the book of Nehemiah chapter four for the sake of time we will take up our story in verse six verse six of the fourth chapter of Nehemiah so built we the wall and all the wall was joined together unto the heart thereof for the people had a mind to work But it came to pass that when Samuel and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wrought and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them. And Judah said, the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall. And our adversary said, they shall not know neither see till we come in the midst among them, enslave them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all the places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon you. Therefore, set I in the lower places, behind the walls, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and rose up and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass when our enemy heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned, all of us, to the wall, every one, unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth that half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears and the shields and the bows and the heavy guns, and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah, which they built on the wall, and they that their burdens and those that landed every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, everyone had his sword guarded by his side, and so built it. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. Now the Lord will add his blessing, I'm sure, to the reading of his own precious work. Those of you that remember yesterday's talk will remember that we finished considering something of the gate as we thought of the second gate, the fish gate. And I'm going with your permission, and I trust with the Lord's help, very quickly to go through the rest of those gates that were hung as the part of the wall by their side was built. If there is one thing I am absolutely certain of, it is that in the Church of God, the things that those gates to speak should be very evident. I am certain that it should be evident that in the church of God there is that bespeaks the sheep gate that which tells us that there is the gathering end of the sheep for did not the Lord Jesus himself say other sheep I have that are not of this fold them also I must bring and indeed your heart and mine is always stirred when we see in a local church when we see in a local assembly the evidence of the fact that sheep are being gathered in. We also thought of the fish gate. We reminded our hearts again of the words of the Lord Jesus. I will make you fishers of men. And the things that marked those fishermen in the day long ago should mark every one of us. Not only the things that marked the shepherd, the lonely man, the solitary man, the quiet man, the careful man, But the fisherman, the man who knows what it means to work in unity with others, the man who will go out and face the storm, the man that will endure the tossing waves, the man who indeed is immensely courageous. And these things should mark, surely, our local assembly. But you will remember, I'm sorry, you will remember the next gate that's mentioned is in verse six. And we are told of the old gate. the old days. Now I know that we are living in a very modern day. We're living in a day when young folk and not only young folk but older folk indeed will pass aside things that have indeed the mark that they call of antiquity upon them. But there are some things that are old and they will remain old. They are valuable. They are cherished. There are things that were believed by our fathers that we must never, never, never give up. You remember those tremendous words in Jeremiah that so frequently are referred to when this line of truth is being taught. You remember the great words of Jeremiah six and sixteen. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old path. You know, we are living in a day, aren't we, when traditions are cast aside and sometimes spoken disparagingly of. And yet never forget, when the apostle writes in that fifteenth verse of the second chapter of his second letter to the church at Thessalonica, he dares to say, therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. There are things that are surely believed amongst us. And brethren, sisters, if the word of God is old, then let's hold to the old things. Let's hold to the things that were told. Let's not cast them aside and cast them aside lightly. Let us remember that the truth of God stands sure. It stands firm. It bears the mark of eternity, for my word shall not pass away. And I believe that in the church of God, there should be the mark not only of a shepherd heart, not only of a fishing hand, but there should be the mark of paths that have been well trod, well proven, well loved, and firmly held to. Then you will remember when we come to verse thirteen, we read of the valley gate, the gate that was lower than the other gate, the valley gate. And I'm going to suggest to you, I'm only making the suggestion, I'm going to suggest to you that the valley gate would speak indeed of humility, that which is lower than the other. And I'm going to suggest to you that if there is one thing that should mark God's people, it is the very sense of humility. If God has given us his word, and if we seeking to follow the words of God, believe ourselves to be walking in pathways that are pleasing to God, that should not exalt us but humble us. That should not make us speak as though we're better than anyone else. but it should remind us constantly of our privileges and our honor in walking in fellowship with him. I often tell this story and some of you I'm sure have heard me tell it, but we had a very wonderful elder amongst us years ago. His name was Mr. Pangelli and he was an old petty officer from the Navy. And all he did was to transfer from the Navy to the Gospel Hall. That's all he did. Because when he turned up at the Gospel Hall, he was as blunt. He could give you orders as much as he did, I'm sure, on the court of death. But we loved him, although he'd tell us off at the drop of a hand. We loved him. We knew where we stood with him. and I believe I'm speaking on my wife's behalf as well that we esteemed him as an elder I remember at a young man's prayer meeting we were kneeling praying and there was in our fellowship a young fellow by the name of Basil Hebdick just a young fellow in his early twenties and as he prayed he prayed this Lord make me humble And suddenly from the other side of the prayer room, we heard the old Pengelly's voice, God, don't answer his prayer. I open my eyes and looked. And that'll carry on praying, but not much longer. And as soon as the prayer meeting was over, I saw Deol Pendeley rise from his knees and walk across the prayer room and slipping his arms round the shoulder of the young fellow. He said, Basil, my son, don't pray like that. The Bible says, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Don't ask God to humble you. If you do, he may place on your shoulders such a burden that the whole church will be grieved to see you bear it. Humble yourself, lad. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. You know, we had great preachers used to come to our gospel hall. H.P. Barker, Hal Singen, P.T. Shorey, J.M. Men who bless their name for God in the world. I've forgotten most of what they said. But I've never forgotten a man who said, God don't answer his prayer. For it taught me a lesson that I, if I walk with God, must know something of a valley gate. I must know something of humbling myself. And it's easier to talk about than do, brethren, is this? Easier to talk about than do. You remember the story of the monastery. And the person asked, what are the monks? as to the particular title they bore and the difference between the different classes of months. And he went through a long list. He said, well, this particular group, they're known for their teaching ability. And this particular group, they're known indeed for their building ability. And this group is known for its hospital work. But by, we're tops on humility. And I think sometimes a bit of us are like that, aren't we? Why, we boast in our humility, God grant, that in our assembly we may know something of the Valley Gate. But you will notice there was not only the sheep and the fish, there was not only the old and the Valley Gate, but then we come to verse fourteen, and it's referred to as the Dung Gate. By the way, it's an interesting thing, is it not? that one of the sons of one of the rulers work there, of the Dungate, that which speaks of the purification of the flesh in the city. And brethren, dare I say this, that if there is another thing that should mark us, it's this, that we should be a people who know something of the confession of our sin to God. that we know something of purity in the innermost part, that we might know something of walking in holiness with the Lord. You will notice indeed that the next gate that is spoken of is not now the dun gate, but the fountain gate, verse fifteen. And I remember the words of the Lord Jesus when speaking to a woman Indeed, he'd asked for a drink of water from. And then he dared to say that he would give her water. And that water would be, as it were, rivers of water. Why, one of the great signs of being a possessor of eternal life is this, that out of thee shall flow rivers of water. Or is it grand that in the local church, when it is in link with Christ, And when Christ is being known as its Lord and Master, that there is ever the refreshing water flowing from those in fellowship. Brethren, may I ask you, when I come in contact with you, do I go away feeling refreshed? No, no, no, please, I have no right to ask that question. But you have a right to ask that question of me. that if I dare to stand before you and minister the word of God, I believe that when I come in contact with you, when I fellowship with you, there should be something that has flown out from me that will send you away refreshed. This is surely one of the things that we must ever be conscious of, that our manner of conversation shall be that which sends folk away refreshed. You know we talk about so many things. We're so apt to talk about politics and send folk away depressed. We're so apt to talk about the particular position in which the world is found today and send folk away depressed. But tell me, is there anything that will refresh our hearts like talking of the things that blood of bats sang of this morning when we reminded our hearts that Jesus is coming? And coming again, isn't it good to talk about the Saviour? Isn't there enough in him, brethren, and I'm speaking to my own heart? I remind myself again of the words that I'm continually reminding you of, that my old friend Bill Patterson used to use. When he said every time you point your finger at anyone, you point three fingers at yourself. And I'm pointing three fingers at myself. Try. Am I refreshing to God's folks? This surely should be the mark of a local church. They built the wall and they built it to the fountain gate. Verse twenty-six speaks of the water gate. And indeed, Christ within us enables us to be, as it were, rivers of water flowing out. then here he is speaking surely of the word of God the washing of the water of the word have you noticed this of course you have that when you read the third chapter it is the only gate that we are not high told was burned with fire now it seems to me you may disagree with this I wouldn't like you to because I'd like you to be right but nevertheless you may disagree with me I only know that it's the only gate that is not mentioned that was burned with fire. I've got a feeling that the water gate was never destroyed. The dead hung and all the other gates were burned with fire and the walls were reduced to heaps of rubble. And I think of the word of God that liveth and abideth forever. Thank God that all the forces of hell will never destroy that word. They've burned it. They've drowned it. They've cut it underfoot. But bless God, the Bible stands like a rock undaunted amidst the raging storms of time. But then, may I emphasize the fact that surely a local church should be known by the fact that they're Bible lovers. I believe I'm right in saying this. I believe I'm right in saying this, that when I was first converted and came amongst an assembly of God's folk, you know they were desperate queer folk. But nevertheless, you know I thought everyone was like that. I thought everyone that was a Christian was like that. But as I moved amongst them, I believe I'm right in saying this, that whatever folk may have said of our gospel hall, they did say this. Why, they know their Bibles there. They know their Bibles there. And that was the talk of the man of the street. I hope they still say those things. I hope they did. They should do, shouldn't they? As we are men and women of the book, God grant that it may be so. But you remember that after the water gate, there was the horse gate. That gate, verse twenty-six, through which the horses of war passed. That gate that bespoke the fact that if there was to be a conflict, it was at this gate they rallied. It was through this gate the horses passed. A gate that was taller than most of the gates. A gate that was made that those who were warriors could pass through. And I thank God that in the local assembly there is the call, the desperate call for soldiers. Do you remember that old Sankey Moody hymn? Am I a soldier of the cross? A follower of the land. And this is what God is desiring today. Men and women who stand and fight for him. Men and women who go forth as soldiers of the Lord. irrespective of what it may cost them, or that we may be known as warriors in our local church. You know, sometimes you would think that a local church, a local assembly, is a place where God's folk go to have a nice sleep. But it's not that, is it? I must confess, I have a very warm spot in my heart for the Salvation Army. Well, you'll understand why. But I have a very warm spot. I rather like the fact that they call their chapel buildings citadels. They don't even call them chapels. They speak of them as citadels. They speak of them as the barracks. They speak of them. Brethren, what do we talk of ours as? No, you answer it. that God grant that from the gospel chapels of this area there may go forth warriors for Christ don't come if you want to sit at ease but come if you're willing to stand there with a preacher and be with him as he's preaching praying for him willing indeed to go out and take the message that he's preached and spread it to others you know folks still ask don't they they still ask What was the text this morning? The difficulty is, when they ask me that, they have to stop for half an hour. I think it's a good thing to spread the message, don't you? To be soldiers for the Lord. And then you will notice that there is not only the gate, which was the horse gate, but there was the east gate. I like that. Oh, I like that. Verse twenty-nine, the rising of the sun is in the east. That east gate that the Jews even today, so Dr. Scott was telling me last evening, they have shut that gate. It is not open. The gates are physical gates in the physical city of Jerusalem today. The east gate is barred. And Dr. Scott was telling me that many times he's seen it. and he has been informed that it's only going to be open when the Messiah comes. Well, he's come. Hallelujah, he's come. But bless God, he's coming again. And I would give little for the Christian testimony of a church that he's not ever reminding men and women that he's coming. We used to sing a little chorus waiting for his coming. from the mansions in the sky. I'm waiting for Jesus, for he's coming by and by. I'm watching his returning to the clouds far up on high. I'm watching for Jesus, for he's coming by and by. He promised to take me to dwell with him in mansions fair. He promised to give me a crown of victory to wear. I'm waiting and I'm watching for the sound of the midnight cry. I'm waiting for Jesus. For he's coming by and by and listen, brethren, perhaps today. Perhaps today. And what a conference then. What a conference then. Brethren. Let's see that we have our sheep gate, our fish gate, our old gate, our valley gate, our dun gate, our fountain gate, our water gate, our horse gate, our east gate. But then he goes on in verse twenty-one, and he speaks of the gate called Mithcat. And what a gate was this. This word means judgment. This word means judgment. And I believe that in the very house of God, there should be judgment. It was by the gate, Mithkad, that indeed the judgment seat was set up. The rulers examined those who were brought to them when others had a case against them. And I believe that in the church of God, with love, with mercy, with grace, with the very character of God, there should be judgment over those things that are wrong. Oh, not a harsh judgment, but a judgment of love, a judgment of mercy, a judgment of advice. You will remember how Absalom stole the hearts of the children of Israel. David was in the midst of the city. And people came to Jerusalem with indeed the case they wished to be tried. And seated at the gates of the city was Absalom, the king's son. And as he saw strangers making their way towards the city, he called them over. And he'd say, why have you come to Jerusalem? And they would tell him why they'd come. And he'd look at them. And he had the same answer for every one of them, wicked creature that he was. Thou case is good and true, how be it there's no one to hear thee, liar than he was. And he stole the hearts of the children of Israel. If one man came with a case and the man behind him bought the same case, but he was the opposite side of the fence, he said the same thing to him. thy case is good and true, albeit there's no one to hear thee. And they said one to another, I wish old Absalom was the judge. Why? I would have got justice then, but there's no one to hear me. But there was someone to hear him. David was in the midst of the city, but they never went to David. And the world, especially Christendom, looks at a group of Christians that I love. And they point their finger and they say, Why, there's no one to judge. There's no one to hear any case that's wrong. But they are liars and they've always been it. For I thank God that I've got a Lord who's the head of the church. And he still hears the judges. But brethren, he still hears and judges through those in the fellowship who are linked with him. all that our assemblies may be known as those where there is righteousness and judgment. And then, of course, chapter eight and sixteen speaks of the gaity phrase. I have nothing really to say about it. I know there was a gate there and it's called the gate Ephraim. And when I come to chapter twelve and thirteen, I come to the last of the twelve gates. And it's the prison gate with all indeed that is associated with it. But I wonder if we may pass on now to chapter fourteen. You have noticed I've said nothing about the last two gates. For the simple reason, I don't really know anything about them. They're mentioned there. I don't know, oh, I'm sure many of you afterwards will come and tell me what they mean, and I'll be very thankful, and if ever I use it again, I will acknowledge I got it from you. So there we are, but I don't know anything about them, although I've read very much of them. But now let us turn to Chapter Four. I'm sorry I took so long going through the gates, but I believe if we're going to build the outcome of our building, the outcome of our hanging the gates will be that the world will look and will see the very things of which these gates feed. Now when we come to chapter four, I'm going to suggest to you that there are a number of things that we must consider. If you want to text then the words of verse six, so built we the war. I want to remind you that here are some working things. So built we the war. For a people had a mind to work. Then would you notice, please, as we go down to verse nine, nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God. So here are not only some working saints, but I'm going to suggest that here are some watching saints. We made our prayer unto God and sat a watch. So here are some watching saints. And then as we go down into verse eighteen, for the builders everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so build it. And he that founded the trumpet was by me. So here are some working saints, and here are some watching saints, and here are some witnessing saints. The man that blew the trumpet stood by me. Firstly, some working things. Now, in the course of our studies last week, as we were considering the first epistle of Timothy, I borrowed again the words of my great friend Bill Patterson. Billy used to say there are three sorts of Christians. There are workers. There are shirkers and there are jerkers. And I think, maybe those are not tremendously theological words, but I think they're right. And only a man knew something about them. And brethren, I think we know something about them as well, don't we? I wonder if I may ask, what sort of person, what sort of saint am I? The Lord in his mercy drew me to himself, and he sees me in Christ. And he dares to speak of a believer as a saint. Oh, that I might have a saintly character, that you might have a saintly character. But I use the word because God's word uses it. Are we the sort of saint who is a shocker? Verse five of chapter three. Let's go back, shall we? Verse five of chapter three. And next unto them the decoys repair. But their nobles put not their works to the work of the Lord. I'm sorry, their neck to the work of the Lord. Now please, as we read through the Bible, You know, there are some good things said of the people who came from Tukhara. Do you remember the widow of Tukhara, the greatest actress in the whole of Israel's history? When she comes and stands before David and fangs to be a widow in mourning, the greatest actress in the whole of the history of Israel, what a woman she was! What great she bought out of the lips of David! But here the nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord. Brethren, sisters, I'm going back where I was last week as we were considering those who desire the work, the office of a bishop, desireth a good work, a good work. May I suggest this, that no man No man dare allow anyone to refer to him as an elder unless that man's a worker. He desires a good work. Work. Lots of folk want the position without the work. And here were men who were nobles of the people. But they put not there next to the work. Brethren, God grant that if you are an elder sister, if you are a leader of the women in your fellowship, that you may be known as one who's a worker and not a shurker. But I said there were some who were shurkers and there were some who were jerkers. You know, you've met them, haven't you? They come to a conference like this and they go away inspired. set on fire and it lasts about two weeks. Sometimes it only lasts until their favorite television program comes up. I only know this, that God wants those who plod on with him. You know, one of my favorite characters in the Bible is a man whose name is only mentioned once. Mr. Phillips quoted the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon the other day. It takes more grace than tongue can tell to play the second fiddle well. And oh, how true that is. How true. But my favorite, or almost not quite, but almost my favorite Bible character in the New Testament is a man called Manassan of Cyprus, an old disciple with whom we were to lodge. Now, if I was preaching about Manassan this morning, of course I'm not, but if I was, I'd say three things. I'd say Manassan was a plodder. He was an old disciple, not an old man. I'd met lots of old men who were young disciples, converted in senior years. I'd met lots of youngish men who were old disciples, who were saved in a children's meeting. The only way you can be an old disciple is by plodding on. Plodding on. Keep on going. And by the way, if I was preaching about Manetian, I'm not. But if I was, I would remind you he came from Cyprus. And I would remind you that was the place where Barnabas and John Mark were found. And that was the place that heard of a great division between Barnabas and Paul. That was the place where lots of the folk, lots of the folk in Cyprus could have said, even the leader's crow. Why? What's the use of going on? But he knew all that and he went on. The second thing I would say about him, well, I'm not going to say it, because I said what I want to say now. He was a plodder. You'll never be an old disciple unless you keep on going. God wants workers, not jerkers, nor jerkers. Why, when we come to the third chapter and the first verse, though I spoke well of him yesterday, we were reminding our hearts of that man who was Eliashib, the high priest. Oh, how he built the sheep gate or hung it and built the wall by its side. And yet, and yet, before the book sent, we find that he's allied to Tobiah. He started so well. He finished so ill. Brethren, sisters, let's be workers for the Lord. For he doesn't want us to be shirkers, and he doesn't want us to be jerkers. He wants us to be workers. The sixth verse that we read from the fourth chapter, and all the wool was joined together unto the half thereof for the people had a mind to work. That's where it starts. And then God gives us a bang with a sledgehammer and it goes out to there. Sometimes he gives it another bang and it goes out to here. So we walk in the ways of it, all that we might be workers in the fellowship from which we talk. But if they were working saints, they were watching saints. Verse nine dares to tell us and we set a watch against them day and night because of them. Now it seems to me that when they watch, they watch three ways. They watch that word. For we read together, we made our prayer unto God. Now that's a good way to watch, isn't it? To look to heaven, to make sure there's nothing between us and him. Needon reminds you, Nidon, that you never have dew on the ground, never have dew on the ground when there are clouds in the sky. And he has promised to be as the Jew unto Israel. Oh, that there may be no clouds between us and him, that we may make our prayer to God. If we regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear us. They watched up. But then listen. They not only watched up, they were watching saints. They watched out. They looked out. We set a watch against them. You see, it's important to pray, but it's important to watch. Our dear old friend, Pengelly, to whom I've made reference, used to tell the story that most of you've heard a legion of times, but it was his experience, and so I tell it as you've heard it, as other people's experience. But one day, we're shifting one boat to another, he used to tell us young fellows. And he always did the same thing. that everyone might know that he was a Christian, he'd go down to the meth hall, he'd get his meal, he'd put it in front of him, and then very deliberately he'd fold his arms, and he'd bow his head so everyone could see, and he prayed along grace. He said, one day I bowed my head, and I prayed along grace, and I opened my eyes, and the dinner was gone. And a fellow leaned over and said, the Bible says, watch and pray. Watch and pray. And do you know, I think it's important to watch and pray, don't you? Do you know, brethren, I'm certain of this. I'm certain that sometimes we ask God for things, and God says to us, go and do it yourself, you lazy creature. There are things that we need to ask God's help to do, not ask him to do. They set a watch. God should have set a watch, couldn't he? God should have stricken down those three men that represent the world, the flesh and the devil. But he never did. But he gave Nehemiah and his men the ability to watch. And he wants us to watch. They were watching upward. They were watching outward. But they were watching inward. If you turn again into the seventh verse of the fifth chapter, to which we may reference one previous talk, you will remember that there he rebuked to the nobles. They had brought men and women into bondage. They were practicing usury, offering folks who were starved money at terrible interests. And Nehemiah knew this was wrong. He knew it was wrong that Tobiah and Sam Barrett and Gisham were outside. He knew that it was wrong that the walls were a heap of rubble and the gates were charged. But also he knew it was wrong when God's folk did that which was evil to God's folk. And brethren, am I not right? Am I not right? that every one of us gets tired when we witness to someone about Christ and they look at us and they say ah but I know a Christian and he God give us to watch to watch but they were working saints and watching saints and I dare suggest they were witnessing saints they not only they were warring saints of course Warring saints, they had a trowel in their hand, and they had indeed their sword and their spear and their bows by them. They were ready for anything. They were ready to work or ready to war. They were ready to serve or be sacrificed. They were there for God, building something for God. But I like that little expression, don't you? I like that expression. For the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. Oh, I presume if the enemy came, he'd blast the trumpet. He'd give the word of warning. He would witness to others the need. Ah, but don't you forget this, that the Bible has lots to say about the trumpet. do you remember at the great dedication of the temple away in the twenty ninth chapter of true chronicles you remember it says this and the song of the lord solomon had built the temple and now the dedication ceremony and suddenly we read and the song of the lord began with the blast of the trumpet he i like that not the plaintive melody of the flute but the blast of the trumpet. You know, isn't it remarkable? In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Isn't that the blast of the trumpet? Oh, if God shows his might and power, he shows it there. I say, isn't it wonderful when we go to Calvary? Not as most folk die with a weakness of frame affecting their voice so you can't hear them, but with a blast of the trumpet it is finished. And he yielded up the ghost. Oh, blessed be God. Brethren, let's be ready to blast the trumpet. Let's be ready to tell men and women we're ready for war for Christ. Let's be willing to tell men and women we're ready to sing the songs of Jehovah. Let it be known in our fellowships who we are and whom we serve as watching, watching, witnessing men and women who are building for God. And may it be so for His name's sake. Amen. Do you know I'd like you to sing, I know I'm gone, but I'd like you to, do you know what I'd like you to sing? The glory song, the chorus, you know. And we'll sing, we'll sing far above all. Far above all. God has exalted him far above all. Thrones and dominions before him shall fall. Jesus, my Savior, is far above all. What does that mean, sister? The glory sign. Oh, that's it. That's it, sister. That's all we want, the tune. You can sing the word, can't you? You know it, sir, don't you? Hands up those who know it.