Breaking Down Barriers & Building Up The Wall (Pt. 4)
Sermon – 18 July 2004
Previous to last week I preached for three weeks on a series entitled “Breaking Down Barriers & Building Up The Wall”
Last week the Lord led to preach the sermon “Why Am I Here?” But this week I believe the Lord has led me to finish the series I had started. The first three sermons focused on the barriers that Jesus Destroyed in ministering to the woman at the well.
This week we will focus on building up the wall. The title may seem like a contradiction in terms but it really is not.
As it relates to what we have been discussing, barriers are those things that divide us, those things that keep us from the unity we should be walking in as the body of Christ.
The last few weeks have seen extraordinary events happening in and through this church. It all goes back to a word of prophecy that the Lord spoke to us over a month and a half ago followed by God touching many through the ministry of David Hogan at RWAG.
Then the Lord brought Pastor Mark and I together with a common heart for unity within the city of Holyoke. Last night I was out with Dan and Angel putting up fliers for the tent meetings and going to churches throughout the city visiting pastors.
God is moving in the city of Holyoke in a powerful way! Several pastors shared their heart to be seeking God together and breaking down the barriers that have divided the church for so long in this city.
One minister shared with us that he was talking to people who are not even Christians and they told him that they have the sense that something good is about to happen here!
God is moving in the hearts of his people to break down barriers of division and cause his people to rise up as the royal priesthood we are called to be and stand in the gap for the people.
In the first three parts of this series we looked at the account of Jesus’ visit with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar. In looking at that account we discussed the barriers that Jesus destroyed in ministering to this woman.
Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
Jesus left for us an example through what he did. We will quickly review the barriers he destroyed…
1) Geographical barrier – in going to Samaria when Jews would have nothing to do with Samaritans. Jesus went to Samaria because he had an appointment to keep (John 4:4)
2) Ethnic Barrier – in ministering to a Samaritan woman who was of a people that were viewed as “half-breeds” by the Jews because of the fact that their lineage was convoluted by intermarriage with other peoples.
3) Cultural Barrier – in ministering to a woman in public. It was taboo for a Jewish man to even speak to a woman in public, never mind a Samaritan one.
4) Religious Barrier – in ministering to a Samaritan at all, due to the religious heritage of the Samaritans which was one of mixed religion. Where the Jews left in the land after the Assyrian occupation intermarried with the nations that the Assyrians brought into the land and began to serve their gods, mixing the worship of Yahweh with the worship of pagan gods.
5) Historical Barrier – The Samaritans esteemed their history where the Jews looked down upon them precisely because of their historical background.
6) Personal Barrier – This woman tried to keep her life hidden from the people she lived around…and from Jesus. When he told her that she had been married five times and the man she was now living with was not her husband she acknowledged that he was a prophet and then tried to quickly change the subject.
Following that we looked at spiritual barriers – those things that keep our focus from being wholly focused on the Lord Jesus and doing His work.
The disciples tried to get Jesus to eat something but his response to them was…
34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:34).
Jesus was not saying that there was anything wrong with food per se, his point in this was that he was not going to let anything of the world distract him from doing the will of his Father and finishing His work.
In destroying these barriers Jesus was doing the work of His Father in heaven…
1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Now to the matter of building up the wall.
In first century Palestine every major city was a walled city. This was for the purpose of protection from enemies who would attack. The citizens who lived in the villages or outlying areas of the city would flee to within the city walls in the case of an attack from marauders.
Once the attackers overcame the city walls they could pour into the city and bring destruction in their wake.
The Great Wall of China has a main-line length of 2,150 miles. Completed during the reign of Qin Shi Huangdi (221-210 B.C.), it has a further 2,195 miles of branches and spurs. It is 15-39 feet high and up to 32 feet thick.
—Guinness Book of World Records
The Great Wall of China was decades in building, and was finished at the expense of vast treasure and 400,000 human lives. It was intended for a defense against the marauding hordes of the north, who had so often laid waste to the land.
However, historians tell us that within a short time of its completion it was pierced and proved inadequate, not because it was not massive and well enough built, but because of the human element—in each case the enemy bribed the guards.
Similarly, Satan has made his way into the church through the human element – the sinful heart of men.
2 Chronicles 36:18-20
18 [Nebuchadnezzar] carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.
20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
Nebuchadnezzar had come to Jerusalem for the third and final time. This time he sacked the city completely and those who were not killed were carried off into captivity.
70 years later the Lord began to send his people back little by little to the land of their fathers.
Simply said, the rebuilding of the wall symbolizes the building of the Kingdom of God. The enemy has had his way in this city for a long time. But God has always had a remnant who would not bow their knee to the gods of this world.
In the same way that God had a remnant among his people who would return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the wall so he also had a new generation that grew up in Babylon (the world) who was now coming to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall too.
1. Take Up Positions –
Nehemiah 3:1-16
1 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them. 3 The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah…8bThey restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. 10 Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. 11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.
The first thing that must occur if we are going to be successful in building the part of the Kingdom of God that we have been called to build is that God’s people must take up their positions.
Last week we discussed the scripture…
Philippians 2:12-13
…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
It is God’s desire to work in us that we might do the work he has called us to.
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT
…[obey] God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
It is not uncommon for people to not feel adequate or ready to do what God has called them to do – but if God has called you, he will equip you!
It is interesting to note that God used all sorts of people to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem…they were not all craftsmen or carpenters…thank goodness it wasn’t a union shop!
As we read through chapter three of Nehemiah we see that God uses priests, goldsmiths and perfume makers!
Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The people of the early church give us a great example of what God is looking for in people He can use…
They:
- devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
- devoted themselves to the fellowship
- devoted themselves to the breaking of bread
- devoted themselves to prayer
- were together
- had everything in common
- gave to anyone as he had need
- continued to meet together
- broke bread and ate together
As the early church did these things God began to use them in powerful ways to touch the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t that they set out to do these things because they felt they should, these actions should be the natural outgrowth of our relationship with the Lord.
In 1973 Gary Kildall wrote the first popular operating system for personal computers, named CP/M. IBM approached Kildall in 1980 about developing the operating system for IBM PCs. But Kildall snubbed IBM officials at a crucial meeting, according to author, Paul Carroll.
The next day when IBM came calling, he chose to fly his new airplane. The frustrated IBM executives turned instead to Bill Gates, founder of a small software company called Microsoft, and his operating system named MS-DOS.
For Bill Gates the rest has become history.
One of the most powerful prayers we can offer up to the Lord is to simply say “Yes, Lord”. “Yes” to whatever He may call you to.
So we too must take up our positions and be ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He may call us to.
2. Take Out the Past –
Nehemiah 4:10
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall."
We need to remove the rubble of past defeats from our lives so that it does not become a hindrance to the work God has us doing.
When, by the power of the Holy Spirit we destroy barriers in our own lives and in the church there may be rubble left behind. This rubble is the painful memories that may remain with us of what people have done to us.
We are exhorted in…
Ephesians 4:31-32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The way we were forgiven is explained too…
Hebrews 8:12
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."
But the Enemy does not want us to walk in the freedom of forgiveness and victory. He will seek to use the ruble of our past defeats and the barriers we have destroyed to become a stumbling block to us.
Let’s remember that whatever has been done to us is under the blood of Jesus. The enemy will even ridicule our efforts to move beyond the past…
Nehemiah 4:1-2
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are?"
Can God bring something beautiful out of destruction?
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
A certain man had spoken in an uncomplimentary way of Billy Graham. In a conversation one night Billy said, “Deep down in my heart I was beginning to resent the man. Resentment is sin. I couldn’t go on the platform with resentment in my heart. I couldn’t ask those people to repent and love their neighbors if I had sin in my own heart.
“One afternoon, alone in my room, I told God that I was going to stay on my knees until He instilled a genuine love in my heart for the man. I stayed there, asking God to do what I could not do as a human. After considerable time, God answered my prayer, and when I stood to my feet, I had a genuine love for him. Only God can turn resentment into love.”
—Mrs. Paul Evans
What would have been the result if Billy Graham decided to hold onto his resentment of this man? Imagine Billy Graham trying to preach the gospel with all that rubble around his feet.
Once we have broken down the barriers we must
Take up our positions and
Take out the Past
