MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(This is the third 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.)
(The Powerpoints used with this sermon are available free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request PP #317.)
INTRO: How much do you know about classical music? Let's compare the book of Nehemiah to a magnificent concerto. It has so many similarities. A concerto has a director, a soloist, & an orchestra. We have that in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is not the director. The director is God. Nehemiah is the soloist, & he does his part beautifully. And we will see that the orchestra is made up of the people of Jerusalem.
Every concerto also has a theme or a melody that is repeated over & over again in a variety of ways. Such is the case in the book of Nehemiah. The theme is Leadership.
There are other underlying themes - "prayer" & "preparation" & "organization" & "opposition". But the #1 theme that runs constantly throughout the book is the theme of "leadership."
A. Every concerto has 3 movements, contrasting with one another, building to great crescendos & to the grand finale. This is exactly what we find in the book of Nehemiah.
1. The 1st movement is titled, "Nehemiah - the Cupbearer." In chapter 1 & the first 10 verses of chapter 2 we saw Nehemiah as the Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. We also saw the tremendous burden of Nehemiah's heart to go to Jerusalem & rebuild the walls.
But before that could be accomplished, the heart of the King had to be changed. So Nehemiah prayed that God would change the heart of the King. God did & the king gave Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem.
2. Today we are beginning the second major movement of the book - as Nehemiah arrives at Jerusalem. We can almost hear the cymbals crashing & the trumpets blowing. Nehemiah is at last entering into his destiny. He has come to Jerusalem to accomplish the task that God has set before him!
So, beginning with the 11th verse of the 2nd chapter, & continuing all the way through the 6th chapter - we are going to see "Nehemiah the Builder."
3. Then, beginning in chapter 7 - all the way to the end of the book - we find the grand finale. We see "Nehemiah the Governor" as he rules over the rebuilt city of Jerusalem, & as he takes care of the many details that arise there.
B. I confess that my favorite movement in this great concerto is the 2nd one - the one on which we now are embarking. As you look at Nehemiah, builder of the wall, you will admire him. You will see a man totally committed to the Lord, constantly seeking His leadership & His guidance. You will see a man dedicated to the task before him a man God can use in a mighty & significant way.
PROP. I want to divide this morning's sermon into three sections, and to apply Nehemiah's actions in each case to our lives - and to how we should deal with the decisions and responsibilities that we face in life.
I. BEFORE ANY BUILDING, NEHEMIAH SPENT TIME IN SOLITUDE & PREPARATION
A. In vs. 11 we find these climatic words. Nehemiah says, "I went to Jerusalem." After 5 months of praying for the King's mind to be changed - after traveling 800 miles from the capital of Persia - Nehemiah finally arrives at Jerusalem.
All of his papers are in order. He has the King's permission to rebuild the walls. More than that, he is carrying a letter authorizing him to take timber from the King's forest - to take all that he needs to get the job done. He is also escorted by the King's own army officers and a company of cavalry.
Nehemiah has the permission - the materials - and the authority to get started immediately on the job to be done. But what does he do?
Nehemiah doesn't do things the way I would do them. If there is a job to be done, I am usually quick to say, "Let's get on with it! If it needs to be done, let's not waste any more time let's do it!"
But what does Nehemiah do? He writes, “I went to Jerusalem, & after staying there 3 days…” Evidently, during those 3 days Nehemiah didn't do any of those things that we would have expected him to do.
He didn't call together the leaders of Jerusalem show them the letters of authority from the King tell them about his plans to rebuild the wall. He didn't check to see how many stone masons or bricklayers there were in Jerusalem. He didn't even start ordering the materials.
B. Why? Because before any activity took place, Nehemiah wanted to spend some
time alone with God, receiving instructions from Him. And in vs. 12, Nehemiah says, “I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.”
Nehemiah needed some time alone with God. And, whether we acknowledge it or not, so do we!
ILL. Leadership in our nation today is in a sad state of affairs. We no longer have the great heroes we once had. When I was growing up we were taught to respect our leaders that they were usually men of integrity & high moral standards who could be trusted to do what was right for the community & nation.
But not anymore. We have heard their promises & their lies. We have seen them accept bribes & engage in corruptions. We hear about their immoral practices. And we have almost concluded that we cannot trust any of our leaders anymore.
APPL. Imagine what the outcome could be if our leaders, from the highest elected official to the lowest; from ministers in the pulpit to the executives of corporations – if they only spent some time alone with God, acknowledging His will, & seeking His guidance in their tasks & in their responsibilities.
C. Then Nehemiah tells us in vs’s 13-15, “By night I went out through the Valley
Gate toward the Jackal Well & the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, & its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
“Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate & the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back & reentered through the Valley Gate.”
He is examining the damage. There are places where the stones have fallen so close together that he can't even get his horse through. So he turns around & goes the opposite direction & makes a complete circuit of the city.
He is examining the damage making plans - determining needs - setting priorities. And he is doing this before any time is spent on rebuilding the wall. Before activity - a time of solitude - a time alone with God - a time of preparation & organization.
II. AFTER SOLITUDE & PREPARATION CAME STRONG MOTIVATION
Finally, the time has come to motivate the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. After Nehemiah had prayed & listened to God - after he had inspected the damage & planned the work. Now he is ready to stand before the people of Jerusalem & tell them his plans & what would have to be done.
A. Listen carefully to his speech. It is a masterpiece of motivation. Vs. 17 says,
“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, & its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, & we will no longer be in disgrace.’”
Notice the words he used "we" & "us" & "we" again. You see, Nehemiah is motivating the people toward work & he is identifying himself with their situation.
If Nehemiah had not identified himself with them he would have squelched their motivation. If Nehemiah had said, "Well, folks, you sure got yourselves into a mess. Your wall is a disaster. You need to get busy & rebuild that wall. And I will be in my office if you need me."
If Nehemiah had tried that, what would the people have done? They would have said, "Phooey on you, Nehemiah. We're not going to rebuild that wall."
But Nehemiah didn't do that. He said, “You see the trouble we are in…let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.” “So that we will no longer be laughed at or made fun of." He identified himself with the people & he motivated them.
B. There are 2 types of motivation external motivation & internal motivation.
ILL. It is nighttime & you say to your children, "It is time to take your baths." "Aww, mom, we don't want to take a bath." So you come back with a little external motivation: "Tell you what if you take your bath & scrub from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet I'll let you stay up & watch TV for an extra hour." So off they go to take their baths. That is external motivation.
They come home from school with a bad report card. So you try external motivation: "Tell you what, I'll give you $1 for every 'A' you get." The next report card comes back with a dozen "A"s because of external motivation.
We go out into life, & our salary becomes that external motivation. The boss says, "You're doing a good job. I tell you what, if you continue like this I'll give you a 10% raise" - external motivation. But watch out - external motivation can snowball on you.
For example, what has happened to the "good guys" who played baseball & football for the fun of it because they enjoyed getting out & hitting & throwing & catching the ball? They’re gone!
Now it’s "You pay me 5 or 10 or 20 million dollars a year or I won't play!" That is what happens with external motivation. It never stops - it keeps getting bigger & bigger until finally you can no longer contain it.
Notice what Nehemiah did: He did not offer one piece of external motivation. He could have said, "Folks, we need to rebuild this wall. I tell you what - if we complete the job in less than 3 months we’ll charter 5 or 6 buses. Then we will all travel down to the Dead Sea for 2 weeks of fun in the sun.
“Everyone who does his part & gets through early will get 1st Class accommodations - & those who just barely get done before the deadline will get 2nd Class accommodations.”
He could have done that, I suppose, & maybe it would have worked - but it would have worked for only a brief period of time.
C. But what did Nehemiah do? He did not offer any external motivation - what he offered was all internal. He said, "You see the desperate situation we are in. We’re in trouble. We’re a disgrace."
He gives them reasons for rebuilding the walls: "Because you are God's people - because this is the Holy City - because the rest of the world is making fun of God's Holy City - let's rebuild the walls!"
ILL. My favorite example of a motivator is Winston Churchill. Have you ever read his speeches? Churchill had nothing to offer except internal motivation - that which would touch & grab the hearts & loyalty of his people.
Listen to him during some of the darkest days of WW2: "I have nothing to offer but blood & sweat, toil & tears . . ." Again, “We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields & in the streets. We shall fight in the hills & we shall never surrender!"
He proclaimed: "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long & hard the road may be for without victory there is no survival."
It almost makes you want to get in the battle too, doesn't it? And he offered nothing but blood & sweat & toil & tears & victory! That is internal. That is the best kind of motivation.
D. Jesus used internal motivation. He challenged people with these words, "Take up your cross & follow me." Again, "Come, follow me, & I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)
And there were results! We see it in the lives of the apostles & in the life of Saul, the persecutor of Christians, as he becomes Paul, the apostle. Paul writes earnestly: "I have been crucified with Christ, & I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)
How did the people respond to Nehemiah? Look at vs. 18: “I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me & what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work”
III. AFTER PREPARATION & MOTIVATION THERE AROSE OPPOSITION
But I must warn you, whenever people are highly motivated to do something there will inevitably be those who oppose what is being done.
A. Listen to some familiar names in vs. 19: “But when Sanballat the Horonite,
Tobiah the Ammonite official & Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked & ridiculed us. ‘What is this you are doing?’ they asked. ‘Are you rebelling against the king?’”
But Nehemiah doesn’t let their criticism stop the work that God wanted done. In fact, he even issued a get tough policy. Listen to vs. 20: "I answered them by saying, 'The God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’"
Now that is leadership at its best. Nehemiah didn't lose his temper & say, "I’m in charge here & we will rebuild this wall, & you’re not going to stop me!"
No, Nehemiah said, "We are servants of God. This is His will, & He will see that it is a success no matter what you may say or do."
B. Maybe we’ll never face the kind of opposition that Nehemiah faced. Maybe,
instead, people will just ignore us, try to freeze us out or seek to discourage us.
ILL. Timmy was a shy, quiet little boy. One day he came home & told his mother that he wanted to make valentines for everyone in his class. When he said that her heart sank. She thought, “I wish he wouldn’t do that!” because she had seen how they treated Timmy.
She had watched the children as they walked home from school. Her Timmy was always a few steps behind everybody else. The other children laughed & talked & hung on to each other. But Timmy was never included. They completely ignored him.
Nevertheless, she decided to go along with his wishes. So she purchased the paper & glue & colored markers. For 3 whole weeks, night after night, Timmy worked on the 28 valentines he was making.
Valentine’s Day dawned, & Timmy was beside himself with excitement. He carefully inserted each valentine in its proper envelope, put them in a bag, & hurried out the door.
After he had gone, his mother decided to bake him his favorite kind of cookies & have them warm & ready with a nice cool glass of milk when he came home from school. She just knew that he would be coming home disappointed.
Maybe the cookies would ease the pain a little. It hurt her to think that he wouldn’t get many valentines – maybe none at all.
That afternoon she had the cookies & milk ready on the table. When she heard the children outside she looked out the window. Sure enough, here they came, laughing & having the best time. And as always, there was Timmy all alone in the rear.
But he seemed to be walking a little faster than usual, heading right straight toward home. Noticing that his arms were empty as she had feared, she choked back her tears, fully expecting him to start crying as soon as he got inside the house.
“Mommy has some of your favorite cookies & a glass of milk for you on the table,” she said. But he hardly heard her words. He just marched on by, & she heard him saying, “Not a one – not a single one!” Her heart broke in sympathy for him. And then he repeated it, “I didn’t forget a one, not a single one!”
CONCL. About 2,000 years ago God looked at a world that was much like the wall around Jerusalem. Satan had torn down all that God had placed so wonderfully in this world that He had created. People were lost in sin, with no direction or meaning in life.
Then God sent His Son & the Gospel was preached the church was formed & it swept across the world like a mighty rushing fire. The world was “turned upside down” for God!
Centuries have come & gone & the flame still burns on. But the need of our time is for more Nehemiahs people who will spend some time with God in solitude who will stand up & motivate people to rebuild their lives to rebuild the church & who will then point their finger toward God in heaven & give Him the honor & the glory.
