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Sermon
of 08-09-03
A WALL OF REJOICING
by Dr. David A. Farmer, pastor
Scripture
- Revelation 21:10-14; "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, V:11
Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; V:12
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
V:13
On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. V:14
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."
The infamous Wall in the city of Berlin, Germany will forever be famous. I've been told that there are many shrines around the wall dedicated to all the people who have been killed trying to escape.
The Berlin Wall gained fame as being known as a wall that divides. The purpose of the wall was to prevent the East Germans from seeking refuge in West Germany. It was built to keep people in. The Berlin Wall lasted for nearly 30 years until November 1989 when people begin dismantling it.
For weeks now we have been studying about the wall around the city of Jerusalem. During Nehemiah's time this wall wasn't to keep people in, no, it was to keep the enemy out.
Remember our study together on Nehemiah chapter 4? We studied about God commissioning the rebuilding of the wall that had been torn down by King Nebuchadnezzar. Now here in the latter part of chapter 12, we find the wall was finished and the gates hung. Jerusalem was once more a well-defended, beautiful city filled with people. Now the time had come for a great celebration and a re-dedication of the wall.
In Nehemiah 12:27 to 43 we find a great procession of people on top of the wall. There are choirs, musicians, officials, the priest, Levites and the people.
"And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, [with] cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
12:28
And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;
12:29
Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
12:30
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
12:31
Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great [companies of them that gave] thanks, [whereof one] went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
12:32
And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,
12:33
And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
12:34
Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
12:35
And [certain] of the priests' sons with trumpets; [namely], Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:
12:36
And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
12:37
And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
12:38
And the other [company of them that gave] thanks went over against [them], and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
12:39
And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
12:40
So stood the two [companies of them that gave] thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me:
12:41
And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, [and] Hananiah, with trumpets;
12:42
And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah [their] overseer.
12:43
Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off."
Beginning with Verse 27, you find how the people celebrated when God faithfully blessed them. During this dedication of the wall, the people came from wherever they lived. They came to celebrate the finishing of the wall. Joyfully the dedication started with songs of thanksgiving. Verse 27 says they played music using cymbals, harps and string instruments. Verse 43 says they rejoiced so loud with music and singing that it could be heard from far away.
I guess the question I have at this point, is it appropriate and proper for us today to celebrate the blessings God has provided us? Now please, let me pause for a second.
There is a lot up confusion today about celebration churches. I not in total disagree with how celebration churches worship our Lord and Savior. But I'm not going to let a group of people stop me from using a word which the Bible clearly uses. Nor am I going to stop studying God's Word for a clear understanding of true worship. And above all, I do not want to take God's Word out of context. I do not feel anyone can use these verses to prove that shouting, loud singing and using musical instruments is always approved by God. Please take note; this group is on top of a Wall! They are not in the Sanctuary on Sabbath morning. But to me these verses do prove that there can be times when it is OK to celebrate God in a little different mold than what we may do on Sabbath morning. But on Sabbath, here in God's house, I feel there must be the utmost of reverence. We are in the very presence of God Himself. And we must act accordingly. I hope you understand where I stand on how we should worship God in His house.
Now back to my question; is it is proper to rejoice and celebrate God when He has brought us to a place of achievement? Let's allow our Bibles to answer that question.
Verse 27 basically says,
"The Levites were ... brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness."
One of the primary elements of true celebration is the expression of joy. Sometimes I'm amazed at Christians who never appear to be joyful. They always seem to be depressing and gloomy.
I read where a German philosopher named Nietzsche once said; "If the Christians expect me to believe in their Redeemer they have got to look a lot more redeemed!"
These people in our story were happy because the wall they were building was finished. They achieved their goal. They had been co-laborers with God. Therefore they were happy and joyful and wanted to celebrate. But before they could celebrate verse 30 says they had to first do something.
"And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall."
This verse proves that purification is necessary before we rejoice and celebrate. They not only purified themselves but the wall and gates as well. You cannot celebrate and worship the Lord with an impure heart. There must be a cleansing of our hearts. Listen to what the Psalmist says in Psalm 24:3-6;
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
V:4
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
V:5
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. V:6
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.
The priests and the Levites had to get rid of the impurities in their hearts before they could participate in anything related to God. Now purifying oneself is not hard. It is nothing more than confessing our sins and believing that God has forgiven us. Listen to 1 John 1:9;
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Isaiah 43:25 says;
"I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
It is only after we turn from our evil ways that we can follow Jesus and enjoy real joy and happiness.
Now in verse 36 we are told that the Prophet Ezra took a group of these purified people and went one direction. Then verse 38 says Nehemiah and the other half went the other direction. Along the way they sang and praised God. They were saved and happy. They had finished their long hard chore of re-building of the wall. It was a great occasion! Hebrews 13:15-16 says;
"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. V:16
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
Nehemiah 12 reminds me of another wall found in our Bible. Listen to Revelation 21:10-21,
"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
21:11
Having the glory of God: and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
21:12
And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
21:13
On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
21:14
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
21:15 And he that talked with me
had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
21:16
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
21:17
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
21:18
And the building of the wall of it was [of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass.
21:19
And the foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
21:20
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21:21
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."
This wall around the New Jerusalem is huge. It is a perfect square. Somewhere around 375 miles on each side. This wall is around 216 feet high. It is made out of pure - solid jasper. The wall holds these 12 gates - each made of a solid pearl. That is beyond our human understanding. The streets and the city are made from pure gold. They will reflect the glories of heaven like a mirror.
Revelation 21:2 says the city will be compared to
"a bride adorned for her husband." John 14:2 says that there are
"many mansions" or "rooms" in the city of God. Revelation 22:1-2 says;
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
V:2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
The River of Life and the Tree of Life will be right in the middle of the street. And there is no need to worry whether there will be enough room for everyone. Many scholars believe there is enough room for 39 billion people. If we combined ever person that has ever lived, it would not even add up to 39 billion. There is only a little over 6 billion alive right now. And it's sad to report, but the vast majority will be lost - not saved. Only the saved will be here in this city surrounded by this great wall.
A wall that we will stand on and look out over the great and beautiful city that God has created for us.
Now let me ask; how are you going to act then? When you are standing on that wall, how are you going feel? Remember now, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the people were celebrating because they were finished building the wall. The celebration started with songs of thanksgiving. They played music using cymbals, harps and String Instruments. They rejoiced with music and singing so loud it could be heard from far away. Do you suppose it will be appropriate and proper for us to do the same when we get there?
Listen to what Revelation 19:7-9 reports;
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
V:8
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints. V:9
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."
Did you catch the part where it said: "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him Glory?" When we achieved our goal in building our new church how did you feel? It was a great feeling wasn't it? We had accomplished our goal. Now we celebrate the Lord in it each week.
But when we get to heaven, then how will you feel? Our great work of spreading the gospel will be over. God's Judgment will have come to a close. We've each been co-laborers with the Lord. Finally our labor will be over. Will you be glad and rejoice?
I'm here to tell you I will be! I'm going to learn to play every music instrument God has. Even heavenly drums. And sing, you'll never be able to shut me up! My Address will be 1954 West Halleluiah Boulevard.
Revelation 22:14 says;
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
We will enter through the gates that hang on a wall that surrounds the New Jerusalem.
You too can be there. Joyful and Happy. But like the Children of Israel had to purify themselves - we must too. Ask God to clean you, to make you Holy. And the promise in 1 John 1:9 is He will.
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