The God-Focused Leader
Notes
Transcript
Intro & Context
Intro & Context
ETS: Nehemiah served Israel selflessly as their governor by recognizing the unjust practices of the rich, and calling them to repentance and restoration.
Recognize Wrongdoing
Recognize Wrongdoing
Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 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.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 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.” I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
EXP
We start in Nehemiah with the outcry of the people. But they’re not crying out against the surrounding nations. They are crying out against the injustices brought against them by their own people.
As the Jews in Jerusalem are seeking to reclaim and reestablish themselves, there’s a bad practice that is going on that is destroying and dividing the Jewish people, one against the other.
There had become a borrowing class and a lending class in Israel. The lending class had begun to take advantage of the borrowing class. Those who were borrowing had become so destitute that they were forced into losing land, going hungry, and even selling their children into slavery.
For Nehemiah to recognize wrongdoing, he had to have an objective eye for justice.
Surely there were people trying to get Nehemiah’s approval amongst the haves. Surely he had friends who were guilty. How could he be mad at his friends?
APP
Do injustices anger you? That’s called righteous anger. Now, we have to be careful with it, for the command of “in your anger, do not sin,” is still very much in play, regardless of whether our reason for being angry is in bounds or out of bounds.
For us to be able to see injustices for what they are, and not some ploy, we have to be very close to God and His Word.
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
We must always stay true to what the Bible says about right and wrong. No matter what it costs us, the right thing is always the right thing.
We have to believe in what is right more than we believe who is right.
Explain this a little bit. People can be right and people can be wrong- No one is infallible. But what is right is always right.
This isn’t to speak of similar situations that require different tactics. This is dealing with questions like, “Should I cheat on my taxes?” “Should I join all the other kids at school as they break the rules, or go out to get drunk?” “Should I engage in price-gouging at my business?” “Should I help my co-worker skirt company policy?” Do the right thing, even if it costs you. This is what Nehemiah did.
Take it another direction… What about withholding forgiveness? How often do we take offense at something our Christian brother or sister has done to us and just not let it go?
Call for Repentance, Not Loyalty
Call for Repentance, Not Loyalty
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 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. 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? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 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.” 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. 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.
EXP
After recognizing the wrongdoing, Nehemiah had a decision to make. The oppressors were extorting their brothers and sisters in Isreal through interest and bad loans.
Nehemiah could have overlooked the practice. Wouldn’t have rocked the boat with those in power.
Nehemiah could have joined in the practice. Would have gained some in-roads with the people who made all of this happen. Probably could have even learned a thing or two about the money market.
But Nehemiah did neither of these things. Nehemiah didn’t make deals with the oppressors. He didn’t whitewash their sin because they were his brothers. He called them to repent.
Again, these people were in close with Nehemiah. Nehemiah could have been set up with the in-crowd if he merely overlooked their wrongdoing! Taken care of for life. If there was a question of, “which decision is good for me?” Nehemiah would have had an easy answer. But this was not the question at hand. The only question in Nehemiah’s mind was, “Is this good?” And the answer was clearly, “No.”
Nehemiah wasn’t so concerned with whether these oppressors were in high standing, or how much money they had. He was concerned about the people experiencing the oppression.
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Do not hold a debt over your brothers and sisters that you know they cannot repay.
Business
Forgiveness
Christian, after you have heard the charges and weighed the evidence, what is your response to wrongdoing?
Does it matter who is behind the wrongdoing? If it was your friend, or someone you perceived as an authority figure, or perhaps someone you wanted to curry favor with? Would any of these things cause you to pause before calling them to repentance?
Paul has something to offer here:
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
In our world today, we see ideals too often traded for loyalty. Nehemiah did not seek to reward those who were most loyal to him, or those who worked to curry his favor. He sought only to please the Lord.
This is why ideals are so vastly important… Because our world is such a groupthink place… what do I mean by that? I mean simply that our world goes the way of the masses. Whatever the culture and the cultural elites put forth is right. Ideals pushed to the wayside, if my peer-group or my culture thinks this is right, then that is what goes. No wonder our culture is having such an identity crisis! Because there is a movement away from ideals and the wight of ethics is placed on the individual.
God is not like that. He is not swayed by the tides of culture. Heaven is not like that. Heaven is a God-think place. God shapes the culture of Heaven. He shapes the attitudes and ethics of His people. So lets allow Him to inform us and shape us.
It’s not something that just magically happens to you automatically. You’re not going to always be the Nehemiah or the oppressed. There will be times in which you are the official who is having to be called to account for your actions.
Our culture suffers from what I’ve read is called, “Main character syndrome.” Consider if you find yourself struggling with this from time-to-time. Main character syndrome is the idea that you live your life like the main character of a movie. You believe everyone and everything around you exists for you and your life narrative. People become objects to manipulate. Places become scenes for your next big move. How you treat people doesn’t so much matter in importance, as what you get out of them and how you can use them for your purposes. The main character cares about the actions and state of others insomuch as far as they, the main character, get ahead in a situation.
We are not called to be main characters at all. We serve a higher reality. Look what Nehemiah’s actions tell us about how he viewed his reality.
Go Forward Selflessly
Go Forward Selflessly
Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
EXP
Nehemiah did not seek to gain from his time as a leader over Israel. He sought the betterment of his people.
Nehemiah:
Recognized injustices
Called out his brothers who were doing harm
Stepped in as governor
Put his servants to work on the wall
Trusted God for his good as he actively sought the good of his people.
Nehemiah did not:
Use the opportunity for his own good
take the governor’s food allowance
Collect treasury from his people
Allow his position of leadership to preclude him from working on the wall.
acquire any land for himself
If you haven’t figured it out by now, let me make something very clear. These writings are Nehemiah’s memoirs, so you see Nehemiah’s name show up a lot. However. Nehemiah is NOT the main character of this story. God is.
Nehemiah knew that his life was not his own. It did not belong to him. His life was God’s, and his glory was God’s, and his whole being belonged to: God.
This is why Nehemiah started in prayer and continued in prayer. This is why he didn’t take a food allowance, or extract money from the people.
There’s a man fighting for his life right now that modeled this kind of leadership here at Cassville Baptist Church. His name is Mike Stephens. We need to continue praying for him. He wouldn’t tell you this, but he wanted to stay here a little longer. But he knew God had different plans, and he obeyed.
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What does it mean for us to be God-focused like Nehemiah? A few things:
Relentless pursuit of God. More than pleasure, entertainment, career advancement. Where does your pursuit of God come in in the midst of all those? We’ll throw unlimited time and money at fleeting pursuits.
Immovable integrity. Your character reveals the God you believe. No matter the situation, does your character hold?
God-ward glory. All the glory you would receive for your successes and efforts have God’s signature attached. Do you try to white that out, or display it proudly?
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” -Wayne Gretzky -Michael Scott
Conclusion
Conclusion
This kind of leadership does not come without abandonment and surrender of the self. That starts with Jesus. Jesus bids you come and die that you may live. Die to yourself. That’s what Nehemiah did. He died to himself so that God’s glory could shine through him. He did not know the name of Jesus, but he looked forward to that day when Messiah would come. He played a part in ushering in the new kingdom that Jesus would bring: A kingdom not with physical walls or a physical throne, but a Kingdom whose throne is the heart. A Kingdom that promises forgiveness and restoration. A Kingdom with no hierarchies, only citizens and their King.