This is Monday evening, December 3rd, 1973, in
Richmond, Virginia.
Ministry is given through Brother Stephen Kong.
We return to the book of Nehemiah, chapter
7.
The first three verses.
Nehemiah, chapter 7, verse 1.
And it came to pass when the wall
was built, and I had set up the
doors, that the doorkeepers and the singers and
the Levites were appointed.
And I gave my brother Hananiah the ruler
of the citadel, charged over Jerusalem, for he
was a faithful man and feared God above
many.
And I say to them that the gates
of Jerusalem should not be opened until the
sun was hot, and that they should shut
the doors and bar them while they stood
by.
And that there should be appointed watchers of
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch,
and everyone over against his house.
Chapter 8, verse 1 to verse 3.
And when the seventh month came, and the
children of Israel were in their cities, all
the people gathered together as one man to
the open place that was before the water
gate.
And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to
bring the book of the law of Moses,
which Jehovah had commanded Israel.
And Ezra the priest brought the law before
the congregation, both of men and women, and
all that could hear with understanding, on the
first day of the seventh month.
And he read in it before the open
place that was before the water gate from
the morning until midday, in presence of the
men and the women and those that could
understand.
And the ears of all the people were
attentive to the book of the law.
Chapter 10, verse 32.
And we made ordinances for us to charge
ourselves a yearly with the third part of
a shackle for the service of the house
of our God.
And so on and so forth.
Verse 39.
For the children of Israel and the children
of Levi shall bring the heave offering of
the corn, of the new wine and the
oil into the chambers, which are the vessels
of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister
and doorkeepers and the singers.
And we will not forsake the house of
our God.
Chapter 11, verse 1.
And the princes of the people dwelt in
Jerusalem.
And the rest of the people cast lots
to bring one of ten to dwell in
Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine pots in
the cities.
And the people blessed all the men that
willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.
Chapter 12, verse 27.
And at the dedication of the wall of
Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all
their places to bring them to Jerusalem to
hold the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving
and with singing, with cymbals, lutes and harps.
And the children of the singers were assembled,
both from the plain of Jordan round about
Jerusalem and from the villages of the Nephite,
also from Bethgeogol and out of the fields
of Geba and Asmaveth.
For the singers had built themselves hamlets round
about Jerusalem.
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves,
and they purified the people and the gates
and the wall.
We have been fellowshipping for the past two
sessions on the rebuilding of the wall of
Jerusalem.
We mention that not only our life together
with God must be restored to its rightful
place, but our life as brethren, one with
another, must also be restored.
And these two sites are typified by the
rebuilding of the temple and the rebuilding of
the wall.
For people to dwell together behind a wall,
for people to live together in a city,
it is the picture of the brethren dwell
together in unity.
And that will become a real testimony to
the world.
The first six chapters in the book of
Nehemiah deals with the building of the wall.
And we find the wall was finished.
In troubleless times.
In 52 days.
It wasn't an easy thing to rebuild the
wall.
Because when they were rebuilding the wall, attacks
came from every side.
Not only from the enemies from without, but
even from the people within.
Nehemiah was under pressure, assault, accusation of all
kinds.
And even false prophets and prophetess prophesied against
Nehemiah.
And yet, Nehemiah knew what God was doing.
And the hand of the Lord was with
him.
And with the people.
So in 52 days, the wall was finished.
It's strange to say, after the wall was
finished, Nehemiah did not dedicate the wall immediately
to God.
We will think that if a wall is
finished, suddenly the next thing will be dedication.
But no.
The wall was finished.
And yet, there were more works to be
done.
Within the wall.
Or unto the wall.
In a sense, the wall is an outward
public testimony.
But whether that public testimony can stand or
not, or how firm, how good is that
testimony, really depends upon the life within the
wall.
In other words, the life behind the wall
is the strength of the wall.
If the life within the wall is weak,
sooner or later that wall will be broken
again.
And this we already find.
In the first place, the wall in Jerusalem,
laying in ruin, was completely destroyed.
Why?
There was once the wall was there.
But it was completely destroyed.
Because the people who dwelt within had been
unfaithful.
So unless the life within the wall is
strengthened, the testimony of the wall will not.
You know, sometimes in a time of revival,
in a time of great awakening, or in
a time of refreshing, or even in a
time of oppression, persecution, God's people may be
brought together and stand up as one.
Strange to say.
You see a unity there.
But unless this is being established, strengthened, rooted,
it does not last long.
So brothers and sisters, after the wall was
completed, Nehemiah knew that the life within the
wall must be strengthened.
Unless life within the wall was strengthened, the
wall that was rebuilt might not be continued.
As a matter of fact, probably Nehemiah spent
more time in strengthening the life within the
wall than in building the wall.
It might take him only 52 days to
rebuild the wall, but probably it took him
much longer to strengthen the life within the
wall.
And how true it is today.
We need to join, to be joined together.
We need to be united together as one.
We need to be built up together as
a wall with no breach.
But brothers and sisters, this is not just
in the time of revival, refreshing.
I think I mentioned that before, but for
the sake of illustration, I may use it
again.
Once a year, Christians from all over the
world, in July, the second week of July,
will go to a small town in England.
That town's name was Kazik.
Once a year, Christians from all over the
world will gather there for that Kazik convention.
They had the best speakers you could get
in any generation.
And people from all over the world will
be there.
There was a large tent put up for
a great big meeting.
And behind a platform, the sign, all one
in Christ.
People came from all kinds of backgrounds.
But when they gather together, when they sing
together, when they listen to the word together,
you do get a feeling of they're all
one people.
Thank God for that.
But do you know, when you step out
of the big tent, as you walk along
the streets, here a booth, there a booth,
and every booth represents a denomination, represents a
sect, and every booth is selling their literature,
and as you go along the street, you
are just being pulled, torn.
In the tent you have the wall, but
outside the tent are the bridges.
In time of revival, all God's people can
really be joined together as one.
And again I say, under persecution too.
But does it last?
For this testimony of the unity of God's
people to be really lasting, something more must
be done.
The life within the wall must be strengthened.
So in Nehemiah spent time.
You know what he did?
He did a number of things.
Number one.
He appointed doorkeepers.
It is a wall.
But brothers and sisters, if the whole place
is walled in without any doors, you know
what would happen?
There is separation, yes.
But the separation is so exclusive, there is
no door to it.
It is a prison.
It is a dead city.
No coming out and no going in.
There will be no increase.
It is a dead city.
Thank God you have not only the wall,
but you have the gates.
The wall stands for separation, but the door
stands for coming in and coming out.
In other words, the doors represent communication.
The wall represents separation, but the door represents
communication.
The Lord Jesus said, you are not of
the world.
That is separation.
But after we are separated from the world,
the Lord said, I sent you to the
world.
As the Father has sent me, so have
I sent you to the world.
There is not only wall, but there is
door.
You can come out from the city to
reach out to the world in order to
bring them in.
Communication.
And people who desire to come in, they
are always welcome.
There is no exclusiveness in the fellowship.
Thank God for that.
You know, God's people sometimes can be so
separated that they have absolutely no communication whatsoever
with people in the world and even with
other people of God.
They just roll in as a prison.
And if this should happen, it is a
dead city.
We need to be separated.
And yet, we must have communication.
We must have communication with the world in
the sense of not partaking in their sins,
but in the sense of winning them to
Christ.
That they may become our brothers and sisters
for the increase of the city.
We need to be open to all God's
people and welcome them, that they may come
in and strengthen the life of the city.
There must be open fellowship.
Open fellowship.
But remember, you do not only have the
openings, there are gates, doors, with bars and
locks.
Sometimes you may have openings, but there is
no gate.
There is no door.
There is no lock.
There is no bar.
In other words, there are openings, but it's
always open, day and night.
No control whatsoever.
No.
There are openings, but there are doors.
In other words, our communication with the world
is under control.
The doorkeepers were appointed.
Before the sun went down, they closed the
door and locked it.
And they did not open the doors until
the sun was warm.
In other words, communication and fellowship is only
in the light.
You cannot have communication in darkness.
You know, sometimes we think that we must
be so careful lest we be contaminated.
So, there is no door.
At other times, we are so open that
there is no lock.
And the Bible says, evil communications corrupt good
manners.
There should be communication.
There should be fellowship.
But everything must be in the light.
Never in darkness.
And here you'll find Nehemiah set up doorkeepers
to see to it that all the communications
were under the broad daylight.
Nothing went on in darkness.
That was to keep the unity and the
strength of the city.
Suppose you have the doors wide open and
without locks.
Suppose people can come in day and night.
It will dilute the life of the city.
It will corrupt the life of the city.
As the Bible says, do you not know
that a little leaven can leaven the whole
lump, brothers and sisters?
Sometimes, you know, we think we should be
so open, we should be so loving that
there is no control, there is no discipline
in the church.
It's a democracy.
To maintain the life of the city, to
maintain the life of God's people as a
testimony, discipline is necessary.
God will raise up people taking the spiritual
responsibility to see that the doors are closed
when the sun went down.
People with discernment, people with courage, people with
integrity, people who stand with the Lord, sometimes
they will be accused as being narrow, too
strict, unloving.
But brothers and sisters, God would raise up
doorkeepers for the doors of the wall.
Very necessary.
And more than that, you'll find that aside
from the doorkeepers who will see to it
that the doors were locked and the doors
will be opened, not only locked but to
be opened, but during the night, every family
would appoint one to guard that section of
the wall over against his house.
Why?
The enemy may climb over the wall.
You know?
Under the shadow of darkness, they might climb
over the wall and come in to disturb
the peace of the city.
That is to say, every brother, every sister
in the church has his or her responsibility.
Not only in the church God will raise
up some like elders, responsible brothers, who will
in a sense guard the doors, but every
brother and sister is responsible.
We are responsible for one another.
To see that there is no evil in
our fellowship, in our communication.
Quite a responsibility.
Unless we know discipline, unless we know responsibility,
our life together as one unit is not
really built.
But very strange.
At the time when Nehemiah appointed these doorkeepers,
you know, he appointed some other people.
He appointed at the same time Levites and
sinners.
Now we would say, of course you need
doorkeepers for the wall, that's true.
But why did he appoint the Levites and
the sinners at the same time?
Our life towards the world needs the doorkeepers.
But our lives before the Lord needs the
Levites and the sinners.
That is the life within the city.
We are being built up together into one
body.
Why?
That we may present spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ.
That's Levitical service.
We are to offer praise and worship to
God.
This is the sinners.
So here you'll find, when you read Ephesians
or Colossians, you'll find, be filled with the
Spirit and sing to the Lord with psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, admonishing and teaching
one another, and singing with your heart, giving
thanks to the Lord in all things.
Worship.
Worship is going on behind the wall.
God's people are worshiping people.
Unless we know how to worship God, unless
we know how to serve Him as the
priesthood, the life of the city is empty.
Sometimes people can be very vigilant in guarding
the doors, but they are not very diligent
in praising and serving the Lord.
These two things must be balanced.
Must be balanced.
So that's the first thing to strengthen the
life within the wall.
Then the second thing.
In the seventh month, all the children of
Israel were gathered together as one man.
And you know what they did?
They asked for Ezra, the scribe, to read
the book of the law.
You know, Ezra was a scribe.
He was one who was well-versed in
the law.
He studied the law.
And it was his burden to return to
Jerusalem to teach the people of the law.
He himself studied the law.
He himself kept the law.
And he wanted to teach the people to
keep the law.
That was his burden in coming back to
Jerusalem.
But that was on his part.
But now you'll find the initiative came from
the people.
Instead of Ezra gather them together and say,
now listen, I'm going to read the law
to you.
I'm going to teach you the law.
No?
The people came together and asked Ezra, read
the book to us.
We want to hear it.
For the strengthening of the life of God's
people together, there must be a love for
the Word of God.
You may have a revival.
You may have a refreshing.
You may have quite an uplifting.
But if you are not strengthened with a
love for the Word of God, that will
soon be.
Here you'll find the people had a great
love for the Word of God.
They asked for it.
You don't need to force the Word upon
them.
They asked for it.
So they all gathered together in that open
space at the water gate.
And Ezra read the Word to them.
And you know what reverence they had for
the Word of God.
When Ezra opened the book of the law,
all the people, men and women, and those
who could understand, they listened attentively from morning
till midday.
They were not tired of the Word of
God.
They were not only listening, but they understood.
And they responded.
When they heard the Word, they wept.
They saw that they had disobeyed God.
They had sinned against God.
And they repented before God.
And finally, you'll find, they made a covenant
with God that they would keep His Word.
Oh, brothers and sisters, for the life of
the city, for the life of God's people
together to be really strengthened, there must be
the love for God's Word.
There must be the reading of God's Word.
There must be the listening attentively to God's
Word.
There must be the keeping of God's Word.
There must be a covenant with God according
to His Word.
And when you find these things happening, you
know the life of the city, the life
of God's people together is being strengthened.
You have substance now.
That's the second thing.
And then came the third thing.
They made ordinances for themselves that everyone will
give a third of a shackle yearly to
the house of the Lord to provide for
all the sacrifices and the offerings.
And furthermore, they made an ordinance for themselves
that they will take turn in bringing to
the house the Word offering.
These are the ordinances that you do not
find in Mosaic Law.
You know, in Mosaic Law, there were many
ordinances.
How the children of Israel must bring the
tithe to God.
How the children of Israel must bring the
first fruits to God.
And so on and so forth.
You'll find in Mosaic Law there were many
ordinances.
But here you'll find the people love God
so much.
Love His house so much that over and
beyond what God had commanded, they commanded themselves
voluntarily.
Ah, brothers and sisters!
What an attitude that was!
How we are afraid of God's commandment!
And we say it's a line upon line
and it's here a little and there a
little and it add up too much.
But here you'll find these people that love
God so much.
They said, after God had commanded us all
things, let's add something more to it.
God did not command them to give one
third of a shackle yearly each person.
They made that ordinance themselves.
It is true in the temple you need
a wood so that the fire on the
altar will not burn out.
But the Lord never decided, never tell us
how this wood would prepare.
And here they made a wood offering.
Yeah, they will bring the wood there so
the fire would not go out.
Brothers and sisters, what love for God and
for His house.
Voluntarily.
You know, often times I just use it
in illustration.
Sometimes people will talk with me and say,
brother, should we give tithe to the Lord?
Like the children of Israel?
Should we give one tenth of all our
income?
And then some people said, this one tenth,
should it be after tax or before tax?
Ah, brothers and sisters, even with the children
of Israel, if you read Mosaic law, you
will find actually, aside from tithe, they have
offerings.
So it comes up to two tenths.
Not just one tenth.
Under the law.
And what should happen to us?
It is not a matter of the material
things I am talking about.
I am talking about the Spirit.
Oh, that we should love Him so much
there is no bargain spirit there.
If the Lord should enable us to give
more of ourselves and everything to Him, it
is our honor, our privilege, our glory.
He deserves it.
Now that is the attitude we should take.
It is not in our mouth.
Not at all.
It is in the Spirit.
Do we love Him?
Do we love His house?
And if we do, we don't count it.
And here you will find the Spirit of
the people there.
They really love the Lord.
And they really give themselves to the Lord.
And brothers and sisters, the wall was really
strengthened.
That is what happened behind the wall.
It is our life together.
The reality of our life together.
The reality of our love for Him.
Our love for His house.
That really strengthened the testimony of Jesus.
Number four.
The city was big.
The wall was built.
But the inhabitants in the city were few.
In order to increase the life of the
city, all the nobles decided they will move
to the city and live there.
Then some people volunteered.
We will move to the city and live
there.
In order to increase the dwellers of the
city, increase the life of the city.
And then they cast lot.
And every one of ten will move to
the city.
In order to increase the dwellers in the
city.
And you know, as people in the city
increase, the life of the city also increases.
So that's the way they did.
What if you have a city, a wall
city, and no people living there?
It's an empty city.
So, they move in.
They move in.
You know, brothers and sisters, what does this
represent?
To move into the city and live was
a great honor.
Because there was the temple.
But at that time, to move to the
city to live was a hardship.
Hardship.
Not only a hardship, but it was a
very dangerous thing.
Why?
Because Jerusalem was the target of the enemies.
You do not know when the enemies were
attacked.
But for the love of God, for the
strengthening of the city, the nobles set a
good example.
They move in.
Then the volunteers.
And then casting lot.
Brothers and sisters, do you like to live
in the city?
Or you would rather live outside the city
and come to the city once in a
while and then go back to your own
village?
Many believers.
Now, I'm speaking it as a metaphor, you
know.
It's not figuratively speaking.
I don't mean that you all should move
together and live in one house or so
forth.
No, I'm not advocating that.
It is the spiritual sense.
How many of God's people would like to
maintain their independence?
They like to have their own lives.
And then they will come in occasionally for
a visit.
Fine.
And after a short visit, they go back.
In other words, they are never really built
up together with their brothers and sisters.
They maintain a loosely related position.
Are you willing to move into the city
and be together?
Bind together?
Build up together?
And you know how much is involved.
Oh, if we live at a distance, we
can afford to be very kind to each
other.
But if we all in the same city,
behind the same wall, we rub against each
other, and sometimes it's difficult.
Rather be a visitor than a dweller.
And you know, everywhere you go, you have
lots of visitors.
Sometimes, you know, in my heart, my heart
just aches.
Sometimes, you know, I'm not speaking of here,
but everywhere I go, sometimes I see lots
of people come.
And yet, visitors, not dwellers.
Oh, when you have a conference, when you
have a speaker, they all come.
But when the conference is over, when the
speaker is gone, they are gone too.
Each to his own place.
God's people are not dwellers in the city
of Jerusalem.
God's people are not built up together, knit
together, and built up together.
We need some people to set the examples.
They are not afraid to live together in
the city, to be built up together.
They are willing to bear the cost.
We need volunteers, not hosts.
But seeing the testimony of the Lord Jesus,
they are willing to move to the city
with their brothers and sisters.
And then, of course, today we don't cast
lot.
That is the Old Testament way.
They cast lot and believe that God will
choose the right one.
Now, in the New Testament, it means that
the Holy Spirit within us will lead us.
As we are led by the Spirit, let
us move into the city, behind the wall,
and be built up together.
A life naturally that strengthens the life of
the city.
So you have contents now.
If you just build a wall and there
is nobody inside, or what is inside is
very weak and empty, everything is superficial.
Just an outward appearance.
There is no substance.
It won't last long.
Therefore you'll find you have to strengthen the
life within the wall.
To give substance to the wall.
Then the wall will really represent something.
So Nehemiah spent quite some time doing all
these things.
Dear brothers and sisters, how we need to
be built up together.
It takes time.
Do not be discouraged.
Be patient.
With patience and faith we inherit the promise
of God.
And then after all these things were done,
then Nehemiah dedicated a wall to God.
You know, brothers and sisters, this wall was
not built just for the protection of God's
people.
This wall was built for the glory of
God.
For the testimony of God.
For after everything was done, it was dedicated
to God.
Lord, you have done it and it is
for you.
Nothing is for themselves.
And that should be our attitude.
After everything is done, remember, it is for
His glory.
It is to the testimony of Jesus, not
for our testimony, as it were.
It is all God's doing.
And all glory be to Him.
The wall and everything is for His glory.
And I believe this is the right attitude.
So dear brothers and sisters, if by the
grace of God the life of God's people
together is built, remember, there is nothing to
boast of man.
Everything is dedicated to the testimony of Jesus.
That He may be seen, may be heard,
and may be believed.
Ah, this is great.
So I do hope that in our fellowship
on this book of Nehemiah, brothers and sisters,
I don't know what to say.
I only feel deep down within me a
desire.
Oh, that God's people may really be built
up together for the testimony of Jesus and
for the glory of God.
Shall we pray?
Oh Lord, restore our life with Thee as
a people and with one another as a
people.
We pray that we may not only have
an outward testimony, but there may be an
inner reality of our lives together before Thee.
Lord, strengthen.
Lord, establish.
Lord, build.
And it is all for Thy glory.
We ask in Thy name.
Amen.