If Walls Could Talk!

II Kings 20:1-6:
"In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.
And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him,
Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth
and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.
And Hezekiah wept sore.

And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court,
that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD,
the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:
behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand
of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake,
and for my servant David's sake." (KJV)

Older adults might remember a young rock and roll song, called "If Walls Could Talk."
Some of the lyrics went like this:
"If walls could talk, I'm sure you'd hear a lot of things that would make you cry;
Now ain't you glad, well you ought to be glad that walls don't talk.

If door knobs could tell, who turned the knob,
When he's away on his job;
Ain't you glad, well you ought to be glad that doors knob don't talk.
If shoes could tell, where they've been,

When you claim that you have been visiting a friend.
Ain't you glad, well you ought to be glad that shoes don't talk.
And the song goes on to say what a world of trouble we would be in if things
ever told on you and me.

So, unless you have done right all of your life,
Unless you are proud of everything that have ever done
Unless your record is without spot or wrinkle
Then, you ought to be glad that walls don't talk."

If walls could talk, what would they say about your secret life?
If door knobs could talk, then who would they say has been in and out of your house?
If cars could talk, what would they say abut where you have been?
If shoes could talk where would they say that you have been?

Unless you have always walked in the straight and narrow.
Unless you have always done what you have suppose to do.
Unless you have always been where you were suppose to have been.
Then, you ought to be glad that things can't talk.

Of course, things don't talk.
Things can't express themselves.
Things can't think or make decisions.
Things don't lecture.
Things don't gossip.

We could learn some important lessons from things.
Things don't talk, and some of us talk too much.
We have people who will come to and share their problems, and sometime their secrets.
They share private things with you that they don't want made public.
Then, if we go out and tell others about their problems, we have betrayed their trust.
We should take a lesson from walls, and keep those things to ourselves.
Walls don't talk, and some of us talk too much.

But, if walls could talk, you'd be surprised by what they would have to say.
If walls could talk:
"People who you thought were virtuous, discover that you are vile.
Those who you thought were decent, found you to be decadent.
Many who you thought were credible, have learned that you are contemptible.
Friends who you thought were dependable, have learned that you can be despicable.
Those who you thought were faithful learned that you cannot be counted on."
The neighbors of John Wayne Gacy and Jeffery Domner testified before the news camera
that they thought that they were nice men, good neighbors, model citizens
. . . and had many other good comments.
And yet, John Wayne Gacy brutally murdered, and buried dozens of young boys
in his own backyard.
Jeffery Domner was cooking and eating the flesh of his victims.

If walls could talk, many lives could have been saved.
If walls could talk, what would they tell about you?
Those who think that you are their best friend would learn how you talk about them behind their back.
Some who smile at you and shake your hand, and pat you on your back are really back-stabbers.

If walls could talk, they would tell you that . . .
Everyone who professes to be holy is not holy.
Everyone who seems to be happy and carefree all the time, are not what they seem to be.

We should thank God for walls, and not just because they hide the secret of our sinful acts
from public view.
Walls also provide relief from a busy day at work.
Walls offer us comfort from a crowded calendar
When you have worked all day on your job, you can find peace, contentment, and rest
behind your walls.
It is so good to come home at the end of of your day at work, and after dealing with all the problems
and headaches of the day, get comfortable in your favorite chair, and just relax.

Thank God for walls.
Walls have served as a relief from our everyday world.
Think about the great wall of china which covers1500 miles, and took almost 1800 hundred years
to build.
That wall was intended to keep out foreign armies and ideologies.
Yet even today, there are may Chinese people sacrificing their lives to live as free people

Many still remember the wall that separated Communist East Germany from West Germany.
Thankfully, that wall is gone, but that wall kept many people from freedom..

There are also some well-known walls in the Old Testament.
Joshua and the people of God trusted God to bring down the walls of Jericho.
Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city which had been destroyed.

Belshazzar, the evil king in the 5th chapter of Daniel, was having a wild and wicked
party when God revealed His judgment with the hand-writing on the wall.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet prophesied about God's judgement upon Babylon.
He says in Jeremiah 51:58, "Thus saith the Lord of host; the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken,
and her high gates shall be burned with fire; ...

We see in 1 Samuel 31, that after God had rejected Saul, He allowed Saul be turned over
to the his enemies, the Philistines.
They cut off Saul's head, striped him of his armor, and fastened his body to the wall.

In Joshua 2:15, Rahab the harlot's house was built upon the wall of the city,
and from there God saved the life of His prophet.

Ezekiel, the watchman of the city, was commanded to stand on the wall and look out
for the enemy.
If the enemy approached, his job was to sound the trumpet.
He was to warn the people.
If he warned them, then he would be free of his responsibility for them.
But, if he failed to warn them, and the enemy destroyed the city, their blood was required
at his hand.

There are also some walls in the New Testament.
In Acts 9:25, Paul caused a riot by the preaching of the gospel that caused some
to find him and kill him.
So, the brethren of the city, in the darkness of the night, helped him escape
over the walls of the city in a basket which saved his life.

In Ephesians 2:14 Paul appeals for the unity of all believers by declaring
that the Lord Jesus Christ, has torn down the wall of partition that separated Jews from Gentiles.

And in Revelation, John said,
"I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from above.
And around that city was a wall.
The wall was made out of jasper.
And underneath that wall was 12 foundations that bore the names of the 12 apostles.
And on that wall were 12 gates lined in pearls, 3 gates in the east, 3 gates in the west,
3 gates in the north, and 3 gates in the south."

Walls have set boundaries that influence our lives.
I have read that when an elephant is a baby, he is chained to a stake
which limits his movements in every direction.
Then, when that elephant is full grown, they can free him from the chain,
and he will stay within that limit as though he was still chained.
This is because he has been conditioned that he could only go so far.

We have also been conditioned by our walls, such as:
"Walls of shortages and scarcity
Walls of prejudice and partiality
Wall of indignity and humiliation
Walls of slander and shame
Walls of outrage and offense
Walls of defilement and desecration
Walls of dishonor and disgrace
Walls of stain and stigma
Walls of blot and blemish
Walls of pain and misery
Walls of agony and affliction
Walls of ailment and adversity
Walls of torment and tribulation
Walls of hardship and handicaps
Walls of damage and destruction."

So, all down through history, walls have had a influence in shaping our lives.
In spite of all that walls have seen and heard -- they still can't talk.
But, if the walls around us could talk, what would they say?

In our Scripture passage, we see King Hezekiah getting ready to pray.
The Bible says that he turned his face to the wall.
He turned his face to the same wall that saw David on his roof watching Bathsheba take a bath.
Those same walls saw Solomon making love to the queen of Sheba.
Those same walls saw Solomon's wisdom when two women came to him
with one child, and both claimed to be the child's mother.

Those walls witnessed the wickedness of Jezebel.
They also witnessed the weakness of Ahab.
And they witnessed the arrogance of Jeroboam.

And now, they would hear a very sick Hezekiah's prayer.
The prophet, Isaiah, had been sent to see the king, and the message that he was to give
to Hezekiah wasn't good.
The message was, "For thus saith the Lord, get thy house in order for thy shalt die
and not live."

When Hezekiah heard the news, he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to God.
Hezekiah had prayed at that wall many times.
So, he had turned his face to the wall and started talking with God.
Hezekiah knew God, and God knew him.

He was very ill.
Death was closing in on him.
He was bed-ridded stricken, and couldn't cure himself
So, he turned to God.

Christian, when you get to that place in your life, God is ready for you to turn to Him.
When you get to the place that you don't know if you have enough for one more meal,
God is ready to respond to your need.
Some of you have been put down all your life, and told that you that you will never
amount to anything, and God is ready to lift you up.

In verse 3, Hezekiah prayed: "O Lord, remember I have tried to serve you
and please you in everything I have done.
I have tried, O Lord, with my whole heart to be what you wanted me to be . . . "
Then, he broke down and cried.

Those walls heard Hezekiah's prayer.
If those walls could talk, they would tell you that Hezekiah prayed with tears streaming down his face.
Those walls heard every thing.
And what was so much better, God heard his prayer.

And, God answered his prayer.
God sent Isaiah back to tell Hezekiah that he was giving him 15 more years of life.
There are many times we are stressed and troubled.
There are many times we are desperate, and are at our wit's end..
There are times when we are loaded down with a load that we can't carry.

It is then, that we must go to our prayer wall, and cry out to our gracious God.
It is then, that we must remember that we don't have to face life alone.
We have a Father in Heaven who cares for us and loves us,
and is ready to help us do what we cannot do in our own resources and strength.
He has all knowledge and all power, and He will be with you.
He has never left you.

Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life lives within you.
Jesus, who is the Great Physician lives within you.

God has promised us in Romans 8:28 that: "And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (KJV)

Just When I Need Him Most

"Just when I need Him, Jesus is near,
Just when I falter, just when I fear;
Ready to help me, ready to cheer,
Just when I need Him most.

Just when I need Him, Jesus is true,
Never forsaking, all the way through;
Giving for burdens pleasures anew,
Just when I need Him most.

Just when I need Him, Jesus is strong,
Bearing my burdens all the day long;
For all my sorrow giving a song,
Just when I need Him most.

Just when I need Him, He is my all,
Answering when upon Him I call;
Tenderly watching lest I should fall,
Just when I need Him most."
Chorus:
"Just when I need Him most,
Just when I need Him most,
Jesus is near to comfort and cheer,
Just when I need Him most."
--- William C. Poole, 1907

Sermon adapted from many resources