Nehemiah Steadfast Leader Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Today I want to say welcome my friends, it is so nice to have you back with us in God’s house.
There is much joy when we can worship together. It unites our hearts in corporate worship of the one who is worthy of our worship.
Thanks be to our God for His great love for us, He has loved us with an everlasting love, a love that sent His Son into the world to redeem us from our sin, to forgive us and restore us. And He has not left us alone, but has given unto each of us, His Holy Spirit. We are not alone, we are saved and sealed until the day of our redemption.
Doesn’t that make you happy? Amen
We should be encouraged today..... He loves us.
No better news my friends, except to hear that someone has given their hearts to Jesus!
Now this morning we are going once again to Nehemiah, to finish the message we began on being a steadfast leader.
Do you remember the main thoughts from last week?
A servant leader is a steadfast one who is:
1. One whose heart breaks in the midst of great need
2. One who follow God’s direction, even when it seems impossible
3. One who Understands God’s vision for what needs to be done..
And today we are going to finish the story of leadership found in Nehemiah’s life.
So I want to encourage you to get your Bibles and lets find the OT book of Nehemiah and lets look at chapter 4, verse 1-6
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Remember from last week, its been 160 years since Nebuchadnezzar breached the city, He was raised up by God to take those people into captivity. And its been 90 years since the captives were given the freedom to return but very little have....
The saddest news Nehemiah hears is that still after all this time the city liers in ruins, the walls torn down and its gates destroyed and burned by fire.
But God puts a plan in His heart, He travels there under the Kings blessings and favor and begins the work.
The work of God my friends is never easy. It is difficult, the hearts of men are wicked, they work to hinder the work of God for they have a different master than the Lord Jesus
And even in our churches, if we are not careful we can hinder the word of God. That is why we must be ever careful in our walk with God so that we don’t allow anything to hurt or hinder our growth and God’s work.
So lets begin today as we finish up what God is speaking to us from the Book of Nehemiah as we consider being a servant of God, and one who is steadfast.
Consider this first thought my friends,
1. A Steadfast Leaders Pushes on when facing Opposition....
1. A Steadfast Leaders Pushes on when facing Opposition....
Whether the opposition is earthly or spiritual, we cannot stop the work God has called us to do…
All to often, people pull back because of opposition, why? No one likes confrontation, no one likes the difficulties associated with it. We like it easy… We have become accustomed to quick and effortless…
But as God calls men and women to lead, at times we must face opposition, difficulties along the way..
Nehemiah, as He leads the people to begin the work of rebuilding the walls, he will find opposition. Their will be difficulties along the way but He is not alone. God walked with him and prepared his way..
Stop right there isn’t that beautiful my friends.
He does the very same thing in your life my friends.
Look back at verse one.. there in chapter 4
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
Even though the King of the Mede-Persian empire had given Nehemiah permission, resources and time to complete this task, it doesn’t mean that everyone else who served the King was happy about it though.
These other men, Sanballat, who is Governor of Samaria, and Tobia who appears to be an official of the Governor, there cannot stand this undertaking. They had been able to overrun, oppress and keep these Israelites beaten down.
They ran this part of the world , and they didn’t need anyone meddling in their part of the world.
For once the people of Samaria were victorious over Jerusalem, but the rebuilding of the walls, the fortifying of the city could only mean that theywould again strengthen, grow and become a threat to the area.
So verse one says “he as angry”… The word angry in the Hebrew means to burn emotionally. Sanballat was hot!. They criticized and scoffed at the Jews, They helped to spread hatred and contempt among other people around the city.
Sanballat and Tobiah couldn’t have this.... no matter the King’s views on Nehemiah. They didn’t want their power structure violated and upset.
So the Scriptures say they jeered at the Jews… The word jeer means to mock them...
Listen to what is said...
A. They called them Feeble Jews, unable to work or sustain themselves. They are two weak and two few. They were not worth much in the eyes of these men.
My friends we are in trouble when we criticize any of God’s creation based on our dislike or own greed...
B. Will they Restore it for themselves? Placing doubts upon them, do they really think they can do that....
Doubt is one of the greatest tools of the devil, for it causes you to not only believe in yourself, but more importantly, it causes you to not believe God.
C. Will they Sacrifice… Will they be able to put their trust back in God, and in a sense will God help them…
Sanballat is saying, no matter what you do, God isn’t here to help you, you are so terrible, He wont receive your offerings and these walls will not grow by themselves. Sanballat hopes they will believe God has rejected them… but in truth God has rejected those who oppress his people.
D. Will they revive these stone that have been burned, They are beyond repair, in verse 3, Tobiah said, Those walls are in such disrepair, so weak, a fox running across them could cause it all to come tumbling down.
All of this opposition was designed to push back against what Sanballat thought were man made plans, He is in control of the area and he is not giving that back to easily.
Opposition was coming there way, (Opposition always comes when we serve the Lord, expect it) but Nehemiah was determined to follow God’s leadership.
Listen to verse 4....
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
Nehemiah heard and knew they were despised and being talked about, gossip and hurtful words are a terrible thing my friends.
*Stop right there for a second, if there is anything we must be careful about is gossip… It tears down the children of God
(KEY) - What did Nehemiah do? Nehemiah just pushed forward and the first thing he doe is He lays all these concerned at the feet of God. My friends, prayer can never be a last resort, but instead our first response.
Now, what about Nehemiah’s prayer? It doesn’t sound like something we would hear about loving our neighbor and forgiving 70 x 7, so what is he asking for...
Nehemiah is asking that the enemies of God and their work be judged because of their sin. Nehemiah is not asking for personal vengeance, but for God to act against those who despise Him.
Nehemiah is asking the Lord to take care of the opposition...
My friends if we remain steadfast, God will take care of our opposition. He will either bring them around to his point of view, where they can be a blessing.. or if they resist, He might move them out of the way....
Stop here and ask yourself… Have you ever been guilty of standing in the way of God’s work and leadership? If you say yes, seek His forgiveness and mercy.
God can take our opposition and make them our greatest cheerleaders...
And this brings this to my second thought today.
2. A Steadfast Leader Will Have Compassion.....
2. A Steadfast Leader Will Have Compassion.....
Think about compassion my friends, I think a lot of us understand what compassion is… as a word. But how do we live it, how do we demonstrate it.
I think just about everyone is able to demonstrate compassion, in a lot of different ways.... Whether it is feeding the needy, or supporting someone difficult time… There are a lot of ways.
When I think of compassion, I think of this....
Compassion is a godlike trait that has an outward motion in two directions:
A. Compassion is seen in the physical context of helping others… we see needs and seek to address those needs..
B. Then all of that emotion, care and love must be able to reach out in a spiritual context toward the greatest needs of humanity. Their salvation and their walk with God after salvation.
And while both are important my friends I am reminded that Jesus saw the people as lost, as sheep without a shepherd..
As we look into chapter 5, we see there arise a great outcry among the people. Abd what Nehemiah heard and saw, it broke His heart.... and he has compassion among the people and sought to help.
Lets look at chapter 5, verses 1-5
1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
Several things are happening here in the text that I want to point out to you...
A. There was a great famine.... There was a great famine that kept people from having a plentiful harvest to feed their families but also to help pay for taxes imposed by the Mede-Persian Kingdom upon all its residents.
They were hungry, starving is a very difficult physical condition.
B. They had mortgaged their fields and vineyards The did this to help meet their needs, hoping to raise enough money to be sustained.
C. They borrowed money from those who were wealthy to pay the kings taxes and those in who they borrowed from charged them interest and made money off their own brothers and sisters.
D. Finally, Indentured servants.... Their own children have been forced into what is essentially slavery. They would do this for up to 6 years or until the year of Jubilee, which ever came first to repay the debts of their families.
The people were broken and in need and their were some who too advantage of this and drained the people of their possessions even more.
You see the law of God didn’t prevent a person from loaning money to another to help them, but God did forbid usury… making interest of the debt, you could not do this to a fellow Jew.
Nehemiah was heartbroken at how they treated their community. He was angry at the lack of compassion and care one group had for another.
Lets go back to verses 6-11
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”
Nehamiah is heartbroken and angry (There is that word to burn rmotionally) at how they have treated each other, how they have sold their brothers for a profit.
They were already beaten and broken down, why make it worse, why give the nations around them even more reason to ridicule them.
He contrasted their behavior with his own, how he has redeems some of the exiles who were in debt with his own money expecting nothing in return.
Stop right there and let’s address a question.... , have you had the opportunity to do good for a person, for a family… but failed, you could have but worried more about the outcome than the need.
A compassionate leader, a church must have a physical and spiritual care for the communities around them...
Nehemiah charged them with their wrong doing and called for them to make it right.. And they did..
Steadfast leaders guide us in knowing when we have failed and gives us the opportunity to make it right… it is part of our spiritual growth… We see the error, we understand what is wrong and we make a change.
Look at verses 12-13
12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
Those who were in error gave back everything and required nothing in return, not even the final payments of their debts.
You see my friends God’s people are called to help in a variety of ways, from the household of the faithful all the way down to our distant neighbor. We must have compassion for each other and those we are calling to come and see the goodness and mercy of God.
But if we are not merciful, they can never see God’s mercy.
Examine your hearts… are you compassionate? Do you exhibit compassion to others.... steadfast leasders must reveal compassion.
Now this brings me to my last thought about Nehemiah...
3. A Steadfast Leader will Lead others to praise him as the Work is completed...
3. A Steadfast Leader will Lead others to praise him as the Work is completed...
Truthfully, there are so many things we could draw out and learn from this man named Nehemiah.
He truly has a heart for God and for God’s people…
People will try to stop Nehemiah, namely Sanballat and Toboah and the other enemies of God’s people.
The people of Jerusalem will be forced to work under the threat of possible attacks as they rebuild the wall. But they push on, they have learned so much from this steadfast leader and finally.. the gates are hung, the walls have been built and repaired.
Look with me at chapter 6, verses 15-16
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
God helped them… when we are faithful my friends expect God to help.
Now lets jump over to chapter 8, verses 1-3 and then 9-12
1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
For over 160 years the word of God has been silent in that city before its people, but this day, all the people gather in front of the Water gate. ( this is the same gate Jesus leaves the city on the night of his arrest as He goes to the garden to pray).
And Ezra the scribe read the law, read the first 5 books of Mses from morning until mid day, for 6 hours the people stood to hear the word of God.
(And people get ancy if the preacher goes to long)...
The Levites walked among the people verse 7 to ensure the people understood the law that was spoken to them...
Nehemiah and Ezra declare this day to be HOLY unto the LORD. They were sent away to eat and to rejoice for they had heard the words of God spoken in their presence.
Here is a question… Do we rejoice when we hear the word or do we treat it as anything else, common...
They rejoice and shared what they had with others… for seven days they worshipped the Lord in this celebration and on the 8th day they held a solomen assembly ...
Chapter 9 verse 1 says with fasting and earth rubbed on thier heads they confessed their sins and renewed the covenant with God the Father. And they rejoiced, they began to worship and fulfill the words of the covenant as their forefathers had done.
They had returned as His people, and he as their God.
You see a steadfast leader, seeing the work is done always reminds us to not only to return to God but to rejoice in Him
How wonderful it is my friends when we see renewed relationships and renewed covenants, when people are whole again, worshipping again and serving the Lord their God.
That will make us rejoice...
You know, all this separation with Covid has pushed us apart… You might not see as close in your walk with God has you once did...
You can change that today..
You might be here and say Pastor, I don't know the Lord as my Savior, but I want to, I want to begin my walk with him...
You might be here and recognize there is something that stands in the way of your walk, a sin perhaps.. confess it today to Him, ask Him to forgive you and he will
You see, the Lord wants all of his children to come home.
A steadfast leaders pushed forward, has compassion and praise him always..
pray