is the difference. The reason the testimony of God could be recovered is because they had a mind to work. We need to pray that the Lord would give us that.
May the Lord help us. Everyone built together. Read the record; it is precious. The priests, the goldsmiths, the perfumers, the chiefs of districts—they all built together in one accord.
This is the secret. May the Lord help us.
Now, lastly, let me talk a few minutes about the conflict over the work. It is very real.
When you give yourself to the Lord for His testimony, you will encounter difficulty, to put it mildly.
The difficulty, let me say this, is clearly illustrated in the Book of Nehemiah. The difficulty is not because of you. Do not think so much of yourself.
The difficulty, clearly stated in the Book of Nehemiah, was to put an end to the work. That was the whole point.
Difficulties were brought into their lives. Problems with people like Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were brought into their lives. Inexplicable difficulties, when you read Nehemiah, were brought into their lives. But it was for one single purpose.
That was so that they might put an end to the work.
When you read the Scripture, read Nehemiah 4:11. I will just read this:
And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
That is what they wanted to do.
There was tremendous opposition, brothers and sisters. There was opposition by ridicule. Read Nehemiah; it is fascinating. There was opposition by discouragement.
There was opposition by selfishness among the people of God. You never thought the people of God were selfish. Well, you are probably not being built up in the house of God.
There was opposition by craftiness. They accused Nehemiah that he wanted to be the king. There was opposition by fear. Some of them decided they would hold up in the temple, and that way they would survive.
And thank God Nehemiah knew that was not a word from the Lord.
Well, the attacks are tremendous. This is what Nehemiah’s response was in Nehemiah 6:3.
They wanted to assassinate him, you know. They wanted to take Nehemiah out. They figured if they could take him out, they could end the work.
And so Nehemiah responded when they called him down to the plains of Ono:
I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
Brothers and sisters, if you miss this story of opposition in the Book of Nehemiah, you never understand the conflict, the great eternal conflict, the heavenly battle that is over the testimony of Jesus.
The Book of Nehemiah gives a window, by types and shadows, into what is opposing us as those who are concerned and as those who are committed. It explains a lot of things in life to us.
And Nehemiah had three answers. Three answers. Just remember this. These are his answers to the enemy.
In Nehemiah 2:19, the enemy directly accused him, and he had an answer directly to the enemy. Listen to this:
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
That is number one. Sometimes we need to say to the enemy, “This is not true what you say. You have made it up in your own heart.”
We need to resist the enemy. And the New Testament says, when you resist the enemy, he will flee from you. The enemy will accuse you of everything.
The second thing Nehemiah did in the battle was prayer. If you read Nehemiah, you begin to see how much he prayed. It is a secret for overcoming the enemy.
And when you read in Nehemiah 4:9, it talks about how we prayed. It talks about not just Nehemiah praying, but we praying.
In other words, there is a secret in corporate prayer among the people of God.
I am telling you, years ago, when Stephen and Lance came into our midst and began to share with us this thought of corporate prayer, I thought, “What a strange thing. What is it?”
It appealed to me. I wondered about it. But I am so grateful that we have a heritage that understands the house of God is to be first and foremost a house of prayer for all nations.
I am thankful for that heritage they brought us. It was the heritage in Nehemiah. When they came against Nehemiah, he turned to the God of prayer.
And finally, this is the strangest thing: the weapon.
Now, I have never seen—I am in the design construction industry—I have never seen a construction site like this in my life, where they built the wall with one hand with a trowel, and they had a sword in the other hand.
You will never see it. I go to construction sites every week. I have never seen it: a trowel in one hand, a spear in the other hand.
Brothers and sisters, this seems to be baffling, but if you understand the animosity of the enemy against the testimony of God, you begin to understand how important it is that we know the weapons of our warfare, which are not carnal, but mighty in God.
You need to understand why, in Ephesians—that great book on the explanation of God’s eternal purpose—it ends with that thought in Ephesians 6:10-18: take on the whole armor of God.
These are the three answers to the enemy. This is the secret of overcoming.
Now I want to give you some great news. Turn to chapter 6. This is my concluding thought. Look at verses 15 and 16:
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
Is that not good news?
Now, this was not even modern times, with modern tools. It takes me much—Linda is not here, thank God—it takes me months to paint a bedroom. Fifty-two days?
The whole wall of Jerusalem, from gate to gate, around the whole city that was in ruin, was recovered and built. It is impossible.
It is impossible. You could not do it in modern construction. You certainly could not do it in ancient construction.
But here is the story: when God, who is the God who sovereignly recovers, finds those that have His concern in their hearts, He can do a work so swiftly you can hardly even begin to imagine.
The enemies—Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem—were finally, finally, after six chapters, at a loss for words.
And it was not the children of Israel who said it, but the enemies who said it: “The work was wrought by our God.”
So take encouragement from this. It is God who sovereignly begins the work.
In the end, regardless of whatever part you and I have, it is God who completes the work.
But the incredible, comforting message of Nehemiah is that yet still, He is looking among us.
Are there any? Are there any Nehemiahs? Anyone into whose heart I can embed My concern and use in cooperation with Me? Any that see the value? Any that are willing to pay the cost?
And ones that are willing to be built together and fitted together.
I believe that is the message of Nehemiah. And that is the message of the testimony of God recovered.
Lord, we do not know how clear these thoughts are. We have to leave them before the throne of grace.
Somehow, You would breathe—breathe life into words. Somehow, You would speak to us and capture us. Somehow, You would reveal to us that deep thing that is in the heart of God.
And it would spoil us forever.
I think of that hymn:
Take my heart, and let it be
Holy, captivated for Thee.
These things, we believe, are things You want to do. We ask You to do them.
And we ask You to find among us, and among Your people all over this globe, ones like Nehemiah, into whose hearts You could put Your deep concern.
We are thankful. In the end, it is You who does it.
That day we will not say anything but, “Grace, grace unto it.”
But it is true: You want to find those You can cooperate with. And today, we offer ourselves as one of those.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.