A Magnificent Concerto! Series

B. Maybe we’ll never face the kind of opposition that Nehemiah faced. Maybe,

instead, people will just ignore us, try to freeze us out or seek to discourage us.

ILL. Timmy was a shy, quiet little boy. One day he came home & told his mother that he wanted to make valentines for everyone in his class. When he said that her heart sank. She thought, “I wish he wouldn’t do that!” because she had seen how they treated Timmy.

She had watched the children as they walked home from school. Her Timmy was always a few steps behind everybody else. The other children laughed & talked & hung on to each other. But Timmy was never included. They completely ignored him.

Nevertheless, she decided to go along with his wishes. So she purchased the paper & glue & colored markers. For 3 whole weeks, night after night, Timmy worked on the 28 valentines he was making.

Valentine’s Day dawned, & Timmy was beside himself with excitement. He carefully inserted each valentine in its proper envelope, put them in a bag, & hurried out the door.

After he had gone, his mother decided to bake him his favorite kind of cookies & have them warm & ready with a nice cool glass of milk when he came home from school. She just knew that he would be coming home disappointed.

Maybe the cookies would ease the pain a little. It hurt her to think that he wouldn’t get many valentines – maybe none at all.

That afternoon she had the cookies & milk ready on the table. When she heard the children outside she looked out the window. Sure enough, here they came, laughing & having the best time. And as always, there was Timmy all alone in the rear.

But he seemed to be walking a little faster than usual, heading right straight toward home. Noticing that his arms were empty as she had feared, she choked back her tears, fully expecting him to start crying as soon as he got inside the house.

“Mommy has some of your favorite cookies & a glass of milk for you on the table,” she said. But he hardly heard her words. He just marched on by, & she heard him saying, “Not a one – not a single one!” Her heart broke in sympathy for him. And then he repeated it, “I didn’t forget a one, not a single one!”

CONCL. About 2,000 years ago God looked at a world that was much like the wall around Jerusalem. Satan had torn down all that God had placed so wonderfully in this world that He had created. People were lost in sin, with no direction or meaning in life.

Then God sent His Son & the Gospel was preached the church was formed & it swept across the world like a mighty rushing fire. The world was “turned upside down” for God!

Centuries have come & gone & the flame still burns on. But the need of our time is for more Nehemiahs people who will spend some time with God in solitude who will stand up & motivate people to rebuild their lives to rebuild the church & who will then point their finger toward God in heaven & give Him the honor & the glory.