Introduction
We have a Shortage of right Leaders- emphasis on the right character,
not skill, both in Government and Private Sector. Election time again here & in the Phil’s. (people are wary
whom to vote, why? Personal interest or countries interest). Even in the Church (Churches w/o Pastors, Pastors w/o churches,
Elders, Deacons etc.).
There is Leadership Crisis. But will God use/choose you/ me? When he needed one…such is the context of Nehemiah. This afternoon, we will look up a person whom God had used to bring change in His people, spiritually and in nation building.
19: They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.
20:He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
-in great trouble and disgrace. What does this mean? Trouble-
great distress- means misery and calamity, Disgrace-
reproach- The Jews were being criticized and slandered by people who were
enemies of the faith
What is your burden? What do you think God wants you to do? To be a witness to the community? To help change the city? to help change our country?
1.v.2b He was a man of compassion.
God is looking for those who are "other-centered"- Looking out for the interest of others. Look at the second half of verse 2:
The second character quality of Nehemiah that we can copy is that he was a man of prayer.
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
5. He knows God’s Word and His promises.8-9a
There is Leadership Crisis. But will God use/choose you/ me? When he needed one…such is the context of Nehemiah. This afternoon, we will look up a person whom God had used to bring change in His people, spiritually and in nation building.
As we study the qualities of leadership in his life, I think any
project you give him, will be successful. It is because he got the qualities of right leadership. The same thing with us, no matter what God gives us to build or
promote, if we have qualities like this person, we will never be afraid, but
will have confidence to pursue the task.
Generally, if we got the right Leadership- The rest will follow. So what are the qualities … We can find in Nehemiah …in Becoming A
Leader God Uses
2 Chronicles 36:17-20
17: He
brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their
young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor
young woman, old man or aged.19: They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.
20:He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
Country in trouble, more than the USA, Phil’s. In 586 BC Babylonians take Judah captive, King Nebuchadnezzar. Then in 539 Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon. In 538 Return of the Jews to Judea begins, almost after 50yrs. Finally, in 536 Temple is rebuilt-515. Then in 464 Artaxerxes 1 reigns in Persia, in 458 Ezra leads group of returnees and then finally in 444 Nehemiah leads a group of returnees , 146 years from Captivity
Nehemiah 1 :1-3
1 These
are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the
twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was
at the fortress of Susa.2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
This was disturbing news, and rebuilding those walls became Nehemiah's burden.
What is your burden? What do you think God wants you to do? To be a witness to the community? To help change the city? to help change our country?
Problems of the Community: Drinking, Crime rate, High
unemployment, Corruption
Complete the sentence: What this church needs are …. What this community needs are… Our schools are are really in bad shape. We ought to …. If I were with the government I would…
There’s a lot of need around us. Its easy to analyze, scrutinize, and
talk about problems in this world… But we really need people who will not
just discuss a situation, but will do something about it… We cannot stay neutral? Like our country, we will go bankrupt.
Here in Nehemiah, we can see qualities that God is looking for in
a leader He can use to rebuild the ruined lives of the people and the broken
walls and gates of Jerusalem. In the same way, before God use you & me, He is looking for
some qualities.
What are they? What can we
learn?
1.v.2b He was a man of compassion.
God is looking for those who are "other-centered"- Looking out for the interest of others. Look at the second half of verse 2:
2b I
asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how
things were going in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah inquired of the plight of God’s people and place v2. Why would he ask if not for concern? He was not contented with his situation. He had a good spot: he was living in the citadel. The citadel or fortified royal palace, was built on an acropolis. It was the winter residence for the monarchs of Persia.
He was living a comfortable and wealthy position in Persia. High pay n lots of benefits.
But he was not complacent. Nehemiah was questioning what was near his heart - the welfare of his
people and God’s chosen land. Nehemiah was concerned about Jerusalem because it
was the Jew’s holy city. As Judah’s capital, it represented Jewish national identity. Nehemiah loved his homeland even though he had lived his whole life in
Babylon.
When he heard of the sorry state of
God’s people, the Jewish remnant and Jerusalem, and the ruined condition of the wall of Jews, he knew it reflected badly on God’s
name.
Application: Are you looking out for the interests of others? Hard
to find those guys nowadays. This is a gimme society…give me this, give me that…benefits for me. If I don’t get anything from it I’m out…
Volunteer: good spirit…better to give than to receive… actually we
benefit
The second character quality of Nehemiah that we can copy is that he was a man of prayer.
2.v.4 He was a man of prayer.
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah responded to the problems with prayer. Instead of rushing in to petition to the king for help, however, Nehemiah
first took his petitions to the King of kings. Are you praying? weeping, mourning, fasting? You can't sleep unless you
do something.
What makes you cry? Just read the papers and you will cry. Storms, floods, crimes. Walk on the streets of downtown, you will see families living in
sidewalks, prostitution, people on drugs etc.
Prayer is still God’s mighty force in solving problems today. Mainly because of the person behind our prayers.
Thirdly, Nehemiah knows the
person behind prayer
3.vv.5-6aHe Knows God
5 Then
I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of
unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,
6 listen
to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people
Israel.
a.O Lord- Neh called on God by using His covenant name, the name God himself revealed to the Jews in Exodus 6:6-9:
Yahweh
This title is similar to our use of the phrase “in Jesus name”- No
other Name, not Allah, not Budha, not 1000 Gods of the Romans and the Greeks, not
the Million Gods of the Hindus
b. God of heaven- This title is frequently used in OT. Nehemiah acknowledged God’s government of the world, including His
sovereignty over the pagan king who was over him, the Jewish people, and the city of Jerusalem.
c. Great and awesome God- mighty, powerful, omniscient,
omnipresent, Creator of the Universe
d. God who keeps his covenant of love (and mercy NKJ) with those
who love and obey Him. This refers to God’s promise to love the descendant of Abraham. See Deuteronomy 7:7-9.
e. God who listens & sees : Let your ear be attentive, eyes
open to hear
Application: How well do you/we know God? Can you approach God in
this way? Personal, Confident. How
do you know Him? Spend Time with him, get to know him.
4.He was a humble, repentant man. 6b- 7
6...I confess that we have sinned against you.
Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!
7 We
have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that
you gave us through your servant Moses.
6b Repentance- Confessed sin, Did not blame or point finger on
others. Acknowledges unworthiness, Disobedience
7 We- Neh included himself among the sinful people.
Commands, decrees(statutes) and laws (ordinances)- these words
describe the totality of God’s law. 10 Commandments- Love God, No other God, Honor Parents, lie,
steal, adultery covet neighbors goods.adultery
and sometimes kill them.
Application: Have you confessed your failure, ancestors, the
countries failure. Are we
broken people? We should also repent & try to sin no more. The
heart of the problem is the problem of the heart
Notice that Nehemiah claimed God’s promises, and recalled his power. He couldn't do that unless he knew what God had done previously, as written down in the Bible.
8 “Please
remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will
scatter you among the nations.
9 But
if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are
exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have
chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The
people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants.
8-Remember- Nehemiah reminded
God of what he himself had said, "I will scatter you" (Lev.26:27-45, Deut. 30:1-5). Nehemiah himself was born in Persia, a distant nation, because of God’s
fulfillment of his promise.
9 bring to the place…Nehemiah held
God to His covenant to return Israel to the land.
10 by your great strength. Your strong (mighty) hand- associated
w/ God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
Nehemiah was able to quote these verses verbatim because he knows God’s
word.
Application: Why are we not giving up on our country? Because of God and His
Promises. Do we know the promises of
God’s word, and claim it for His work. How many of them we know?
6.v11 He was available
11 O
Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight
in honoring you.
Please grant me success today by making the
king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
He pleaded to God to grant him success in getting favor in the
presence of the king. Nehemiah requested permission to return to Jerusalem, rebuild the wall, and
restore the community.
He was available in spite of his background- Cupbearer. He was the trusted cupbearer who ensured the safety and quality of
the king’s food and drink. There were many compelling
reasons for him to stay where he was, but he asked for permission to do God’s
work.
He said: I was cupbearer to the king.
1. To remind us
of his helplessness.
2. To remind us
that with God nothing is impossible.
Nehemiah saw a problem and was distressed. Instead of complaining or wallowing in self pity and grief, he
took action. Each of us is unique and capable of serving no matter what our
position. We can use our present position to serve God. Are we praying to God that He will use us.
Application: Are we available or so busy; Not willing to sacrifice the
convenience or comfortable life we are living in
Summary
There are many things that God wants to do through you and me.
Ex. Throughout Christian history, men and women with deep love for
others have been used to transform the face of society. Prison Condition: John Howard and Elizabeth Fry. Slavery: Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce. Industrial revolution appalling conditions in factories- Women and
children’s condition: Lord Shafstbury. Orphaned Children: George Mueller
I wonder if He will choose me and you to do it. Let us be like Nehemiah. He knows how to look at the interests of others-Compassionate,
Knows God, Humble-Penitent, Knows His Word, Available
What can we do? Start being
faithful & responsible even in the little things that God is giving us to
serve.
Why did God use him? God’s
GRACE! And doing his responsibility. He prepared himself. When God calls…are we ready?
Here’s a possible
ending of Neh life.
Epitaph 1:
(Tombstone): Here lies
Nehemiah, Cupbearer to the
King of Persia, Artaxerxes
Epitaph 2: Here lies Nehemiah, Rebuilder of the
City of God
How do you want
to be remembered? By your vocation only or as a servant of God?
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