Take your Bibles, please, and be finding the Book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, chapter
2, and verse 11—page 783, if you have one like I have. Well, all right, the Book of Nehemiah. We’re thinking, this morning, on this particular subject: “Let Us Arise and Build”—“Let Us Arise and Build.” This is the story of the rebuilding of the walls ’round about Jerusalem under the leadership of God’s man, Nehemiah.
And, I begin reading, now, where we commenced our study last Sunday—chapter 2, and verse 11: Nehemiah says, “So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.” Now, boys and girls, that means his horse. He called his horse a beast. He wasn’t talking about his wife or anything like that: “…neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass” (Nehemiah 2:10–14).
That is, there was so much rubbish, and so much debris, and so much rubble, that
he could not even get past. Oh, these principles will be true in the building of your lives. You have a family to build, and these principles will be true in the building of your family. You have a business to build, and these principles will be true in the building of your business. We have a church family and a church fellowship to build, and these principles will be true here. These are great eternal, vital principles, and you will remember that, last week, we told you three things to look for when you study any passage of Scripture: number one, what it meant then; number two, what it means now; and, number three, what it means to me personally.
Now, keep those three in mind, because if you will take any verse of Scripture and ask, first of all, when you read it, “What did it mean then?” and, study it in its context, and then, ask, “What does it mean now?” and see what it means in our modern day and age, and then, go one step further and apply it to your own life, the Bible will just burst aflame right in your hands. And, the truth of it will leap up off the page down into your heart and will fuel you.
Now, Nehemiah has received a commission from the Lord to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that were decayed and broken down and fallen, leaving the people of God without defense, and leaving the people of God in despair. I want you to notice six principles that Nehemiah practiced in building the walls.
I. Nehemiah Fixed his Focus
The very first thing he did was to fix his focus. Look, if you will, in verse 12 of chapter 2—verse 12. Nehemiah says here, “And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon” (Nehemiah 2:12).
Nehemiah had a mandate from God. Nehemiah was a man who knew how to get alone with God. And, remember—he fasted, he prayed, he wept, and God had told him what to do. Have you done that? Have you gotten a leadership from the Lord? Are you just wandering aimlessly like a ship without a rudder, like a ship without a compass, and a ship without a sail? Are you just putting yourself in neutral and letting life push you around? Or, do you have a focus? Do you have a goal? Do you have an aim?
I want to tell you: God has a plan for your life. God has something that He wants you to do. You are special to God. God made you special just like He wanted you. And, God has a job for you to do. And, the same God who has called you is the God who’s equipped you. You can’t do what I do. I can’t do what you do. You can’t do what they do. They can’t do what you do. But, I want to tell you, God has a job for everyone. God has a plan for every life. And, oh, would to God that you would get alone and fix your focus on that plan to find the will of God for your life!
Too many people are simply drawing their breath and drawing their salary. They
don’t have a plan, a goal. They get up in the morning, gulp down a cup of coffee, read the funny papers, fight the traffic to work, go to work all day, come home, take an aspirin, watch the news, eat their dinner, watch a little television, and go to bed. The next day, it starts all over again. That’s their life. O my dear friend, God has something greater for you. God has something more wonderful for you. What are you doing? Have you fixed your focus on the purpose of God?
Nehemiah said, “God had laid something on my heart.” And, if you’ll listen, God will lay something on your heart and I want you to focus on it. I want you to say like the Apostle Paul, “This one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13). Do you really have a goal in life? If not, why not? God has a purpose for your life, and your goal ought to be that purpose.
II. Nehemiah Found the Facts
Now, the second thing he did. Not only did he fix his focus, but he found the facts. I want you to notice, as he goes out on a tour of inspection—notice here in verse 13:
“And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned” (Nehemiah 2:13–15).
What is he doing? He’s out there reconnoitering. He’s out there getting the facts. He wants to see what the condition really is. He’s not like an ostrich that sticks his head in the sand. He’s saying, “Really, what are the facts?” And, once he sees these facts, then he’s ready to go do God’s work.
And, what were the facts that he saw? He saw that God’s work was in ruins. He saw that the walls around the city of Jerusalem, that had been a thing of strength, a thing of beauty, a thing that brought glory to God—remember we said that the walls around Jerusalem are symbolic of God’s salvation and symbolic of God’s glory in the Bible— and, these walls were fallen down.
And oh, today, ladies and gentlemen, let’s ask, “What does that mean to us today?” I want to tell you, today, that walls of orthodoxy have crumbled, and Satan, today, has developed a juiceless, polished type of preacher, who has substituted culture for Calvary, and reformation for regeneration. And, we have satanic cults today—deadly cults—that have been vomited up out of the pit. These people are going from house to house, and door to door, using the Master’s method and the devil’s message. They are set on fire of Hell; they are filled with deadly poison; and, right now, they are systematically working this city. And, in every American city, you’ll see them in the airports and other places. And, God’s people are asleep at the switch.
I’m telling you that walls of orthodoxy have crumbled, and walls of decency have crumbled. And, with this money-motivated, sex-soaked, distorted age, things that used to break our hearts, we just simply overlook today. And, not only have walls of orthodoxy and decency crumbled, but, as we said last week, walls of freedom are falling all around us, and communism is spreading like a cancer.
I don’t have time to even talk about those things, but I want you to find the facts. I want you to be a spiritual Nehemiah. I want you to do what Nehemiah did, and go out and make a survey, and look and see for yourself what the situation is.
III. Nehemiah Formed a Fellowship
Now, I want you to notice the third thing that he did. Not only did he fix his focus on what God had told him, not only did he find the facts; but then, he formed a fellowship. He got some people to help him. I want you to notice, in verse 17 of this same chapter—look at it: “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach” (Nehemiah 2:17).
Nehemiah did not believe in a one-man ministry. Nehemiah knew that there is strength in numbers, and strength in unity, and he knew that he could not possibly do it by himself. And, though God had called him to lead, he said, “Come, let us do it together.” Oh, what strength there is unity! You know, the Bible says, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 9: “For we are labourers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Oh, how powerful it is when we work together in unity!
You know, I was reading the other day about Canadian Geese, how they always fly in a V-formation. Have you ever noticed them up in the sky, flying like this, in a V-formation? Of course, one leg of that “V” is always longer than the other. Do you know why that is? There’re more geese in that one leg than there are in the other. And, that’s the way they fly—like that. They fly through the air in a formation. But, seriously, why do they fly in a V-formation like that? Well, the lead goose is making it easier for all of the rest of them. He is just splitting a way through that air, and he is moving the wind resistance for the rest of them.
And so, while he’s flapping real hard, the rest of them are cruising. And, that’s the way they do; that’s the way they go through the air. But, after a while, the lead goose gets tired. And so, he falls back to one end of that thing, and the next goose moves up. And, he, for a while, takes care of the resistance. And, that’s the way they travel. And, do you know what they studied—the engineers—in the wind tunnel experiments? They have found out that geese, flying in a formation like that—listen, geese flying in a formation like that—can fly 72% further than one goose could fly by himself. Isn’t that interesting? Seventy-two percent. Now, who taught them to do that? God did.
What is God teaching us today? The same thing that He has put into nature, folks: that we can do more together than any one of us can do by himself. Oh, how we need to work together! There’s a biblical principal. The Bible says, “While one shall chase a thousand, two shall chase ten thousand” (Deuteronomy 32:30). You know, folks, if you could stand here where I stand on Sunday morning, and see this magnificent place filled with people—not once, but three times—as we have the joy of doing it Sunday after Sunday, I tell you my heart gets enlarged, and almost jumps out of my throat, when I think what could happen, if all of us ever decided to focus our energies together to do something, really together. You think of the power, the spiritual dynamite that’s locked up in this place.
Folks, I believe that it is time that we got focused, and, we said, “Together we build.” Hey, I like that. Let’s just try it. Say it with me together, all right? “Together We Build.” That sounds goods—doesn’t that sound good? Let’s try it again, all right. Say it with me: “Together We Build.” Now look, folks—just as your voices took on strength and power, if you could hear it from up here, you’d understand what I’m talking about. Now, if we just had one little ol’ fellow out there saying, “Together we build,” it wouldn’t sound so good. But, all of us together sang it one time. But, won’t it be wonderful, rather than just simply saying it, that together we’re doing it?
Do you know what Henry Ford, who was a mastermind at organization and cooperation—do you know what he said? Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Thinking together is unity. Working together is success.” Isn’t that good? You want to hear it again? Thank you. All right. “Coming together is a beginning.” Now, that’s what we’ve done this morning. We’ve just come together. “Keeping together is progress.” Let’s stay together, folks. “Thinking together is unity.” That’s what we’re doing right now. “Working together is success.”
See, there is something about forming a fellowship. No matter what you’re doing— look folks—if you’re even building your own personal life, you can’t do it by yourself. The Bible says that “no man liveth unto himself” (Romans 14:7). Your family—husband, wife, boys, and girls—you’ve got to do it together to build your family. If you have a business, you need to involve those people who are working for you—do it together. Do it together—form a fellowship.
IV. Nehemiah Fortified his Faith
Now, notice what he did. He fixed his focus; and then, after he fixed his focus, he found his facts. He went out and he looked at the situation. He didn’t just go off half-cocked. And, after he did that, he formed a fellowship. He got some people with him, and he said, “Folks, we’re going to do it together, and it’s going to be wonderful, and it’s going to be glorious.” The next thing he did was he fortified his faith—he fortified his faith. He fortified their faith also. Look in verse 18, if you will: “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me”
(Nehemiah 2:18). I love that verse. I want God’s hand to be good upon me. Don’t you want His hand to be good upon you? Oh, that’s a beautiful verse to me! “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me.”
Well, what had the king spoken unto him? Remember the last message. What did he have? First of all, he had the king’s permission; secondly, he had the king’s protection; thirdly, he had the king’s provision. We do too. From the King of kings, we have His permission. We have His protection. We have His provision. And so, Nehemiah just simply rehearsed what the king had said unto him. And, how the hand of God was good upon him!
Now, what was he doing? He knew that they needed to be fortified in their faith. He knew human nature fears the new. And, whenever anybody says, “Let us rise and do anything great and noble,” there’s always a sick feeling in the pit of our stomach that maybe it cannot be done. Well, friend, if God is leading, if God’s good hand is upon us, then it can be done. And, what he did: He just simply turned around for a little bit and reviewed the past, so that he could face the future. And, he’s saying, the God of yesterday is the God of tomorrow.
You know, God has done some great things for us at Bellevue, hasn’t He? You know, we just take that verse of Scripture that says, “The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad” (Psalm 126:3). God has done great things! And, during these 75 days, we’re tracing our history of what God has done. And, friend, He’s the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He’s the same great God, and Nehemiah just reviewed the hand of God that had been upon them. I think of the hand of God upon us together as pastor and people.
You know, last Sunday, I started my seventh year with you people; but, I was just thinking about the blessings of God, and—without going into great detail—you just think how God has been so good to us, how we’ve more than doubled our Bible study attendance together—more than doubled. And, how we’ve more than tripled our budget. And, how baptism is at an all-time high. And, God is just blessing in such a wonderful way. And, what is it? What is it? It’s just simply the fact that the good hand of God is upon us. That’s all—not that we have done it, not that we deserve it. But, isn’t God good?
Well, you say now, “Why, then, is God blessing? Does God just bless arbitrarily? Does God just bless sometimes because it’s a whim or a fancy?” No, the God who formed this universe works according to principles, and, if you want to know why the hand of God was upon Nehemiah, or why the hand of God is upon any church, you can
find it from the Bible.
You know, I’d like for us just to go to Revelation the third chapter for a moment. I want to show you verses 7 and 8 of Revelation 3. That’s the story of the church at Philadelphia. And, I just wonder, sometimes, why some churches do grow and why they’re blessed, and, why God sets before them an open door and others seem to have a closed door. Is it because God has favorites? I think not. I do believe He has intimates, however.
I want you to notice, here, Revelation chapter 3, beginning in verse 7. God, here, is speaking to this church, and it’s the church at Philadelphia. Now, not the Philadelphia we know about in the United States, but that Philadelphia gets it’s name from this Philadelphia: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth” (Revelation 3:7). I love that verse. Our God is the keeper of the keys. And, friend, when He opens a door, there are not enough demons in Hell to shut it. And, when He shuts the door, there are not enough angels in Heaven to kick it open. You see, He’s the One who opens doors and He’s the One who closes doors in your personal life, in your business, in your family, in this church. He’s the One that opens, and no one can shut. He’s the One that shuts, and no one can open.
Now, does He do this by whim? No, does He do this capriciously, arbitrarily? Certainly not. Why? Well, look at the next verse, and you’ll see. Here’s why God set before that church an open door: Number one: He says, “I know thy works” (Revelation 3:7). Here was a church that was activated by the Spirit of God. “I know thy works.” It was a working church. You see, God is not going to bless our indolence. God is not going to bless our laziness. God only opens doors for people who want to go through them. And so, here was a church that was activated by the Spirit of God.
But, I want you to go down to the last part of verse 8. And, it says, “Thou…hast kept my word…” (Revelation 3:8). Not only were they activated by the Spirit of God; they were saturated with the Word of God. It was a church that loved the Bible. It was a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church. But, wait a minute—one more thing: “…and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8). They were dedicated to the Son of God. Oh, they loved the Lord Jesus!
You take a church that is activated by the Spirit of God, saturated by the Word of God, and dedicated to the Son of God, and God says, “I will give to that church, that person, that family, that business—whatever it is—God says, “I will give to them an open door. And, when I open that door, no one can shut it. And, when I shut it, no one can open it.” And, I believe that that’s the reason that Nehemiah, even in the Old Testament, had the good hand of God upon him. God doesn’t just act capriciously. God acts according to certain principles. Don’t you want God to open a door for your personal life, in your business, in your home, in your soul winning? God works and God acts according to principles.
V. Nehemiah Faced the Foe
All right, now, the next thing he did—not only did he feed their faith and remind them of the good hand of God that had been upon them; but, the next thing he did, he faced the foe; he faced the foe. I want you to notice, in verses 19 and 20 of Nehemiah chapter 2:
“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” (Nehemiah 2:19– 20). He told them, didn’t he?
I’ll tell you what—you see; listen, folks—anytime God’s people say, in their personal life, or in their corporate life, “Let us rise up and build,” all the hosts of Hell will say, “Let us rise up and stop them.” And, the door to the room of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition. Never forget it. And, if you think there is an easy way, a cheap way, a lazy way, to do the work of God, forget it. The Apostle Paul said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries”—many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9).
You see, when we have an open door, that doesn’t mean there are not any adversaries. When God calls us to do this thing, do you think it’s going to be easy? Do you think it’s going to be a piece of cake? Well, it’s not. This is not a Sunday school picnic I’m calling you to, but a grim conflict. Now, these three wicked men were demon-inspired, and they represent the devil himself, in this story. You see, we are coming against the demonized, mobilized forces of Hell in this city. Whenever we decide to do anything great and noble and good, there will be plenty of people right here in this city who will say, “Let’s stop them. Let’s stop them.” They don’t like anything that’s built for the name of Jesus and the cause of Christ. Think of the names the Bible gives to the devil: deceiver, liar, murderer, accuser, tempter, destroyer, the evil one. These things are enough to tell you something about the character of the one who will oppose us. But, you know, opposition ought not to discourage us; it ought to encourage us.
You know, I’ve learned a little secret now. Whenever I come on Sunday morning and things happen—you don’t know what I mean by “things happen”; but folks, things happen every Sunday—they’re just things. And boy, I pray over that one, and I bind the devil in this person; and, I do that, and that. We’ve got some war—listen—and so, I just simply say, “That used to bother me, but that doesn’t bother me; that encourages me now,” because I know the devil is upset. You know, I’d hate to be a person or a church the devil wasn’t after, wouldn’t you? I really would. You see, I used to go out soul winning, and sometimes the paper man called to collect, or the kids would cry, or the beans would burn, or something like that. And, you’re trying to lead someone to Jesus, and the phone would ring. That used to discourage me. Now, it starts to encourage me. I say, “Oh, goodie, the devil’s worried!” Boy, that encourages me!
You know, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Have you fixed your focus on that thing which God has called you to do? Have you found the facts, dear friend? Have you formed a fellowship? Have you fortified your faith? Have you faced your foe? Don’t worry about your foe; let him be an encouragement to you. And, if there are people who say something bad about you, don’t worry about it. Criticism can’t hurt you.
Let me tell you how to escape criticism. They’ll criticize you for saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. And, there’s not a way you’re going to escape criticism: forget it. There will always be Sanballat; there will always be Geshem; there will always be the Arabian there to say, “What do you think you’re up to? What do you think you’re doing?” Well, face you foe with faith.
VI. Nehemiah Fulfilled his Function
Now, the next and final thing I want you to notice that they did: not only did they face their foe, but they fulfilled their function. You see, begin here in chapter 3—and don’t get worried. I’m not going to preach another whole chapter, but I’m just going to give you a taste of chapter 3. And, I want you to read chapter 3 by yourself, because I don’t want to preach from chapter 3. So, I want you just to go home and read chapter 3. But, I want you to get some ideas about chapter 3, because I want you to see, in chapter 3, after these people have done everything else, this is the story of how they really begin to build.
And, the Bible says, “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 Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof” (Nehemiah 3:1–3). And, on and on, it reads like this: So-and-so built here; so-and-so built here; so-and-so did this; and, so-and-so did that. And, what a wonderful thing it was, as each one of them filled his function, as each one of them found his place along the wall!
Now, notice under this last point three sub-points; and then, I’m finished.
A. The Pattern
First of all, I want you to notice the pattern. I want you to notice how they did it. Each one of them found an organized spot—at least there was a leader. They didn’t just all go off and say, “Well, I’m going to do my thing.” You see, God had a plan. And, God gave this plan through His spiritual leadership to the people. And, the people were willing to follow. The people recognized God’s chain of authority; and, they were willing to follow God’s man, and they were willing to do what He directed them to do.
Each person had a part in the work. Each person had a job to do. You see, no man can do everything. Everybody can do something. I’m only one, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. And, what I can do, I ought to do, and what I can do and ought to do, that by the grace of God, I will do. Have you ever said that? Have you just said, “I’ll do what I can do, be it little or be it much”? You see, here was the principle: not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice. That was it: not equal gifts—I can’t do what you can do; you can’t do what I can do. But, as you will notice here, that every man had a job. There was a principle, that everybody was involved.
B. The People
All right now, not only the principle, but the people. Look—there was a job for everyone. As you study this chapter, just go home this afternoon, and read it over, and you’ll find that there were apothecaries there. There were goldsmiths there. There were priests there who were working. Some of them were young, and some of them were old. Some of them were rulers. Some of them were laborers. Some of them were craftsmen. The rich were there, the poor were there, women and men—they were all doing their part. Oh, these are the people that God has working together. Why, some of them were from out of town. Look, in chapter 3, verse 2: “And next unto him builded the men of Jericho” (Nehemiah 3:2).
Let me say a word to our television audience. Give me this camera here just a moment, right here—I want to say something to you, some of you who are out of town, some of you “men of Jericho.” If you want to help, it’s all right. Okay? If you want to help, that’s fine; that’s good. You know, I think it’s wonderful when there were just people all along the wall, people from out of town, and people from all walks of life. They had a job to do. And, they were willing to do it.
Now, I must say this. We’ll never get 100%. Brother Whitmire, do you think we’ll get all these folks to working on the wall? No, especially that guy over there, we won’t get him, will we? Don’t look at anybody. All right now, look—I want you to look at verse 5: “And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their LORD” (Nehemiah 3:5). Oh my! “Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their LORD.” There are always some like that, aren’t there? There are always some of you nobles. You just sit back, and you say, “Well, if they want to do it, just let them do it.” But, you’re not going to have a part in it, are you?
Well, do you know what? It is forever written in this book that there were certain people, when there was a job to do, they didn’t do it. I pray to God that’ll not be written about you. Almost 3,000 years and it’s still there—it’s still there: “Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their LORD.” Friend, these are days of opportunity—golden days, glorious days. Don’t you miss it! Don’t let the final record be written, and it be written of you, that, when these treat days, so rich with opportunity, were here upon us, that you didn’t have a part in it! God forbid that that should be forever written about you!
Some little boys were sitting around being real quiet—and that’s unusual for some little boys—and a man asked them, “What are you boys doing?” One of them said, “We’re playing war.” He said, “You are? You’re awfully quiet for playing war.” He said, “Well, we’re all generals.” Well, listen, generals—we need some soldiers; and, you noble generals, I want you to get into the fray—I want you to get into the battle.
C. The Places
Now, the next thing I want you to notice is not only the pattern, and not only the people, but the places. As you’ll find them, you’ll find them, actually, each one, building right near his own house, and then starting out. Each one started right near his own house. You know, you’ve got to start with your family first. And, I want you to get your family. I want you to pray together. I want you to ask your mother, and ask your father, and ask your husband, ask your wife, ask your children: What part does God want us to have in this thing? What are we going to do? What is the Rogers family going to do? What is your family going to do?
One woman was getting all mixed up into politics, and she was trying to get a certain man elected to an office. And, she hadn’t been doing much housework in the meantime. But, when she told her husband, “I believe we’re going to sweep the state,” he said, “I’d suggest you start at the back door.”
Oh listen, folks, start right next to your own house, in your own heart, in your own life. Get your life straight with God; get alone with God; get on your knees and say, “Oh God, make my heart right! And, if nobody else does anything, Oh God, I want to be Your man. I want to be found faithful.” Would you do that? Find your place along the wall. What is your place? Not, what has God called me to do? Not, what is our choir going to do? What are you going to do?
I read something that almost broke my heart. Did you know in 1915, Leon Trotsky, who was one of the leaders in the Bolshevik Revolution, and the spread of communism, Trotsky was invited to a Sunday School class in Chicago, and he went, because this man was searching, looking for some ideas. And, when Trotsky came to that Sunday school class in Chicago, the Sunday school teacher was not even there—he didn’t even show up. And, furthermore, he had not appointed anyone to take his place. So far as history tells us, that was the last time Trotsky ever attended any kind of a Bible study.
And, in 1917, he was in the middle of that revolution, leading the revolution that is changing the world, and damning the souls of men. One cannot help but wonder what would have happened in 1915 if he had come into a Sunday School class and there was a Spirit-filled, Bible-drilled, victory-thrilled, man of God, standing up there teaching that class—if a man with the anointing of God upon him. What may have happened on that day? God knows. But, we’ll never know, because there was a Sunday school teacher who had missed his place along the wall—and because of that, there was a gap.
In Dallas, Texas, there were two teenage boys—troublemakers, ruffians, juvenile delinquents—both of them had a Sunday school teacher. The Sunday school teacher of one of these boys visited him again and again and again and again. And, he wouldn’t let up on him. You know, I always get kind of amused when people want to get out of a Sunday school class because they have a group of bad boys. They say, “Those ol’ bad boys, I don’t want that class.” Well, friend, if bad boys don’t need a Sunday school class, tell me, who on earth does? I mean, that’s the reason why God put you there. But, you see, this Sunday school teacher visited this one boy again and again and again, and finally, brought him to Jesus.
Do you know who that boy was? Jim Ponder, the Director of Evangelism in the Florida Baptist Convention. You know Brother Jim, Tom? Jim Ponder: a fine man, a great man, mightily used of the Lord. The other boy—his teacher didn’t care about him. His teacher said, “I don’t want that kind of a boy in my class,” and, forsook him, and let him go. That other boy assassinated John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Two boys; two Sunday school teachers; one teacher with his place on the wall doing the job that God had called him to do. I wonder, if choir members were really in their place, ushers were really in their place, if God’s people were tithing, if God’s people were giving, if God’s people were witnessing, I say, if all of us together were in that particular place where God wants us to be, what do you think would happen? It’s thrilling to think about, isn’t it? Oh, each one fulfilled his function.
Isn’t it strange
That princes and kings,
And clowns that caper
In sawdust rings,
And common people
Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
Each one is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
And each one must make—
Ere life is flown—
A stumbling block
Or a steppingstone. (R. L. Sharpe)
You’re building either a stumbling block or you’re building a steppingstone. Now, we must close the message this morning, but I want you to go back and look at chapter 2 and verse 20. Look at it—Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 20. Here were these people who were not interested in the building of the walls. And, I want you to notice what Nehemiah said to them: “Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us…”—and, friend, He’s going to. He is—praise His Holy name—“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” (Nehemiah 2:20). Isn’t that sad?
Conclusion
Friend, I wonder if the last part of this verse could be spoken of you. Do you have a portion in the work of God? Do you have a right in the work of God? Will your life be remembered when all of the dust is settled for a memorial that you served the Lord? Not if you don’t know the Lord Jesus. You see, there are only two classes of people in the world: There are the builders, and there are the destroyers. Either you’re for God, or you’re not; you can’t be neutral. Jesus Christ said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). And, I’m telling you, today, that the God of Heaven wants to save you. And, the God of Heaven who saves you wants to call you and give you a job—something worth doing. But, you cannot build without a foundation, and that foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ.
