MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: Nehemiah 1:1 4
(This is the first of a Leadership series featuring Nehemiah. Some ideas & illustrations in these messages were based on or benefited greatly from, to varying extents, the book “Hand Me Another Brick” by Charles Swindoll.)
A. When God had work to be done, He selected special people. Special, not because they were tremendously talented, physically superior, or gifted with engaging personalities & mighty intellect but special because when God called, they answered.
They weren't perfect people by any means, but God was able to use them in a multitude of ways down through the centuries to be a blessing to the people among whom they lived, & to be witnesses of His wisdom, power, & love.
Some of their names we know very well names like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Esther, Mary, Matthew, Peter, James, John, Barnabas, & Paul.
B. But there are hundreds of thousands of whom we have never heard, maybe millions, whose lives & service for God were just as vital in His sight.
I've entitled this message, "God, We Need Leaders!" We need them in our homes, our schools, our churches, & in the leadership of our nation. We need good leaders, capable leaders, dedicated leaders, Spirit filled, God honoring leaders.
Of course I’m shocked & disappointed, as I am sure you are too, by all the name-calling, distortions, dishonesty & arrogance in our government today.
ILL. A generation ago, John Holland wrote,
"God give us men. A time like this demands strong minds,
great hearts, true faith & willing hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions & a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;"
And it just not men, it's women, too. We are in a crisis of leadership in every area of our nation today.
But let’s make this a bit more personal. Parents, God intended for us to be spiritual leaders, responsible for molding & shaping the lives & attitudes of our children. Because so many have not fulfilled their responsibilities we are experiencing a breakdown in our homes.
C. What is a leader? Maybe we ought to define that before we go any further. What, really, is a leader? If we were going to use one word to define "leadership" it would have to be the word "influence". Someone is a leader to the extent that he or she is able to influence other people.
ILL. Harry Truman said, "A leader is a person who can persuade others to do what they don't want to do, & convince them that they like it." So influence is the key.
Some of you in years past have read Dale Carnegie's book, "How To Win Friends & Influence People." The theme of that book is leadership how to deal with people one to one, & how to be a dynamic leader, & therefore be successful.
Many other books have also been written on the subject of leadership. Norman Vincent Peale wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking." "How do we interact with others?" "How do we get along with each other?"
But one of the most important books ever written about leadership was written in 423 B.C. by a man who rose from obscurity to national prominence & power. The book bears his name. It is the book of Nehemiah.
I. THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH
A. So beginning this morning, & continuing on for several more weeks, I'm going to be preaching a series of sermons straight out of the book of Nehemiah. And I'm convinced that when you get to know Nehemiah you will really like him. You'll discover that his book, written so long ago, deals with subjects that are right up to date.
1. "How can I get along with my boss? He isn't a Christian. He doesn't see things the way that I see them." Nehemiah tells us how to deal with our bosses.
2. Nehemiah teaches us how to deal with discouragement. Sometimes our hopes, dreams, & plans never materialize, & he teaches us how to deal with that.
3. Nehemiah teaches us how to deal with criticism. When you are a leader, you can be sure that you will be criticized. Criticism & leadership seem to go hand in hand.
We're going to learn through Nehemiah how to deal with all these things.
II. THE BACKGROUND OF NEHEMIAH
A. But before we look at the book of Nehemiah, we need a little background.
ILL. If you didn't know anything about U.S. history & you saw the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia it wouldn't mean anything to you other than "there's a bell with a crack in it." But when you understand the price that was paid, the blood that was shed, & the joy of the people who rang that bell so enthusiastically that it cracked then it will mean something to you.
Now, for many people history is not their strong suit, especially when it comes to the Old Testament. If that is true for you, you may have a little trouble putting all the pieces together. So I am going to give a highly condensed bit of history to lead us up to Nehemiah. Stick with me as we cover a lot of centuries in a very short time.
B. Jewish history began with God calling Abraham out of Ur of Chaldees to go to a land where he would become the father of a great nation God's chosen people.
But the nation of Israel didn't become an influential power in the world until 1,000 years later.
It was during the time of King David & King Solomon that Israel became the richest & most powerful nation in the world. That was Israel's golden age!
But when Solomon died, the kingdom divided. The northern section became the nation of Israel. The southern section became the nation of Judah.
ILL. Just as the Civil War was one of the darkest times in our nation's history when brother fought against brother so was it also for them when their nation divided into two nations, Israel & Judah.
C. Finally, Assyria attacked the northern kingdom & wiped it out. Years later the armies of Babylon conquered the southern kingdom, & destroyed Jerusalem. The finest of the survivors were taken back as hostages to Babylon 800 miles away away from their homes away from their Holy City. They lived as captives in a foreign land.
D. This situation lasted for almost 70 years until Cyrus, King of Persia, attacked & conquered the Babylonians. Now the Jews were under the rule of the Persian Empire.
There is an interesting passage in Scripture that says that God “moved the heart of Cyrus.” (2 Chronicles 36:22; Ezra 1:1) Was Cyrus a believer? No, he wasn't. He did not believe in God, but God can use both those who believe & those who do not believe. In fact, Isaiah 45:1 says that God spoke to Cyrus, & as a result, Cyrus told the Jews, "You are free. You may go back to Jerusalem."
E. So the migration back to Jerusalem began. Three separate times large groups migrated back to Jerusalem. Group 1 was led by Zerubbabel not long after Cyrus conquered Babylon, & this group immediately started rebuilding the Temple, & building homes for themselves. But they left most of the city & its walls still in ruins.
King Cyrus dies & during the next 45 years several kings rule over the Persian Empire. Then we come to Xerxes I, the greatest of the Persian Kings. Xerxes was also the one who made Esther, the Jew, his queen. During his rule, the Jews changed from being an oppressed minority in the Empire to a highly favored people. Mordecai, the Jew, uncle of Esther, even became the 2nd most important man in the Persian Empire.
When Xerxes dies, his son, Artaxerxes, who is the stepson of Queen Esther, becomes King. He also treats the Jews very kindly & authorizes the migration of another group of Jews back to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra, the Scribe.
Ezra's group, Group 2, arrived at Jerusalem 80 years after Group 1. But Ezra was not a builder. He was a teacher of the law, & outside of building a few homes, they leave the city & the walls just as they found them in ruins.
Here is where Nehemiah comes into the picture. Now, listen to Nehemiah 1:1 4.
"The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the 20th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, & I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, & also about Jerusalem.
"They said to me, `Those who survived the exile & are back in the province are in great trouble & disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, & its gates have been burned with fire.' When I heard these things, I sat down & wept. For some days I mourned & fasted & prayed before the God of heaven."
Nehemiah is a very devout Jew who lives in Babylon. When he hears that the walls of Jerusalem are broken down & the gates have been burned with fire, he is so disturbed by the news that he weeps & mourns for days. He stops eating & starts praying to God for Jerusalem, & he asks, "What can I do about Jerusalem?"
I'll tell you what he did in a few weeks, but right now let's get a quick overview of the book of Nehemiah. It divides itself into 3 sections, & all 3 of them center around the man, Nehemiah.
In the first section we'll see Nehemiah the cupbearer. In the second we'll see Nehemiah the builder. Last of all, we'll see Nehemiah the governor. That is the way the book divides up.
During this time we're going to let God's Holy Spirit speak to us through Nehemiah. Some of the topics we’ll consider will be “Let God Change the Mind,” “Handling Criticism,” “Handling Discouragements,” “God Takes Promises Seriously,” “Dealing With Adversity,” “Gaining Insight From God’s Word,” & “What Are Our Priorities?”
His Holy Spirit can help us be honest with ourselves as we look at some areas of weakness where we may have let Satan come in with his temptations.
I think we'll discover that for many of us, like the wall around Jerusalem, at one time our lives were strong & new & every brick was in its place. We could withstand all the forces & pressures that came our way.
But gradually, little things began to creep in & chip away at us. At first they were hardly noticeable. A little brick here, some mortar there, but we thought, "That's nothing to worry about. It will be all right."
But then that brick fell to the ground. And in the process it weakened another. Soon another one fell & then another. And the first thing we know, like the wall of Jerusalem, our life is falling apart.
It doesn't happen overnight. It happens gradually. And now, like the children of Israel, we need to rebuild the walls of our life.
This morning, if you see cracks & crevices developing in your life Jesus the Master Builder is here & He wants to help you put the stones back in place.
Or maybe you have never built the wall in the first place. Maybe you have never known the joy of accepting Christ as your Lord & Savior. If that is the case, the Lord invites you to come. Come in faith come in repentance come confessing Him & come to obey Him in baptism to begin your new life with Him.
