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It’s time for us to rethink our picture of leadership in the church. And, by the way, when we talk about leadership in the context of Nehemiah, we’re not talking specifically about pastoral leadership. If anything, Ezra is the model for pastoral leadership. We looked closely at his leadership in the last part of the book of Ezra and we’ll look at it some more when we get to chapter 8 of this book. But Nehemiah was a lay-leader. Later on he became a political leader, but in the context of post-exilic Israel, he was a lay-leader. He wasn’t a priest like Ezra. He wasn’t a prophet like Haggai and Zechariah. He wasn’t a descendent of King David like Zerubbabel. He was just a man who had a burden from God. He had a burden from God and did what it took to complete the task that God had given him. Now, what would Nehemiah’s parallel be in the church today? Is it the pastor? Is it the deacons? No, it’s not. Nehemiah’s parallel in the church today would be you. God gave Nehemiah a burden to rebuild the wall and the city. Nehemiah led in accomplishing that task. If you’re listening to Him, God has also given most of you a burden. When He gives you that burden, He expects you to step out and lead in accomplishing that task. I don’t care if you want to do it or not. If God has given you that burden, He expects you to step out and lead in accomplishing it. But Jim, I don’t have any of those leadership qualities you were talking about. Good. Because neither did Nehemiah. And if you did, then God would just have to work around those till you realized that it was Him that was working through you instead of you doing it on your own. So, since we’re not talking about what the world recognizes as leadership traits, then we need to see what the Bible says about them. What does the Bible say about godly leadership traits? In this passage, Nehemiah displayed five godly leadership traits that God will use to accomplish the work He has burdened Nehemiah to do. And you know what? These are the exact same traits He wants you to display as you step out and lead in accomplishing the burden He’s given you. Your first leadership trait is patience. Look back at verse 1:
NEHEMIAH 2:1
The first trait of a godly leader is patience. I want you to do something for me. If you write in your Bible, I want you to write this. There at the beginning of verse 1, where it says, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king…” I want you to either write above it or next to it these words: “One day in April, four months later.” When we see things like we see in verse 1, our mind just skips over them. Nisan—when was that? The twentieth year of Artaxerxes—that means nothing to us. So we skip right over it. But when we skip over it, we miss a very important point. It’s been a few weeks since we were in Nehemiah, but do you remember what he was doing the last time we saw him? In chapter 1, he got word back from his brother and a scout team he sent to Jerusalem. He got the word back and it wasn’t good. The place was a mess. The wall was down, the city was in ruins, and because of that, they were a serving as a reproach against God. So when Nehemiah got that word back he was burdened. He was burdened to the point that he sat down and wept and mourned and fasted and prayed for several days. He poured out his heart and soul before the Lord—the Bible says, night and day. And then what happened? He immediately jumped up and ran in to talk to the king, right? I mean, in verse 11 of chapter 1 he had just prayed that God would prosper him and grant him mercy in the sight of the king for his request. As a matter of fact, he prayed for God to do it that day. “I pray thee, thy servant this day…” So, that’s what happened, right? Nehemiah ran in to the king and talked to him, right? Wrong. Because 1:11 ends Nehemiah’s prayer. The very next verse is 2:1. And what did you write down in your Bible? “One day in April, four months later.” Nehemiah poured out his heart and soul before the Lord. And then he did nothing! For four months! Why? Because he was patient. He didn’t push the issue. He waited until the right, God-appointed time. Now, notice where it says that God tapped Nehemiah on the shoulder and told him that now was the time. Oh, your Bible doesn’t have that? That’s because it isn’t there. God didn’t reach out and wave a big banner in front of Nehemiah to tell him when it was time to start. God just subtly opened a door. As a godly leader, Nehemiah prayed about the burden God gave him. And then as a godly leader, Nehemiah patiently waited until God opened the door. And as a godly leader, Nehemiah walked through the open door when it was presented to him. Is that what you’re doing with the burden that God has given you? Have you taken that burden back to Him in prayer? Have you patiently waited for Him to open the door? Have you walked through the open door He’s given you? When I feel a burden, my flesh wants to kick open a door and jump in with both feet. That’s the world’s kind of leadership—not God’s. Godly leadership is patient. Not only is godly leadership patient, it’s afraid. Your second leadership trait is fear. Look at verse 2:
NEHEMIAH 2:2
The second trait of a godly leader is fear. Fear? What kind of a leader shows fear? Only the kind that God chooses to use. Most of the time when we see verses 1-2 we focus on the fact that Nehemiah had never been sad in the king’s presence before. Of course there was a reason for that. Remember that Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. He was the one who taste-tested the king’s food to see if it had been poisoned. So, imagine if you’re the king and your cupbearer brings you a cup of wine. Then you look at him and he’s all pale and sickly looking. I think that would probably bother you a little bit. So, cupbearers didn’t make a habit out of looking sad, and melancholy, and depressed in front of their kings. It didn’t make for good job security. In all the time that Nehemiah had held that position, he had never approached the king looking like that. And it caught the king’s attention. And when it caught the king’s attention, what did it do to Nehemiah? It scared him. I’ve taken this word back to the original Hebrew and do you know what it really means? It means he was scared! He was shaking in his sandals terrified. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe when the Lord finally opens the door for you to witness to somebody you’ve been praying about? And the opportunity finally comes and for some reason your hands get all clammy and your mouth gets all dry. That’s the way that Nehemiah was only worse. God didn’t give him a big flashing neon sign that his door was open. But Nehemiah sure did know it in his heart. He knew it was finally “go” time. The door that he’d been praying for was finally open and now he was too scared to walk through it. Is that where you are with the burden that God’s given you? That’s the point when we try to talk God out of it. “God, I’m not qualified to do that.” “Lord, I’m too young or too old.” “I’m not smart enough to step out and lead that ministry.” “Lord, what if nobody follows me?” “Lord, I’ve never done anything like that before.” “God, I just can’t do it. You’ll just have to find somebody else.” Why do ministries not happen? Why do things go undone in the church? Because we get scared and stop. Getting scared is a leadership trait God can use. Stopping isn’t. Nehemiah was scared, but he didn’t stop. Godly leadership is afraid. It’s patient and it’s afraid. It’s also transparent. Your third leadership trait is transparency. Look at verse 3:
NEHEMIAH 2:3
The third trait of a godly leader is transparency. There was a deodorant commercial out a few years ago. Their tag line was “Never let them see you sweat.” That’s supposed to be the picture of a leader, isn’t it? Whatever happens, keep your cool. No panic. Nothing ever bothers you. Well that’s fine with some personalities. Some personalities are more even-keel than others. I tend to be pretty even-keel. But does that mean that’s the only kind of personality God uses for leadership? No. As a matter of fact, it’s not about personality at all. It’s about transparency. Nehemiah might have been an even-keel guy. But you sure couldn’t tell it from verse 3. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture Nehemiah here in front of the king. He spent all that time praying and fasting. Then he waited another four months for an open door. Then the door opened and he had a rush of fear. And then it’s like that rush of fear turned to a rush of adrenaline. It’s like he got that adrenaline rush and opened his mouth and all these words came rushing out. He was respectful, and then he dumped it out on the king. He didn’t mince words. “Why shouldn’t I be sad? “It’s like my ancestors are buried in a city dump.” His words were plain and unvarnished. He didn’t hem and haw around what was going on. He was completely transparent with the king. See, it isn’t an issue about personality. God burdens all kinds of personalities. So when He gives you a burden, He doesn’t expect you to use your personality as an excuse. At the same time, if He hasn’t given you a burden, no matter how dynamic your personality is, He hasn’t called you to lead. Personality isn’t a leadership trait with God. Transparency is. In other words, don’t gloss over things. State things the way they really are. If you are a tremendously optimistic person, that might mean taking your rose-colored glasses off for a minute. If you are a pessimistic, negative person, odds are, things aren’t as bad as they look to you. See your burden for what it really is and be transparent about it. If there are obstacles, you will never get people to overcome them if you don’t acknowledge they’re there. Nehemiah was so transparent, he practically blurted out the obstacles. But when he got them out in the open, the king listened. And when the king listened, he was the first one to follow Nehemiah’s leadership. Godly leadership is transparent. It is patient, afraid and transparent. It’s also dependent. Your fourth leadership trait is dependency. Look at verse 4:
NEHEMIAH 2:4
The fourth trait of a godly leader is dependency. I love this part. Nehemiah had everything pent up inside him for over four months. He had been right in the king’s face every meal and snack and drink, every day of those four months. I’m sure there were times he went to bed at night thinking, “Am I ever going to get up the nerve to tell the king what’s going on?” “Am I ever going to get to go to Jerusalem?” I’m sure that as he lay his head on the pillow at night, he reviewed each encounter with the king. I’m sure he looked back and wondered if those encounters had been opportunities that God had laid out in front of him. I’m sure there was frustration and doubt going on in his head. So after all that time, when he finally recognized the open door… he didn’t walk through it… he blew through it. And then after he blurted out those words, you can almost see him think—“uh oh.” So what did he do? He did what every godly leader does when he gets out over his skis. He stopped and prayed. Now this wasn’t like the day-and-night fasting and praying he’d done before. This was the “Lord, I’m in it now—I need your help” kind of prayer. Why do we only want to pray that kind of prayer when we’ve messed something up and want God to get us out of our mess? Godly leaders pray that kind of prayer, but not when they’re trying to get God to bail them out of sin. They pray that kind of prayer for instant assurance of God’s sustaining hand. That kind of prayer isn’t telling God “I’ve got it—I just need a little help.” No, the kind of prayer that Nehemiah prayed told God, “You’ve always had it—and you’ve still got it—work through me.” After spending all those days and nights in intense prayer before God, this quick little prayer showed that Nehemiah knew he was completely dependent on God. When God gives you your burden and you step out to lead, you’re not stepping out on your own. You pray about it in extended times of prayer—maybe even fasting. But then when the rubber meets the road, you fire up more prayer. When you do that, you’re stepping out in complete dependence upon God. Godly leadership is dependent. It’s patient, afraid, transparent and dependent. It’s also prepared. Your fifth leadership trait is preparedness. Look at verses 5-8:
NEHEMIAH 2:5-8
The fifth trait of a godly leader is preparedness. This is where Nehemiah steps back, takes a deep breath, and makes his request to the king. Once again, he lays it out plainly and clearly. He doesn’t mince words with what he’s asking. He asks for exactly what he wants. As a matter of fact, he gave the king a whole laundry list of stuff. First he asked if he could go. Then, when the king asked for how long, he gave him a definite time frame. Then he kept going. And these weren’t little things he was asking for. He was basically asking if he could act as the king’s personal envoy to Jerusalem—without having to report back to the king. He wanted the king’s blessing to go. He wanted the king’s protection along the way. And he wanted the king’s resources to use once he got there. That was pretty bold. But boldness comes with knowing that the burden was from God. It comes from knowing the open door was from God. It comes from knowing the prayers to God are being answered. That makes the boldness automatic. The question isn’t the boldness. The question is, how did he know exactly what he boldly wanted to ask the king for? Well, it certainly wasn’t because God just dropped it into his head. God can work that way, but He usually only does it because we aren’t capable. Nehemiah was capable just like you are capable. So Nehemiah had to be prepared. What did you think he had spent that four months doing? Sitting on his hands waiting for God to wave a magic wand over Jerusalem? No—as he was waiting for God to open the door, he was making plans for what he needed to walk through it. He had prayed for God to bring rain. Four months later, as soon as it started to sprinkle he was able to open his umbrella. He was prepared. God has opened many of your eyes to something that needs to be done in the church, in the neighborhood or even in the world. That’s called your burden. He didn’t give you that burden so you can sit back and wonder why somebody else isn’t doing something about it. He gave you that burden because it’s yours. He gave you that burden so you can pray and fast about it. He gave you that burden so you can patiently wait for Him to open a door of opportunity about it. He gave you that burden so you can begin to prepare for how to fix it. He gave you that burden so you can depend on Him to guide you in boldly leading in it. So you think you’re not a leader? When God burdens your heart with something, He thinks differently. All Nehemiah did was taste food for a living. Not much of a resume. But God reached into his heart and gave him a burden for the walls and buildings of Jerusalem. And when God gave him that burden, He expected him to lead. What burden is the Lord giving you? Is it for evangelism? Is it for outreach? Is it for missions? Is it for our facilities? Is it for helps ministries? Is it for discipleship? What is your burden? What has the Lord opened your eyes to the need for? Start tonight praying about it—fervently. Then start to get prepared. God will open the door. And when He does, step through and lead.
