YOUR TURN
Nehemiah 7:1-73
S: Courage
Th: Brave Hearts
Pr: WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO LEAD GRACIOUSLY.
?: How?
KW: Principles
TS: We will find in our study of Nehemiah 7:1-73,
seven principles that demonstrate how one leads graciously.
The _____ principle is…
I. PRIORITY (1)
II. PERMUTATION (2-3)
III. POTENTIAL (4)
IV. PRAYER (5)
V. PRESERVATION (6-60)
VI. PURITY (61-65)
VII. PARADIGM (66-73)
Version: ESV
RMBC 02 Mar 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Leadership (call the shots)
There was a new nurse in Dr. Blake’s office. And as she was passing by his office, she heard Dr. Blake yelling, "Typhoid! Tetanus! Measles!"
Needless to say, she was taken aback by this strange occurrence. So this new nurse asked one of the more experienced nurses in the office, "Why is he doing that?"
The experienced nurse replied matter-of-factly, "Oh, he just likes to call the shots around here."
What are the characteristics you appreciate in leaders?
I think it is fair to say, we want our leaders to do more than just call the shots.
We have higher expectations than that, don’t we?
We want them to have wisdom, confidence and integrity.
And probably more than that…
TRANSITION:
As we come to our text today, we see that…
1. Context: The wall is finished!
In chapter 6, we see that Nehemiah has led the people successfully.
In 52 days, during the heat of summer, and in spite of intense opposition, the task of rebuilding and connecting the wall has been successfully completed.
The completing of the wall has been a magnificent and unforgettable achievement.
And during the time, we see that Nehemiah has been uniquely used.
Yet, God is not done with Nehemiah.
He is still a good work that God is finishing.
And as we come to our study today, we want to observe what type of leader Nehemiah has been and is becoming.
When others would crumble, Nehemiah has stood strong.
When others might be frightened and given up, Nehemiah has found strength and encouragement.
It has happened this way because Nehemiah knows how to lead.
He leads with grace.
And it is a lesson for us, for we too…
2. WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO LEAD GRACIOUSLY.
But how do we do that?
Well…
3. We will find in our study of Nehemiah 7:1-73, seven principles that demonstrate how one leads graciously.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first principle is PRIORITY (1)
ILL Notebook: Priority (Barry)
Humorist Dave Barry has made an interesting comment about priorities. He says…
“If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there are men on base.”
Well, Nehemiah also teaches us about priorities as well…
Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed…
In this first verse, he establishes three priorities.
1. There was a physical need of protection.
Nehemiah realized that there was a need of regular supervision of the city’s main entrances.
The entrances would need to have guards and watchmen.
Later in this book, we will see that these guards will be entrusted with moral responsibilities as well.
They will be asked to keep the gates closed on the Shabat (Sabbath).
The physical protection will also include a moral protection for the nation.
Now comes the second priority…
2. There was a spiritual need of worship.
Nehemiah appointed singers to lead in worship.
You see, he understood that there is more to life than work and money.
It was on the heart of Nehemiah (and this is something we see over and over again) that Jerusalem have God as its priority.
He understood that worship keeps the personal life balanced.
Worship also keeps the local and national life balanced as well.
Because it is in worship that we reflect on the meaning of life.
It is in worship that we gain confidence in our faith and the assurance of forgiveness.
We need the singers, because without worship, we are reduced to the values of the godless, and we will once again become a city without walls.
Now the third priority…
3. There was an intellectual need of teaching.
Here we find that Nehemiah appointed the Levites as Israel’s teachers.
It was their responsibility to engage the minds of the Israelites and convey the great realities of the faith.
I was reminded of the importance of the repetition of study as we gave consideration of spiritual gifts this weekend with the Network seminar.
Though I have studied it many, many times in my years as a believer and as a pastor, I still walked away with new insights yesterday.
Why?
Because God’s Word is living and active.
It engages our mind, even when we think we have heard a subject before.
I was told by someone here in our church family a while ago, that they did not get a lot out of my messages, because they have heard it all before.
Of course, when I hear a comment like that one, I have to give consideration if I am communicating what I should?
Am I being a good teacher or not?
But I do believe the person revealed that this was really not my problem, but theirs.
When you believe you have heard it all before, then you are not listening with both your heart and mind.
In fact, you may be guilty of stifling the Spirit within you, because God’s Word is very much alive.
He engages our hearts through His Word, for these are God’s words to us.
Let me wander back to the text.
Nehemiah is leading graciously.
Now that the wall is finished, he demonstrates his ongoing care for the needs of the people of Jerusalem.
He is making sure they have their physical, spiritual and intellectual needs met.
Now we come to…
II. The second principle is PERMUTATION (2-3)
Permutation is not a very common word.
It means “changing the order.”
…I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.”
1. Leaders need to find other good leaders.
This particular act is one that is both courageous and gracious.
It is courageous because many a leader has the belief that no one can do it as well as they can.
It takes courage to say that I may not be needed in this particular role anymore.
It is a gracious act as well.
Many a time, a leader has to give up a role that they enjoy doing themselves in the recognition that it is now someone else’s turn to do so.
It is now, “your turn” and the torch is passed.
Nehemiah shows us the importance of discipleship when he turns leadership roles over to Hanani and Hananiah.
Now, there are reasons that Nehemiah picked these two, for…
2. Leaders should look for reliability and reverence.
You might remember the problem that Nehemiah faces at the end of chapter 6.
He has been put in a very difficult position of trying to distinguish between friend and foe.
So, as he looks for those that can lead, they must be people that can be trusted.
First, they must be reliable, faithful and loyal.
It must be true that they are not capable of being manipulated by the enemies or the desire of monetary gain.
Second, God must be their priority.
For Nehemiah knows that those who genuinely honor God can be trusted by others.
When God is first, then the general good of the people will matter.
So Nehemiah leads graciously, by letting go and letting others follow in his footsteps.
III. The third principle is POTENTIAL (4)
ILL Notebook: Change (poor insight on the future)
Have you ever noticed that some have poor insight on the future? For example…
A Western Union internal memo in 1876 said…
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
In the 1920s, David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio said…
“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service…
“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.”
Fred Smith, by the way, went on to found Federal Express Corp.
Nehemiah writes…
The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
So, he shows us that…
Leaders should not be satisfied with the status quo.
Nehemiah observed correctly, that though Jerusalem’s walls were built, it was empty.
But to him (and we will see this in more detail in a later chapter), Jerusalem had great potential.
It was his desire that God would prosper it economically and socially.
Jerusalem could be a thriving community when it increased in numbers.
Nehemiah is leading graciously and patiently.
He is not done yet.
There is still more to do and one of those things is painting a picture of what is yet to happen.
Jerusalem will be a full and thriving community.
IV. The fourth principle is PRAYER (5a)
Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy.
Leaders need to know the heart of God.
This principle is closely connected to the previous.
The idea to repopulate Jerusalem did not start in his own mind.
The initiative belongs to God.
God communicated it to his heart, and this is the reason he calls the people together.
Nehemiah is a man of prayer.
He spends time in God’s presence.
He depends on Him for direction.
So, now as the people are called together, Nehemiah does not keep the message for himself.
Instead, we see the clear direction God continues to give.
It is time for a history lesson…
V. The fifth principle is PRESERVATION (5b-60)
Let me read just the first couple of verses of this section…
And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it: These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah…
Leaders look at the past to discover the living story and the continuity of faith.
Much of the bulk of this text is a repeat of Ezra 2.
It is a record of Israel’s families that have returned from Babylon.
But it is much more than a list of forgotten names.
It is a declaration of a godly community’s spiritual commitment.
These people that Nehemiah had gathered together needed to understand the significance of their past.
And so, what Nehemiah does is make the history a living history that will serve the present and the future.
You see, these people tell a story with truths and values.
They were heroes who have stayed dedicated.
They, willingly, uprooted themselves from their secure and familiar surroundings to follow God’s call to a more precarious and vulnerable existence.
They moved to a city that had been ravished by the enemy.
But they were men and women of faith.
So Nehemiah calls on the people that have just finished the wall to recognize their roots.
These who have gone before have transferred their faith to them.
Therefore, in the same way, they were preserving the faith for the next generation.
VI. The sixth principle is PURITY (61-65)
The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.
We need leaders that have a passion for pure faith.
The context that we find here is about families who applied to the priesthood, but they cannot accurately establish their genealogy.
As a result, they are excluded.
Please note this…
This was not about a pure race or ethnic cleansing as some have accused.
This was about pluralism and syncretism.
You see, what other races brought into the nation of Israel was a whole host of other religious allegiances.
And as a result, Israel was always compromising their beliefs.
They were letting go of the uniqueness of God and allowing Him to be considered just one of many other ways.
ILL Notebook: Purity (farmer’s market)
There is a story of a farmer who went each week to the Farmers’ Market to sell, among other things, the cottage cheese and apple butter made on his farm. He carried these in two large tubs, from which he ladled the cottage cheese or apple butter into smaller containers the customers brought.
One day he got to market and discovered he’d forgotten one ladle. He felt he had no choice but to use the one he had for both products.
Before long he couldn’t tell which was which.
Israel was always in danger of losing its uniqueness.
Was it cottage cheese or apple butter?
After a while, you could not tell.
You see, this was not about a pure race, but about a pure faith.
As we study this passage, there is a touch of irony that we should not overlook.
The very things that Nehemiah faced then, still face us today.
These are issues that we continue to face today.
We live in a world that demands that we consider the Christ of Christianity as just as one of many ways to get to heaven.
But we should never give up on the purity of our belief or fail to defend it.
Nehemiah does lead graciously here.
He realizes that these families may be legitimate and provides a way of discovering it.
If God so willed, there would be a way for these families to find a way of reentering into the priesthood.
Now we come to…
VII. The seventh principle is PARADIGM (66-73)
In this text, we find a paradigm, a pattern of giving…
The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720. Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests’ garments and 500 minas of silver. And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments. So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.
Here we find that…
Leaders that love God and His work will sacrificially give.
Those who love God’s Word will not neglect God’s work.
So notice who leads the way in this text.
It is Nehemiah!
He leads the way in sacrificial giving.
This was much more than the giving of the tithe.
We can tell by the totals that these were gifts that were over and beyond what was expected.
Not only that, they were given in a time when homes, farms and businesses were not established.
But even though the economics of the time were far from stable, the people put God first.
For they believed that if they honored God, He would care for them.
This was a new paradigm in giving, preparing for the giving observed in the New Testament…giving because one wants to, not because they have to.
APPLICATION:
As we consider Nehemiah’s example, we see that…
1. It is essential for leaders to have courage.
Nehemiah has led courageously.
Over and over again, in the face of all kinds of odds, he has held steady.
He has never given into the opposition.
Instead, he has kept his focus on what God has called him to do.
But he has not only led courageously, he has done it graciously as well.
For…
2. It is necessary for leaders to graciously recognize their role in the larger picture.
Nehemiah has not been proud.
His focus has been to include others to feel and be a part of the bigger picture.
He succeeds because he knows how to be a man of grace.
ILL Notebook: Grace (It Is Good As It Gets)
As Good as It Gets is a 1997 comedy about three very different people whose lives become entangled. The threesome includes an obsessive-compulsive author, an out-of-work artist, and a struggling waitress. Jack Nicholson plays Melvin Udall, the crude, obsessive-compulsive author. He offends everyone he meets. For example, the movie opens with Melvin tossing a neighbor’s pet down the laundry chute of the exclusive apartment building where he lives.
But Melvin becomes enamored with Carol Connelly, a waitress played by Helen Hunt. She has seen him at his worst, but she reluctantly agrees to meet Melvin at a fancy restaurant for a date. Carol arrives at the restaurant, and is obviously ill at ease as waiters follow her about and wait on her hand and foot. While the other patrons of the restaurant are impeccably dressed, Carol wears a simple red dress.
Melvin sees Carol at the bar and waves her over to his table. When she approaches, Melvin hits an all-time low. "This restaurant!" he says, "They make me buy a new outfit and let you in wearing a house dress." Carol is stunned and hurt. Yet, she doesn’t leave.
Carol looks Melvin in the eye and says, "Pay me a compliment, Melvin. I need one now."
Melvin responds, "I’ve got a great compliment." What could he possibly say to undo the thoughtless comment he had just delivered?
Melvin then delivers one of the most romantic lines in big-screen history. This deeply flawed man, his own worst enemy, looks at Carol with all the kindness and sincerity his shriveled heart can muster and says, "Carol, you make me want to be a better man."
Carol communicates grace to Melvin when he deserves a slap in the face.
And for us it shows us that it is grace that brings out the best in us.
Because Nehemiah has led graciously, he has brought the best out of the people God has placed in his charge.
May this also be a pattern that we follow as well.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
