One Hour. One Book: Nehemiah

nehemiah's written in the first person and very likely includes some records of a personal diary particularly in chapters one through seven and in chapters 12 and 13 the personal nature of what nehemiah shares makes you wonder if it didn't start off with his diary and then someone maybe the men of nehemiah in some kind of scholastic record circle or perhaps ezra organized the book into the way that you have it today Nehemiah's first visit to Jerusalem was back in four 45 BCE march of 445 and the second return was 12 or 13 years later down in the bout say let's say 432 BCE and so most people would say that the book comes into its final form around 4:30 while the events are still fresh in his mind probably some of it comes from the recollections of what he's going through this is a great book and in all the books of the Bible when you want to know about leadership this book probably has your best tests of leadership in fact there are seven specific tests that he's going to go through and it helps us to see how a man who is godly and prayerful handle the series of tests and it reminds us of a couple of things the greater your incentive to be a dedicated discerning zealous person and a work for God the more you have a target painted on your back if you're going to get something done the enemy's going to get something to raise up against what you're getting done and it seems to me that when you look through the book it is really a personal record not just of what went wrong at the time but of how he dealt with each of the challenges of leadership I would call to your attention there's a couple different ways to divide the book now students the way that it's divided in probably online is into four boxes which is the return from Babylon to Jerusalem in chapters 1 and 2 the rebuilding of the city which is chapters 3 through 7 the renewal of the commitment of the people to do the right things to repopulate the city and to guard it and and the restoration of the people in chapters 11 12 and 13 that's the way it's done in your online boxes I actually like something else a little better I like three because I think it organizes the book around what I think are at central purposes and the first chapter of course is the call of Nehemiah as he gets it and as he accepts it chapters 2 through 6 I think are the heartbeat of the leadership lessons of the book and you're going to see that there are seven things that happen to in chapter four - in chapter five three in Chapter six that are tests against his leadership and how he sort of Bob's and weaves as he's getting the the right and left punches from the enemy thrown at him he's going to have problems from within problems from without he's even going to have problems from inside himself where he's tempted and so all of that will show up in the completion of the work if the work is understood to be the wall but remember God is never concerned simply about rebuilding Jerusalem God who built the heavens and the earth could have simply whipped up another Jerusalem by the way he's going to do that someday but that's not really hard for him the building of the walls was toward the organization and reestablishment of worship of the people the point of the book is not walls he gets remembered for walls the point of the book is worship the point of the book is that you get people back into the position where they can follow God you will go through stages of your life where God will challenge you in deeper ways because of the position you're at in life and those with the hair of the almond blossom among us can tell each of you students that life is going to go faster not slower as you get older your rest are your life in a given week we'll make it move so quick that that 24 hours looks like 22 minutes and he those long dog days of summer that went with elementary school now you're going to have things moving faster and faster responsibilities rising now I tell you all that to say that my favorite division then is accepting the call completing the work and then organizing the people I just want to look at this center section for a section for a second and just suggest to you that these attacks are attacks you will find in every work that you try to do building a team or leading people there will be criticism from without and it will be loud and it will be long there will be gossip inside the ranks there will be draining complainers that will be all around you that will try to distract you from getting the work done because they don't have everything they need and they just need you to hear it and they don't seem to have any way to actually answer their issues and then there'll be personal temptations perks that go with the position that you're in and you can take more perks or less but they probably have a lot to do with what's going on in your heart they'll be slander intimidation and sometimes even open threats and each time this book is going to help you to understand how they were dealt with in the last part of the book I would tell you that the things that he does to organize the people include getting the leadership in the guard guards set up so that the church so that the city works the way it should in fact he will search the records to figure out who belongs in the city and who doesn't but the heart of the book the heartbeat of the whole book is chapter 8 and that will be a time of cleansing that is a time of commitment of renewal and the passion of the book is found in chapter 8 so let's get started as we take a look through it I think what's interesting to me in Chapter 1 is that Nehemiah accepts a call from God and I have to tell you that accepting that call is the foundation of all of his work I will tell you something that Danar he taught me years ago when I was a college student he said be absolutely certain of your call from God because it's more important than your work if you know God called you to do something what difference does it make whether it's going well today you're doing what you were called to do now some of you it's going to be obvious how do I know if God called me to be a mom you get pregnant that's how it works and then you know you're called to be a mom okay but but other things will be God calls that are a little bit more difficult to perceive go to chapter one and what you'll see is at the very beginning our text offers some conditions to recognizing a nudge of God you never respond to need you respond to nudge need is everywhere and if you are gifted and talented and I know you are people will call on you there's a need there's a need there's a need and people run themselves ragged trying to stick their finger in all the cracks of the dam that's not your call you follow the nudge of God that issue is the one you should be be dealing with not all issues you got to pick your spots and you have to find the way that God has picked them for you and follow after them now in the very beginning chapter one verse one says that these are the words of Naqvi aho or nehemiah son of Hokulea that's interesting because in the Bible sometimes unlike our society where people just get names based on their family history or somebody who's a celebrity that they happen to like so they name their baby that in the Bible the names often are telegraphing something that's going to happen in the story and that Netanyahu or Nehemiah is God is my consolation or Yahweh comforts me when I'm getting pummeled things like that that's his name and by the way that's going to be important in the book but it's interesting haha leah is actually the the word god is hidden or wait for Yahweh wait for God he's not as obvious as you think and so right in the beginning what you have is God staging revelation and revealing things now what I think is interesting is in verse 1 and 2 verse 1 it says it happened in the month of Kislev in the twentieth year while I was in Susa the capital that Hanani one of my brothers and some of the men of Judah came and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity and about Jerusalem I want you to note there that you have to prepare your heart for a time when opportunity knocks and the reason I say that is don't get lost in the detail Nehemiah had a heart for the people before he made an inquiry you ask because you want to know and as a result people were first and they should be in every vision God will give you how are the people of Jerusalem doing how is the city of Jerusalem doing so he's already tender-hearted toward something when God is going to burden you he's not going to burden you for something you've never thought about he's going to burden you for something you've already been tenderized 2 in verse 3 be ready for the burden to break your heart because at the end of verse 4 says I sat down having heard about the people and I wept for many days and I fasted and I prayed to the God of heaven if you don't want a heart break you don't want to call because with the call your heart aligns with God's designed for you and you want to see it so bad you can taste it what I think is interesting is that if Nehemiah hadn't set a pattern in his life to take the pain to the Lord he would have become a dangerous person not a godly leader the burden isn't the problem the place where you take it is and leaders rise or fall on whether or not they shared with the people share it with their wife share it with their children share it with their congregation or get on their knees before God because sharing it with the wrong person will ruin the call that God has given you if we search for a way to present the problem to the Lord God might just give us an answer and God places a burden on his heart after he sat down and wept verse 5 says he began to pray I beseech you O Lord God of heaven he doesn't ask for an answer before he asks of God in other words start with God Lord God of heaven you don't see what I see you see much more from your perspective you have a plan I can touch I can't see it's interesting he says he's a great and awesome God because we have to place confidence in God's ability to meet any need before we're really giving it to God when you draw a God down to where you are and make him part of the you know God we're just not sure or he is sure he is not a man that he would be drawn down to that position what I think it's interesting in verse five is that Nehemiah takes the time to rehearse God's program he says who preserves preserves the Covenant and kind and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his Commandments did you notice in verse 6 that Nehemiah actually gives his petition some friends I listen to people pray and I don't know what it is they're asking for and I wonder if God doesn't feel the same way this is what he says you know Jesus presented it give us this day our daily bread that's pretty straightforward right give us what we need Nehemiah 6 let your ear now be attentive in your eyes the open to hear the prayer of your serve would you listen to me I need you to hear me I need to know that you're listening and by the way look at the end of verse 6 do you remember Jesus taught his disciples to pray forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors in matthew 6 he said i and my father's house have sinned while he's asking god for something he's not coming with a haughty spirit or some kind of entitlement he's walking in going god i humbly acknowledge that we are in the position we're in because we put ourselves there in verses 8 and 9 and 10 it looks to me like he understands that he is a son of privilege and he reminds god of his promises you know when he says remember the word which you commanded your servant moses an 8 did you know that god will stand up to a test of his own word if you say Lord your word says you would not have those then perish but would have them come to repentance and I'm praying for my my brother because I want to see him come to the Lord whatever it is God will stand up to the test of his own word I think when you get down to verses 11 verse 11 it toward the end of the chapter one of the things that nehemiah does incredibly well is he relinquishes himself to God's purpose I think it's a great thing to get an answer to prayer I think it's a better thing to be one to be an answer to prayer and so God calls them out but when he does chapter 2 tells me that he is not just stuck in the work with no idea of what to do he God hasn't just left us with the desire to get a project done he's given us a pattern and a primer of the basic skills that it's going to take to do it so very quickly mark out in your text in chapter 2 that the very first skill that you have is a prerequisite of prayer before you accomplish anything there's the prayer that goes with it and so in verses 1 through 4 you see at the end of verse 4 so I prayed to the God of heaven the very first thing that happens is he walks in with a sad face the King asked him what's wrong and he takes a deep breath and prays before he goes forward the prerequisite to do anything for God is talk to God about it that sounds right doesn't it here's what I've learned about honey-do lips when I want to accomplish something I want my wife to be happy I asked her how she wants it before I make up in my own mind how it's supposed to be because when I make it up in my mind almost certainly it's exactly what she didn't want now I don't know how we got so out of sync with one another that I often come up with the wrong thing she reads my mind well I read hers not at all and here's what I know I don't read much I don't regard mine very well either so you ask him you talk to them you go before him now verses five and six mark the word negotiation because one of the skills the leader needs is to be able to petition the king and I see at least three discernible axioms in chapter 2 verses five and six I see that in an exchange with a superior we need to consider their needs and their perceptions before we ask for anything this is the see it from the other guy's perspective or walk in his moccasins before you ask for time off at the job if you're asking for time off right in the middle of the hardest project your boss has don't blame your boss if he comes back in snipes at you you got to see it from his perspective and in verse five he says I said to the King if it please the king the other axiom that I see in verse five is that negotiation will the superior is only effective if it's based on a favorable reputation of the worker if you're the guy who shows up early stays until late get your job done and makes your boss look goodies more inclined to say yes when you need some time off the best way for you to enter negotiations look at the phrase in verse 5 if your servant has found favor before you in other words without a reputation there's no question you're not going to get what you want the third axiom that I see is in the end of verse 5 all the way through 8 be precise about your plan your motive in your timing when you're involved in negotiation tell them what you want how long you need it and and exactly what its purpose is what's the underlying motive of what you're doing he said send me to Judah to the city of my father's tomb that I may rebuild it the king actually the Queen picks up and says well how long's that going to take and then I gave a deaf at a time it tells me not only was he praying as he walked in but this was not a haphazard plan he already knew what it was he needed and I think one of the things we have to understand is that negotiation is very much a part of what we're called to do now in verses 7 and 8 I used the word administration that is preparation of the plan so after negotiating and the negotiating stage it says that he has to come he says if it please the King let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the provinces and then he's going to ask for lumber and supplies see the bottom line is the key to administration is its most effective effective when it's aimed at the essential needs of the project and so you know a deckhand that organizes scrub brushes by size in the middle of a pirate attack is really not helping the ship you got to be on point of what the need is doing something valuable to organize something when it's not necessary is not it's just keeping yourself busy there's a difference between good workers and busy workers I think one of the things that I find most frustrated Australian leadership is it's hard to get people to keep the main thing the main thing and honestly it's hard for me to get myself to keep the main thing the main thing now what's interesting to me is that he needed to arrive well so I needed safe passage he was going to need supplies to build the stuff so he looks for timber and and you know I gotta tell you somebody said this years ago I wrote it down because it was one of those things that struck me pin the tail on the donkey is a fun party game but it's a terrible way to run your life and your marriage and your bank accounts and and raising your children a lot of people don't appreciate what administration does how about the next one go down to verses 9 and 10 I use the word perception here this is the consider is the consideration of the probable opposition don't go into it thinking it's going to be easier than you then then it ever has been in your past okay I'm digging posts for a fence and I just found out that somebody decided back when to bury a bunch of concrete and rebar in my backyard right in line with where my posts are going down for my fence should I be surprised no it's a Smith project stuff like that always happens so here's the thing you have to assess threats in order to be useful to God and that's what I think he does in verses 9 and 10 look at the end of verse 10 it was displeasing to these guys who were beyond the river that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel there's always somebody with a vested interest in the status quo and you try making changes and you're going to butt heads with them Canali verses 11 to 15 I think that's about inspection it's interesting verse 12 says that Nehemiah got to Jerusalem and rose in the night and didn't tell anybody what he was going to do and he went down and walked along the ruins of the side of the hill it was unexpected it was undisclosed it was unpaid it because you cannot expect what you will not inspect you must know the size of the problem and reports only get you so far I use for verse 16 discretion it's telling your only when you're ready to tell them only to who you think needs to hear him discretion is an important thing the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done don't tell everybody everything about everything you know there's some stuff about you we really don't want to know it's really okay to be honest does not mean to disclose everything you've ever thought or done we don't want to know okay we love you hold some stuff for secret verses 17 and 18 I call it presentation before you inspire people to get on board with the project you need to package the idea that's part of Management it's the reason that when we launch a building program we get an architect to draw a picture of the building even if that's not what it's going to look like why because people go oh that's a building and then they get the idea you want to inspire people you've got to give them what you're trying to go for and I think in verses 17 and 18 he says at the end of 18 let us arise and build they get the idea they know what you want them to do there's a lot of leaders I think frustrated by walking around not telling anybody what it is they want everybody to do you get down to verses 19 and 20 and this begins conflict management and conflict management will be a part of every great enterprise you ever tried to lead Sandell at the Hornet - via the yamen I guess I'm the Arab heard what we were doing they mocked us they despised us you know what I think is interesting right here from chapter 2 nehemiah already has a concept of the real motive behind the words of the leaders he answers them and and by the way this is the great answer it's a very polite one God's at work he won't be stopped by you or anybody else we're going to do this building your - participation has not been requested you have nothing to do with this issue thanks for your concern love and kisses Nehemiah and I mean it's just a straight direct sorry but we got a job to do and you're in our way so we're just going to keep going I think the chapter 2 establishes that God gave a valuable pattern now when you get into chapter 3 I want you to see you're going to start moving closer and closer to this rising tide of trouble but you know what I think the first thing you have to do before you're going to be able to accomplish anything for God is get a call the second thing you're going to have to do is get all the assets in place and the third thing you're going to have to do right here in Chapter three is build your team the key to progress is consistently doing the right things the right way and it's interesting chapter three in Chapter twelve and Nehemiah are the two bang your head against the rock chapters if you're a teacher of the Bible why do I say that because from verse 1 down to verse 32 there is nothing but a litany of names one named after another and if you're not familiar with Hebrew names this is one of the longest readings of your life but here's what I want you to know there's something marvelous there it took me forever to figure out what the chapter was good for and here's what it is laws of team building did you notice if you drop your eyes into verse 1 then Ellie achieved the high priest arose and his brothers the priests had built the sheep gate they consecrated they hung its doors they consecrated the wall to the Tower of the hundred and the tower on a nail and you say so what well first of all archaeologically we can find these places and that's cool so I at one time in Jerusalem I used to give a tour from nehemiah just showing you what's from Nehemiah that you can see was a half-day tour in Jerusalem a lot of fun but did you notice in verse 1 that it started with the high priest and sweat and godliness went hand in hand and the high priests got out there first because the work is part of the worship you need people who are so dedicated to what God is doing that they're going to get a get a work up a sweat doing it and I got to tell you people get lost in these things that list of names is not terribly impressive churches can swell in numbers but size only matters that people are in the word and on their knees otherwise it's just a big crowd committed to themselves what I love is that if you take a moment you look at the end of verse 1 it says they consecrated it and hung its doors that's not an idle phrase they recognize that the work they were doing even though it was parts and pieces and hardware was a holy thing because God called for those walls to be built and it doesn't matter if the world thinks some walls around Jerusalem are important God said it had to happen and when God is behind it it's the holy work it's interesting that they did the most important thing first they consecrated the wall from the Tower of the hundred and the teller of Han Annelle now that doesn't say anything to you but it means it's the north wall and that's the weakest point of Jerusalem when you start your work put your best workers on the most critical spot and put men who are going to understand though the gravity of the task and the awesomeness of God by the way if I went on to the rest of these this chapter I could show you that the people of God had to be led to get on board and do the work and some of them did you notice in verse 5 the Toccoa i'ts made repairs what I find interesting about the tikal isis they actually are found in two different sections they did double the work that other people did the men of of Jericho came up and they helped and what's interesting is the team was not distributed evenly and when you lead people you will find that is true some people will do a lot more work than everybody else what I think is interesting and some people will think they're too good for the work those are in the second half of verse 5 they're the nobles that couldn't get themselves behind it there's some people that are going to say you know what I just think I might be a little too good for this you know I think if you put me over on that job have you done a team job or a work day and you found somebody drifted from their job to somebody else's job where they felt more suitable and what's interesting is when you lead Nobles when you lead nobles they're going to think that they did an equal part after the work but during the work they're going to ride the top of it on the labors of other people in verse 14 I saw that somebody had to do the refuse skate or the dung gate you know what that tells me some people do the work that's a little more pungent than everybody else and I looked down there and I see that there were some people who would only work for personal benefit in verses 10 and verse 23 I spotted a few guys who only repaired the wall next to their own house some people are only going to do the part that benefits them they're going to look like they're on the team they're going to look like they're pulling the weight but they're only really interested in how it fits them I think it's interesting that you can also count on God to supply some people who will do with such fervency your heart will be blessed I have led people and I get to tell you verse 20 after him Baruch the son of the buys zealously repaired another section now I don't know what it means to zealously do mortar work but I'm thinking that guys up there throwing that concrete and rock and dropping those things in so fast that you knew he was committed to the work I want to take a moment and skip a stone across chapters 4 or 5 & 6 now because there are a series of criticisms and a series of tests that come up opposition can be a point of discouragement and leadership where it can be a point to refocus you to recommit yourself to the Lord it's all in how you respond to it and when I get into the beginning of of chapter 4 what I see is in verses 1 through 6 that there was Sanballat sand Tuvia and Geshem were making public statements about criticizing the work Sanballat heard about the wall he didn't go see it he was anger buddy well by what he heard and he was mocking what they were doing but he didn't go out and inspect it the critic is often driven by hearsay and so criticism without facts offered for emotional reasons in sarcastic tones is the first six verses of chapter four could you notice what he did character assassination what are these feeble Jews doing the Scramble attack raised questions about their real motives he says are they going to restore it for themselves listen to the way that he taunted values can they offer sacrifices like wow that's important isn't it interesting that they will sarcastically reduce the work now stop God told him to build that law that was God's work every sarcastic every tap every criticism raised up was raised up not ultimately against the amaya but against God and when you step by when you stop by and you see that and you see that they hadn't even seen the wall they didn't do an inspection they weren't qualified in architecture they probably have little background in building amongst themselves they just have strong opinions we live in a day when people can go on the internet the only qualification it takes to have a strong opinion is an internet connection you don't have to have any knowledge at all you just have to have an internet connection and you can weigh in on people who have real expertise and decide to rate them now in verses 7 to 23 of chapter 4 there was also some discouraging winds of gossip verse 8 talks about conspiring words verse 11 talks about rumors they were designed to distract and to discourage and to destroy the work of God it's not about killing the people it's about stopping the work and so a distraction is raised you know what the design was to get people to panic and people that panic inevitably leave and leave God out of the equation so all of this discouraging gossip comes up in verse 14 he says when I saw their fear I rose to speak to the nobles the officials and the rest of the people and said do not be afraid of them underline this remember the Lord he's great he's awesome fight for your brothers your sons your daughters your wives your houses here's the thing opposition is a normal part of dealing in a fallen world and trying to accomplish God's path expect it get on board but be simple and direct about handling it remember the Lord go to chapter 5 and what happens is now two more tests arise in the first 13 verses some broken spirited people come up gossip and criticism have caused them to be crushed a load of discouragement one of the things that the enemy does is discourage the people of God from doing the work of God so that the leaders of God have to spend more time on the people than the task there are whole churches that are spending time so much time healing as a church they're not reaching anyone and that's the end that's why the enemy keeps ripping into them because all that bleeding inside the church stops anybody from going outside the church you can fight all day and never get out to the outside of the circle and actually reach where the enemy is so handling broken spirits comes up and in verses 1 to 5 people were broken because they felt like other people were taking advantage of them even within amongst the Jewish people and they were actually having to mortgage themselves in order to do the work and and Nehemiah actually comes to understand the words in verse 4 we have borrowed money for the Kings tax on our fields we've mortgaged our fields our vineyards verse 3 our houses so that we could get grain to get through the salmon and he has to carefully and directly move people through how can you take advantage of these your brothers men and women as you lead people you need to know that if they could get along on their own they wouldn't need leaders ok the fact of the matter is you're going to have to sit down and you're going to have to say to people you're you're miss handling this you're doing it the wrong way and the point is that there are broken spirits that leaders have to face they feel abused and often for a good reason so what does a leader do I see that in chapter 5 there are a couple of responses he reaches out to the people with the broken spirit in verses 7 through 13 and he and he praises God and brings them into a place where he commits the ultimate judgment of people to God and then there's the fourth test and that one is the lure of gain be aware of this in verses 14 to 19 not only will you face tests from without you will face a test from the old man within and there were four great benefits nehemiah could have had he could he was entitled to tax people for his own care he was entitled to to live well he was entitled to allow his servants to by force get the people to come in to submit he was allowed to personally elevate the status of those close to him and he doesn't do any of those things why because good leaders are aggressively deliberately generous people in verse 17 good leaders are comfortable inhospitable awkward people don't read well a church called me the other day said did I have anybody I could recommend as a pastor for them and I said you know I got a couple of guys I think you could look at but would you just do me one favor mark down on your list of qualifications somebody who's not weird somebody who actually is okay in their own skin because people who are awkward can't lead well you got to know who you are you got to know what your gifts are what your calling is and walk with God in Chapter six I see three punches landed by the enemy on Nehemiah slander intimidation and threat and when I look through Chapter six I see each time slander verses 1 through 9 the opposition sets up just as the wall breaches were stopped just as they come to a place where there's no more opens in the wall now all of a sudden new slander rises come on whenever you're moving forward expect the enemy to innovate the things that he's done the father of lies will tell lies that's how he got his title and what's interesting is listening to the way they report thing verse 6 it is reported to hearing someone said I heard I read this the other day not factual reporting cloudy report not cloud cloudy reporting the other thing I think is that exaggeration and inaccuracy baseless rumors are the order of the day when the enemy's involved watch how people tar good leaders they do it with baseless reports and inaccurate statements that can't be attributed directly anywhere verses 10 through 14 when that didn't work he went into a time of a personal threat against his life he says I entered the house of shamaya verse 10 chapter 6 deliah son of mijita belle who was confined at home and he said let us meet together in the house of God within the temple let us close the doors they are coming to kill you don't lose track of this he wasn't trying to save Nehemiah's life he was trying to get him to walk inside the temple where he wasn't allowed to go because by saving his own life but going inside the temple and acting as a priest he would have brought down on himself defamation to everybody else and that's the ballgame right there Nehemiah says oh no I won't go now verses 15 to 19 in addition to that he slides off that threat against his life and now there are under miners that are working underneath you see in verse 15 the wall was completed verse 16 our enemies heard of it and all the nations around us they lost their confidence and what's interesting so is now the enemy seeds a back story somebody who's in the work in verses 17 18 and 19 that is collecting up IOUs and allegiance cards to run a shadow government was pastor Ralph Wiley who said years ago the one thing I've learned about church leadership is this if they call me to a church my only question is don't show me the board tell me who's really in charge I want to deal with them you see there's always a backstory shadow leadership that operates in long-standing organizations and you have to understand that or you're never going to make sense of it I now we get to chapter 7 and the walls are built they've been finished in chapter 6 he's withstood seven attacks when you get to 7 to 13 this sounds undoable in the minutes we have left it's not because in chapter 7 there's a simple restart button the real work of God is not simply about building walls and assets it's about getting people on board and seeing transformation in the lives of people how many a church is excited to put up a new building but the building only houses the people the building is only the asset assets make things possible people make them happen and what's interesting is that in Chapter 7 verse 1 he passes the command over and he focuses on setting key players in place after the wall had been rebuilt I set the doors in place the gatekeepers musicians and the Levites were appointed now I don't know if you can catch right off of this but after we got our walls up I needed to organize our worship why because that's what the walls were for and without the worship the walls are just wall and then he places the pattern of a leader I put in charge verse 2 in Jerusalem my brother Hanani he put somebody that he cares about somebody that cares about him somebody that understands what God has taken him through and he puts that person in charge and they begin to take over the city and then in verse 3 he says the gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the Sun is hot he sets procedures that protect the people because just because they have walls and gates doesn't mean they know how to use them verse 4 the leader reevaluate the difficulties ahead he begins facing the problem the city was large it was spacious but there weren't a lot of people that wanted to live in it can you be open to the idea that all those the city was rebuilt the sewers weren't although the city walls were rebuilt the downtown district wasn't there were a lot of rubble piles and smelly situations in that city and what I can tell you is that each phase of the works growth required a new evaluation from a leader as to what was going to be necessary so verse 5 says God put into my heart to assemble the nobles I found the genealogical record and I started figuring out who belongs here leaders don't just look at problems anybody can find the problem leaders look for solutions and so he pulls out the genealogical record a leader couldn't make those who didn't fit in the parameters happy at the expense of the work so he asks God who belongs in the city what's interesting to me is it wasn't nehemiah's job to kid since God how the Bible should have been written it was his job to take the Bible apply it to the situation and conclude what needed to be done and that's what he does in Chapter seven go all the way the end of 7 7 66 to 69 all through his journal you have to admire the care with which Nehemiah kept track of things number of core group 42,000 360 number of servants 7337 choir 245 number of livestock horses 736 mules 245 camels 435 asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty I am not completely sure why it is but I've discovered something and I pass it to you right here next to this verse make a note of it I've discovered in ministry that there are a lot of people that fear keeping records I'm not sure if they're feeling like it's going to show a decline or a lack of growth Carl Rogers was the starring and philosopher who said the facts are always friendly it seems to me that there's a lot of people in ministry that don't like to keep records of what happened by the way in 72 73 tells you the price of the new settlement and it's in staggering numbers and that gets you to chapter 8 chapter 8 is the heartbeat of the book it is the greatest spot in this incredibly positive book because God gave a means to revive cold hearted people and give them spiritual life and restore passion from breathlessness how did he do it well it came up to the seventh month that's what chapter 7 verse 73 says the time of the year that brings in all the great festivals and the beginning of the year and the people gathered and they asked for the law to be read and chapter 8 opens up with the fact that they they asked somebody who had a knowledge of the text and a passion to explain it they called on Ezra by the way Ezra has been here a whole generation before he's a known quantity and the reading of the word from verses 2 two through four of chapter eight is a blessing as the people stand around on a podium and the people begin to react in verse six you see the words amen amen here's the thing the revival came from hunger it was communicated by somebody who had a passion to follow God verses seven and eight tell me that there was a careful rendering of the word they didn't just hear the word they understood the word they made it complete so the people could grab it and then there was a response of the leaders in verses 9 10 and 11 weeping when they heard the words of the law at the end of verse 9 and what's interesting is they had to be instructed go eat the feast the joy of the Lord is your strength they didn't feel joyful they felt miserable meetings with God aren't always designed to be happy times convictions part of the package what's interesting is in verses 12 through 18 of chapter 8 there was a an incredible celebration some people think God's only happy when we feel miserable about our sin I grew up in a time when a really good church service is when you came out feeling like a wretch a worm you know all those old hymnology I saved a wretch like me that was good preaching right there I just want to remind you that God gave you chocolate and taste buds what does that tell you about God some of it's just about the fun and by the way chapter 8 verse 13 says that good food will make you hungry for better food and good truth will make you hungry for more truth and chapter 8 just blesses my heart go to chapter 9 for a minute right in the middle of this time great worship followed with great thorough cleansing celebration flowed for without hindrance from a clean heart and in chapter 9 what you see is a simple response in Chapter 9 1 through 3 when people heard the Word of God they changed their pattern that is they assembled with fasting they change their dress they put on sackcloth they put on dirt they got alone with their believing family in Chapter 9 verse 2 because the world wasn't the place to air their sin this they made public confession they they made confession of the iniquities of the father's they went back and said we've been this way for a long time they investigated God's Word for truth it says in verse 3 they stood there in the place and they read from the book of the law of the Lord the Bible was indicating not only conviction but transformation and they began by changing their symbolic way of living stop their eating and change their clothes but verses 4 through 38 say that the cry of the people that started ended up with a content of praise I see in verse 6 you alone our Lord you know what that is circled out in verse 6 you alone our Lord you're never going to deal with sin until you deal with the mastery of God over your life you have the right to be in charge that's what they're saying in verse 7 you're the one who chose your people I want you to skip all the way down to 32 to 38 toward the end of the passage because there's a covenant of change before God look what they did do not let all the hardship seem infer and significant before you which has come upon us our Kings our Prince's our priests our prophets our fathers you are just in all that has come upon us do you see it verse 32 36 we are slaves today verse 38 now because of all this we are making an agreement in writing and they begin to write down these are the steps we're going to take to walk with you see people can talk about theoretical theological change it's when they change what they're doing in their daily walk that you see repentance everybody's going to camp everybody's had that hi you know God I'm just going to be yours forever I'm going to I'm just going to I'm going to follow you all the days of my life if you can only get past the third week and here's the thing it's when you change the patterns of your life that we know that something is actual real actually real in your life if the Lord is first in your life how would I be able to tell you get to chapter 10 and that's the beginning of the expression the end of chapter 9 was verse 38 because of all this we're making an agreement in writing well my faith is best expressed in my priorities if you can't see with what I believe by how I live I am NOT living honestly and so I look at this verse and in chapter 10 verses 1 through oh all the way down to 27 there's another laundry list of names but here's the thing the rest of chapter 10 makes clear what they were doing they were accountable to the Covenant why are their names there because there is a time to step up and be named for your commitment there's a time for you to step up and say I'm signing on this line this is something I'm going to do and you know what's interesting you get down to what they did and in chapter 10 verse 30 they said we're not going to have any in our marriage you know why because when we read God's Word we knew that it had to affect relationships we're not going to exempt relationships out of Tolerance and allow that to go by and then it says not only are we not going to be inter married but we're going to honor the Sabbath in verse 31 that is God is in charge of my time in verses 32 and 33 he's in charge of my money he's in charge of the sabbatical year how I advanced my business in verse 34 he's he's in charge of my sacrificial surrendered work life in verse 35 through 39 he's he gets firstfruits he gets the tithes I am committed to public testimony I will not forsake his house verse 39 in other words all of the practices of my life are going to show show show what I'm saying my priorities are you can talk about priorities but until you live them they're not real go to chapter 11 and in chapter 11 leadership is both a gift in a divine appointment it's bestowed but it's deliberately cultivated when I read through chapter 11 here's what I find I find that now the walls are built the people are operating the right people are living in the city there's been an incredible move of God among them and then there was a problem with the role of leadership that one has to recognize and accept and it's in verse one the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem you guy that though there's walls around the city the sewer system isn't working and people don't want to live there so I noticed that in chapter 11 verse 1 the leaders stepped up and they lived there because leadership isn't about comfort it's about energizing people to move into the vision God called you for Nehemiah got the walls up the guards in the worship going and now he was calling on leadership to set up Jerusalem and get that thing rebirth and move that city forward because that's what God told them to do you know what else I noticed there's a process involved in leading in verse to deliberate affirmation and the people blessed all the men who volunteered did you see that see people not only need to be called to do what God has told you to do they also have to be affirmed when they're doing it I think in verses 3 to 24 it shows you all these interesting personalities like verse 4 some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem maybe they were close by that wasn't such a big sacrifice but I read from 10 to 14 that beyond the layman that there were priests that were living there and if I were I would wager and I were a betting man the city services were probably pretty lousy so some priests thought the best way to operate the temple was to stay there even if their toilets don't flush I noticed it in verses 15 to 18 their Levites and I'd circle in 15 the word Levites I'd circle in a verse 19 the word gate keeper civil servants and just go through it and see that God called all kinds of people to deal with following through on this vision you know what I noticed about Nehemiah he appreciated and cared for the people that were following through on a vision God gave him to be personal for just a minute one of the most humbling things about leadership is when you see people following a vision God gave you and all of a sudden you turn around you realize it's not for you they're following it's a goddess sees their heart and their passion and God is bringing to life something very real it is humbling and it's overwhelming and I've been my partner all the way through ministry watching people grab onto visions God gave me and as I articulated them they became something and then they became morphed into what he wanted them to be which was better than what I could have done I want you to go to chapter 12 it is the second really banging your head against a stone chapter in this book chapter three long list of names chapter 12 has the big people at chapter 12 is two things it's very simple we can do it in one minute it's a long list of people followed by a parade procession and ceremony of the dedication of the city why do you need this why do you need to know a long list of people that were named here well part of this is because it's a cross-check list with some of the lists in Ezra to help you know that there's a legal inheritance that has been rooted into the scriptural code itself I think it's interesting that there are different groups that are given to you in in Chapter 12 verses 1 to 26 I see a group of the people who returned with the original group under shesh bizarre zerubabbel in the first 11 verses and then I see a whole group that are priests of the 2nd generation and then I see a third group of names that appears to interrupt the list because he's trying to compare the time has passed and records are being updated and that is so riveting to you that you read chapter 12 and you say why is this in the Bible well here's the thing heritage is important history is essential rejoicing was important and people who draw others to worship are remembered and for the balance of the passage there's a dedication ceremony from chapter 12 verses 27 to 47 all it is is a big parade to dedicate the city why do you need to know because he's going to tell you the people that did it he's going to tell you the path that they took he's going to tell you who was in the session where he's going to tell you the testimonies of the people go down to 1243 for a minute it says on that day they offered great sacrifices they rejoice because God had given them great joy even the women and children rejoiced so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar now don't get lost in that what do you mean even though women and children rejoice they weren't the people that put the wall up but they were the families of those who put it up and they stood back and went great job and here's what I know about men that was their best day when their wife was going good job honey good job the world will not be changed by sour-faced believers that disagree with moral innovations in our society they're going to be energized by people who praise and wonder at the power of God and I love that at the end of chapter 12 they perform verse 45 worship of their God in the service of purification you want to know what sanballat until via and Geshem were really worried about that one of the walls looking the taxation it wasn't the rebellion it was that the enemy hates praising worshiping thankful hearted people he hates it go to the last chapter as we finish up you'd think now that you're down at the close and there will be no more leadership test oh no oh no these are leadership tests three of them that come specifically from the people of God in chapter 13 verses 1 to 14 inconsistent leadership that keeps the vision without compromise is really you know you want consistent people but they're inconsistent they get a piece of a vision and then they go off in some other direction and that inconsistent leadership begins to blur let me say this in many visions there is blur the more people that add their own ideal or adaptation to a vision the more blurry it becomes from what it originally was and the first 14 verses there is something in the first four verses they introduced the idea of intermarriage and they don't they drop it and don't pick it up and then they tell you that Elias Eve the priest stopped and cleaned out part of the temple and took it over for his own personal use that instead of storing the utensils for the temple he was storing his own stuff and then it just leaves that there and goes on to a second problem that there was an incremental easing of commitment to the passionate testimony of a walk with God get down to verse 15 for a minute because 15 to 22 is the second big problem it says that they were treading wine presses on the Sabbath and verse 15 and in verse 16 Outsiders Gentiles from tyre were being allowed to do it so not only had they ignored the holiness of the temple when Elia she'd would put his stuff in it but now they were ignoring the holy day God gave them and they were not only doing that they were letting Gentiles participate in the overall defamation of the Sabbath now be ready for this when people don't take sacred space carefully and they don't take God sacred worship time carefully verses 23 to 31 they will no longer be distinct in their walk so verse 23 says in those days I saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod alone and Moab when the people let their guard down on holy places and holy times they compromised in holy relationships and the book closes with these words thus I purified them verse 30 from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites each to his task and I arranged for the supply of wood at appointed times and for the first fruit now listen to his ending remember me God remember me for good he signs off the end of his diary saying god I hope you saw it can I just remind you that in leadership the place you take take your hopes your dreams your affirmation is not your congregation it's your God and if you mess that up you will chase the affirmation of people and it will ruin your leadership Nehemiah [Music] I don't have you

Channel: One Hour. One Book.

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Keywords: GCBI, Dr. Randy Smith, Bible teaching, Bible class, Hebrew, Greek

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Length: 58min 34sec (3514 seconds)

Published: Tue May 02 2017