Nehemiah Sermon Series on Leadership, Visioning, and Purpose
Betty was a good lady: a sincere Christian well liked by everyone who knew her. Yet whenever there was an altar call in the church she attended—an invitation to those who felt a need to rededicate themselves to the Lord—Betty was always the first to respond.
It was hard to understand why. I visited Betty and her husband in their home and I saw no evidence of faults or failings. Many people were sure that Betty was the last lady in that congregation who needed rededication. Yet in her own heart Betty must have felt a need for new beginnings and must have seen each altar call as an opportunity for a fresh start.
As an adult, I’ve yearned many times for a fresh start myself. Not that my spiritual commitment or relationship has changed dramatically. But somehow, many little things get warped and twisted. Habits develop, ways of thinking and feeling and responding intrude that do not fit with what I want to be. I’d like to wipe them all out and start again, with a sense of freshness and restoration. I’d like to make a new beginning. I suspect that the desire for a fresh start is something each of us experiences. Too often little failures, or large ones, are the source of such a sense of need.
Somehow we feel that if we had really committed ourselves to God that last time, we’d not need a fresh start now. Our lives would be consistent experiences of victory; steady journeys upward. It’s painful to discover that even after sincere dedication we can fall. Somehow our hearts tend to drift, until we’re jolted into awareness that we need yet another new beginning.
It was a jolt for men like Ezra and Nehemiah to discover that Israel too needed fresh beginnings. The people of God had returned to the Promised Land with great expectations; they enthusiastically journeyed hundreds of miles to rebuild the temple . . . and stopped with bare foundations. Stirred up by Haggai and Zechariah, they made a fresh beginning and completed the temple, to be ready for the Messiah. But the years passed. The Messiah did not come. And the old patterns of life, the old materialism, the old values, crept in.
There was no excuse. It was wrong. But it did happen to them—just as it happens to you and me. When a people or an individual does drift from God, it’s time for recommitment. Time for the fresh start that God is always willing to give us when we return to Him. -Adapted from the Teachers Commentary
READ THE SCRIPTURE
The great Vince Lombardi once said:
“Leaders are made, they are not born; and they are made just like anything else has ever been made in the country – by hard effort. And that’s the price that we all have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.
And despite what we say about being born equal, none of us really are born equal, but rather unequal. And yet the talented are no more responsible for their birthright than the underprivileged. And the measure of each should be what each does in a specific situation.”(Boice, Nehemiah: An Expositional Commentary, p. 14)
Lombardi also states:
“Leadership rests not only upon ability, not only upon capacity; having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.” –retrieved from http://www.vincelombardi.com/about/quotes4.htm on January 10, 2009
Like never before in the history of the world people are desperately seeking for leaders. Leaders in the business world, political world and yes LEADERS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
Visit a bookstore and you will see whole sections of books on leadership. One of the best books on leadership that I recently read was by John Maxwell titled, “360 Degree Leadership”. The premise of this book is that all of us are leaders, regardless of where we find ourselves in an organization. Each of us has an impact on the organization. This truth is never more self evident than right here in our community, and in our church. Our attitudes concerning missions, evangelism, stewardship, say something about us as individuals and collectively as Salem United Methodist Church. Today we set out on a journey for the next several weeks as we look at the Book of Nehemiah.
We need a little bit of background information before we begin our journey through Nehemiah. The Book of Nehemiah continues the story of the Jewish exiles who returned to their homeland after the Babylonian Captivity. As told in the Book of Ezra, a group of about 50,000 returned to Judah in the first year of Cyrus, conqueror of Babylon (538 b.c.). The temple at Jerusalem was rebuilt by this group. Ezra himself led about 1,500 more back some 80 years later (458 b.c.). Ezra’s spiritual leadership led to a vital reform: those who had married foreign women divorced them and recommitted themselves to their covenant relationship with God.
The events recorded by Nehemiah took place some 12 years later (446 b.c.). Nehemiah came as a governor appointed to lead his people, with the express purpose of rebuilding the walls of the Holy City. Now Nehemiah was not the first to try and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Many had tried in the 100 years prior. What makes Nehemiah significant is that he led the rebuilding of the walls over a period of 52 days. That’s 52 days people.
In Nehemiah 1:11 we read that Nehemiah position was that of cupbearer to the King. It may sound insignificant to us today, but during the time of Nehemiah the cupbearer was a position of trust and care. You see, Nehemiah was charged with being the chief food and drink tester before it was served to the king. Naturally, one would conclude that the cupbearer had acquired a degree of influence with the king that only a handful of others could achieve. Nehemiah could have become content and comfortable with his position. Hear me now. It was at precisely this point that Nehemiah demonstrated his greatness as a leader.
Word comes from his brother Hanani that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates of Jerusalem had been burned. Nehemiah receives this word with distress in his heart. Jerusalem, after all, is Nehemiah’s homeland. How Nehemiah reacts to the devastation in Jerusalem illustrates for us the characteristics of a good leader.
Peter Drucker has written many books on leadership. In one, a chapter is titled “First Things First”. Drucker states that “the effectiveness of a leader is measured by their ability to put first things first and to do them one at a time.” (Drucker, The Effective Executive, p.100) Nehemiah demonstrates his leadership ability by doing first things first. Nehemiah was a great man of God, so the first thing we see him do is pray and fast. Not just one time. Scripture tells us that he prayed and fasted for days for months.
So what is God saying to us about prayer in leadership ?
First, the attitude in which we pray is important. (v. 4)
As individuals and as the church, we need to pray and fast until we understand where God is leading us. So often when we are stagnant in our relationship with God or we can’t seem to grow in the church, it because we have not taken seriously the power of prayer. We pray on Sundays and then make excuses when things are not happening. Abraham Lincoln said on one occasion, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of those around me seemed insufficient for the day.” Prayer should always be our starting point when we embark on new journeys. Prayer should always be a place of coming into contact with the Almighty. Lincoln knew this Nehemiah knew and practiced this.
Cyril J. Barber in his study of Nehemiah writes, “The self-sufficient do not pray; they merely talk to themselves. The self-satisfied will not pray; they have no knowledge of their need. The self- righteous cannot pray; thy have no basis on which to approach God.” (Barber, Nehemiah And the Dynamics of Effective Leadership, p. 22-23) The true leader is one who knows his need and is ready to humble himself before the One who alone is sufficient for all things. Luke 1:37, “for nothing is impossible with God.”
Second, the contents of the prayer we pray (v. 5-11)
As we investigate Nehemiah prayer, we encounter a prayer model which is represented by the acronym ACTS. This model of prayer is a good one for us to follow in our prayers. Let’s examine what ACTS represents.
A – Adoration This is present in v. 5 and 6 “5 And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, …”
In this short statement, Nehemiah acknowledges the awesomeness and power of God. Nehemiah speaks of the God’s sovereignty, God’s love, God’s faithfulness and God’s ability to hear all things. Directing prayer in this manner reminds us of the greatness and character of the God to whom the prayer is prayed.
C – Confession We see this element at the end of v. 6 and in v. 7 “confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.” Confession of sin places us in the position of reconciliation with God. Nehemiah knew that he needed to confess not only his sins but also the sins of Israel if restoration was to happen. In this short passage, we again see an important characteristic of leadership. First, Nehemiah recognizes that he is part of something greater than himself – he and the people of Israel are one. Second, Nehemiah recognized that he was a sinner. As the body of Christ, we too are a part of something larger than ourselves. Each of us having gifts which are needed to carry out the mission and purpose of God in our lives. True leaders understand that they are no more important than anyone in their organization. The leader recognizes that he too is weak and capable of sin. Over the years the great leaders who have fallen are the ones who forget their sinfulness thus falling into the sin trap. The end result is they lose their leadership ability. We only need to look at Ted Haggard, and many who once were members of Congress to see how easy it is to fall when we forget who we are.
T – thanksgiving In vv. 8-10 “8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.” Nehemiah is recalling the covenantal agreement from Deuteronomy. Nehemiah, in his repentance is placing himself in the position of representing the people of Israel. By his confession and repentance, Nehemiah demonstrates his willingness to stand before God with the hope found in God’s Covenant with Israel.
S – Supplication v. 11 “
11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
In this verse Nehemiah concludes his prayer by seeking God’s favor. Nehemiah recognizes that King Artaxerxes who we will meet next week is the key to the plan that he is developing. Nehemiah further recognizes for the plan to succeed the king’s heart will need to be changed and only God, and God alone has the power to change man’s heart. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”
Third thing we encounter in Nehemiah prayer is persistence. From the beginning of Chapter 1 to the beginning of Chapter 2, five months have passed. Today, we want things right now. Nehemiah reminds us that God calls us to be faithful in our part and in His time, God will be faithful in His part.
As we embark on our journey in 2009, we must begin our journey with prayer. Not just one day but consistently every day. God is positioning churches to carry out the great commission, “to go forth baptizing the nations proclaiming Christ as Lord and Savior.” As a part of the Body of Christ, our nation, our Jerusalem is all around us. Nehemiah reminds us that a good leader is a people person. Building Relationships is important to our mission as the church. Our relationship with God is crucial for our mission to succeed. Only God can change hearts, move kingdoms, and provide for our many needs.
