Month: February 2014

The problem with home repairs is that, though I enjoy doing them, it is often a long time between when I begin a project, and when I can complete it. Sometimes that causes me trouble. I am nearing the completion of an upstairs bathroom at my house. I tore it out a long time ago, because it was hideously ugly, and my wife wanted something new. I only get a few hours a week, on a good week, to work on it, and the project has dragged on much longer than I wanted it to – but that is just the way it is. Since it has been out of the way, we were able to manage the mess and keep the project going, and now it is nearing its finish. There is a problem… I have to restart the work to finish the wiring in the attic, and I cannot remember what my careful markings on the wires all mean. I had a code… but now I don’t remember what it was…It is going to take some work.

Did you ever put together something complicated? Have you ever found yourself walking away from the mess because you are lost between step 412 and 413, and can’t figure out how the dumb thing fits together? I have often said: “There is very little dogged determination cannot overcome.” It is true. The issue is we have to overcome the defeat in our MIND before we overcome the defeat in the PROBLEM. Let me show you an illustration of how to get to the heart of a project for God, and get beyond being befuddled by the complexity of our problems…It begins by recognizing a truth about any work God places in our heart to accomplish for Him:

Key Principle: The real work of God is not simply about building up assets, it is about changing people.

Before we can explain, let’s look at the people we are talking about in the story…We have been following the ancient journal of a wine steward of Persia, as he followed God’s burden and secured his king’s permission to go back and rebuild and re-secure his home town, and the capitol of his people, Jerusalem. He was not the first to arrive to do this project. In fact, two other groups over the last century had returned to face this challenge, but no one had completed the tasks until Nehemiah got there in the middle 440’s BCE. When he arrived, Nehemiah inherited leadership over three distinct groups of returnees to the land:

• The returnees from 536-516 BCE, who lived and worked under Zerubbabel the governor, and were chastised by Haggai the prophet to get the work finished.

• The returnees from 458 BCE, who came to the land from Babylon with Ezra, the revivalist.

• The returnees that arrived in about 448 BCE with Nehemiah, the group most invested in following the leader of our story.

Add to that, each group of returnees found some Judeans who did not leave in the exile, as well as facing a number of men of other ethnicities that had no vested interested in seeing Jerusalem become strong and vital again – and the contest began.

Let me say it clearer: Nehemiah had a team, but more were against him that were for him. That didn’t stop him, because God called him, and God enabled him. That shouldn’t imply that it was EASY or UNHASSLED – it clearly was NOT – based on the record he left us. In fact, Nehemiah (like many who do a work for God) faced more days of TROUBLE, than he did of VICTORY. He faced deliberately set traps and contests by other locals.

The truth is that any time we attempt to do what God has laid on our heart, we face the testing of fire by God’s enemy, as he stirs opposition. Part of the purpose of this journal, preserved in the archives of God’s Word, was to let every believer KNOW THIS – we have a spiritual foe that is set to stir up trouble. Look at his methods, you will need to be able to recognize them. He began with criticism of the work by men who were positioned to offer discouragement – but that didn’t stop the work. The criticism morphed into planted stories of gossip in the ranks of Nehemiah’s followers – but that test was overcome by a direct answer of the leader. Nehemiah was then challenged by the draining of his energy through the complaints of mishandled people involved in the work, and even faced personal temptation in the lure of gain as his spiritual enemy dangled benefits in his face. By the time we opened the story in chapter six, Nehemiah faced a trio of very personal troubles – slander, private intimidation and public threats – all meant to produce FEAR in the leader and get him to make mistakes from which he could not recover. In the end – the wall got completed in fifty-two days. The leader, and the people he oversaw could celebrate the completion, and God’s protection.

For some that is the most memorable part of the journal, but it is good to recognize there are still chapters seven through thirteen to navigate – and they offer a window into a different set of leadership problems. Let me use the words of another Pastor that explain:

Pastor Jerry Shirley wrote: “Nehemiah is all about building a wall around Jerusalem right? No, only chapters 1-6 are about that. The people existed for the wall in those first few chapters. They gave their time, talents, and treasures to make it happen. But the remaining chapters show the wall existing for the people. It’s not about the wall, but about what goes on inside the wall. The city was in ruins. They had a wall to prevent invasion, but inside was rubble, and they were supposed to live and worship there. But they had a grand vision of what it could be once again for the glory of God!” (sermon central illustrations).

Remember: The real work of God is not simply about building up assets, it is about changing people.

Assets make things possible, but people make ministry happen. We may meet comfortably in a building, but the building is not the work – only the place the work is designed to be planned, and some of the work is executed. Look at how the real work began…

Passing the command: A leader focused on setting key players to move forward (7:1).

Nehemiah 7:1 After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed.

The point of organizing the work isn’t for THE LEADER to be the “end all and be all of the work” – but to train others to assume duties as God has gifted them. Note the leader was installed after the crowning purpose of the work became functional – the worship at God’s Temple. The purpose of the work was never the walls, it was WORSHIP at Jerusalem, and this is nowhere clearer than in this verse. Nehemiah STARTED with Temple assignments, because the heart of the city was to restart the worship pattern and replant the high calling of following God!

Until a man or woman recognizes the place of WORSHIP in their life, they struggle to pull the priorities of God in line. Most of us begin our lives as toddlers, patterned by our parents and family. We move to the school phase, and unless we are a part of a vibrant Christian family, we won’t be challenged to place WORSHIP at the center of our life. School won’t teach us that in these United States. We graduate, and even the Christian’s around us will seem to say more to us about furthering our education and our career, than anyone will mention our walk with God. Marriage is often next, and many young people focus on that after school and first career steps. What I am saying is this: Many of our very own Christian kids don’t get challenged to think about how their walk with God informs their other choices until they are married and perhaps on their first or second child. Sadly, half of life has passed before many place WORSHIP in the center of their life. If my life was given BY GOD to SERVE GOD through my other choices, doesn’t that pattern seem wrong?

Nehemiah STARTED by appointing those who were Divinely enabled to carry out the worship at the Temple. Levites were enabled and appointed based on birth. Musicians were enabled by skills and then augmented by endless hours of practice. Gatekeepers were trusted men of known integrity who were given the keys to the city, and the charge to keep everyone safe against the long list of enemies we have seen grow in the last six chapters. Say it this way: Safety and Security Personnel, Sound people and singer to lead public worship and Servants to provide the services of worship – each were appointed as the restart began.

Placing the pattern: A leader installed long term leaders and recognized them (7:2).

Nehemaih 7:2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.

In my tenure at the church where I serve we must have echoed one thousand times these words: “Everything rises or falls on leadership!” Nehemiah lived this truth, and he passed this truth to the long term inhabitants of Jerusalem. No work of God is done by the headless. Look at how he evaluated the potential of men in choosing the leaders of the people… He chose a BROTHER – someone he knew intimately well in life, and he chose a man he observed over time to be God-fearing and an authentic example of integrity. He chose men who were properly fearful and enduringly faithful.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the grave of John Knox (reformer of the C16th century), you will notice the inscription of the man who stared down his queen (known as “Bloody Mary”) with a message he held in his heart from God. The simple inscription says it all: “He feared man so little because he feared God so much.”

Men and women: fear is a part of our lives. As we grow wiser, we know that no matter how strong we are – there is one stronger who can hurt us. No matter how capable we are – there are others much more clever that can hoodwink us. No matter how much we have prepared – there are always emergencies that can take more from us than we could ever prepare for…and so we learn to FEAR. We dread that we cannot control life much at all. We dread, but we are not wrong. Solomon made clear that as age increases, so do our fears.

David Harrell wrote a book telling the story of his father, Edgar Harrell. Edgar was one of the 300 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the last US ship sunk by enemy contact in WW2. 600 of the 900 men who survived the ship’s sinking were stranded in the water for five days – many with only a life vest – all facing thirst, hunger, injuries, dehydration and sharks. They all came face to face with fear and their own mortality. Edgar testifies of those days alone in the ocean, “Clearly there were no atheists in the water that day. Gone was that damnable attitude of pride that deceives men into thinking that there is no God, or if there is, they don’t need Him. When a man is confronted with death, it is the face of Almighty God he sees, not his own. We were all acutely aware of our Creator during those days and nights.” (David Harrell, “Out of the Depths,” Xulon Press, 2005, 112-113).

Let me be clear: Atheists in university armchairs don’t impress me – atheists in foxholes do. It is easy to treat life in the theoretical when your life is full, and your strength is fill and health is fine. Walk the cancer ward and look for the atheist evangelists… you won’t find them. That wouldn’t be a place they would find a following. When men and women graphically face their mortality, they yearn for more than the days they have left, because, as Solomon reminds: “God set eternity in their hearts”.

I am again impressed that Nehemiah chose men with deeply reverent character – for a leader who is seeking God is powerful and purposeful. The heart of the work is the leader, and the heart of the leader must be GOD’S – for the work to be all it was meant to become. Nehemiah was the leader to get the wall built, but not the leader to carry the work long term – that was left to another. Isn’t it interesting that in all of Nehemiah’s labors, he never forgot the success of the mission was not ultimately judged by what HE could accomplish, but by how much he depended upon God, and how competent he left the generation to follow him! He was a man who knew the two secrets of long term success: DEPENDENCE and DISCIPLE MAKING.

Protection of the city: A leader set procedures that protected the people (7:3).

After turning his attention from worship and leadership, he focused on policies that would offer the basic protections necessary to get the people to thrive in the city. He wrote:

Nehemiah 7:3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.

We all have gifts and personalities. Personally, I like to create, but I don’t like to maintain. I am not a technocrat, nor a train conductor. Pastor Matt keeps the clocks wound and the chairs set in this ministry – that is NOT something I would be particularly good at. I prefer designing the train, not keeping it running it on a schedule. For me, policies would not be as fun to put together as the physical component of the walls, yet they were every bit as essential to the success of the venture!

One of the works of a leader must be to address policy development, and give time to making the expectations and rules known and clear. Note the care with which Nehemiah made sure the specific people who were responsible were instructed in specific work – gatekeepers bar doors before they leave their post. Further, he made sure the security forces were increased in size to take on the task of guarding the city properly.

There are all kinds of issues in a work created from God’s burden and built amidst the enemy’s opposition – not the least of which is securing the work long term. In a church, that includes making clear who is responsible for what area of ministry, and placing careful parameters on the instructors and instruction of God’s Word. Some will want to be approved as teachers that simply should not be, and some will insert teachings in their respective groups that should not be there. That is why we have a statement of faith around which we gather. We are not trying to say that everyone in the world need agree with our view – but rather that we have honestly come to some conclusions about what God’s Word teaches in some areas – and we have made them clear to keep parameters around our work. That isn’t legalism – it is the proper work of policy making. Though our list of teachings isn’t infallible – since we aren’t and we made it – it does reflect our best current understanding of many things from the Word.

In the case of Nehemiah, it was right and proper for him to establish the WHO, the WHAT and the HOW of protection – in order to get the restart of the city secured.

Problem of the city: A leader renewed evaluation of the difficulties ahead (7:4).

Facing the problems that come with the task are part of the leader’s lot. He had to take a serious look at what he had to work with. He wrote:

Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.

It occurs to me that each phase of the work’s growth required a new evaluation of problems and challenges to help plan the next step. Flexible planning and careful evaluation are essential leadership tools! In his case, the city lacked the number of people for it to regain strength and become vital to the Jewish people yet again. For every leader that can decide to build the broken walls, we need ten who can be flexible enough to re-evaluate periodically and make decisions based on new priorities.

It is worth noting that Nehemiah recognized the need for the community to be vibrant in order for his mission to rebuild the city to be maintained. Hermits may live out purity, but they don’t produce a believing community until they embrace others. Caves of solitude don’t engender community and strength. God works through interconnected relationships. He described His work in our day as through a BODY that was joined together. Building a wall got Nehemiah a fortress; building a community would get his people a future.

Plan of the new settlement: A leader didn’t just note problems – he plotted solutions (7:5-6).

Once again we see a familiar phrase in the journal…

Nehemiah 7:5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there: 6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,

Look at the components of the plan of Nehemiah. First, he felt God moving him toward the assembly of people and a new census to ascertain facts about WHERE THEY TRULY WERE. Next, he searched to find a record of the past groups of returnees, so that he would have FACTS about who owned what – and not be led by emotions and manipulations. While is it clear that God’s Spirit continued to lead the project, it is also true that God’s leader accumulated the relevant FACTS to lead. Emotions aren’t the basis of good decision making – facts and documentation are. Since the basis for participation in the Temple and even living in Jerusalem was the purity of the bloodline (as Scripture would have it), he needed to determine by the records what met the standard of the Word of God! The strong standard of purity cannot simply be left to the compassionate feelings of the leaders, it must square with the Word. Failure to take a strong stand in relation to those who were allowed by God to locate their families in the city would lead to the work’s destruction. Nehemiah could not OUT OF LOVE OR TOLERANCE change God’s Word and then expect God’s blessings – and he knew that. The solution lay first in the documented facts, and then comparing them to the Scripture.

People under restriction: A leader couldn’t make those who didn’t fit the parameters happy at the expense of the work (7:7-65).

Scripture taught that the inhabitants of the city and the workers of the Temple had to have a certain pedigree. It wasn’t Nehemiah’s job to convince God that His Word wasn’t fair, but rather to fit into what God wrote. His journal recorded the careful procedures of gathering and gaining a census of the people:

Nehemiah 7:7 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah): The list of the men of Israel: 8 the descendants of …26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah…39 The priests… 43 The Levites…44 The musicians:..45 The gatekeepers…46 The temple servants…57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon…60 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon…61 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel…63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 64 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.

Nehemiah followed the form that showed a knowledge of the earlier record. The people were listed (as in Ezra 2 from generations before) as follows: Leaders (7); By families (8-24); By cities (25-38); By priests (39-42); Levites (43); Singers (44); Porters (45); Temple servants (46-56); Solomonic servants (57-60); Returnees without pure descent records (61-65).

In order to help focus the group on the future, it is important for them to carefully review the past, and link their next steps with what God had already done with them. The path forward is a continuation of something begun before them, and something that is bigger than them. People need a compelling reminder of the past and their linkage to it to see the broader scope of decisions. Would the people see their present and future challenges in light of their heritage? That was the main burden of the rest of the book of Nehemiah!

We live in a generation so purely interested in their own happiness, they deficit spend wildly out of their children’s pockets. We seem to have little negative reaction to the notion that our radical social experiments that depart from centuries of societal convention in areas of marriage and family may have devastating effects on our children. Our society doesn’t care. We want constant entertainment, constant prosperity and a never ending indulgence of self – children be damned. I don’t think that is too harsh – I think it fits the facts of what we are doing as a society. Here is my question: Is sufficient study being presented to show that our new definitions will not terribly disrupt the lives of our children?

Let me say it another way. If we could prove that NO FAULT DIVORCE led to easy ways to walk away from commitments, and we could PROVE that a generation of children were badly wounded by that, would America be ready to return to a legally binding and arduous form of divorce? I don’t think so. We want what we want – even if it kills our future.

Why am I taking the time to say that? Because that is EXACTLY what leaders do. They don’t go with the flow of the popular if the popular will destroy the future. They plot a course that is healthy and survivable. Let me offer one. As believers and followers of Jesus – reject the world’s definition of marriage as a civil contract. Look at it Biblically, as a sacred covenant made before God. Grab the hand of your spouse, look into their eyes and tell them that you will be there until you die – not because they are so cute – but because God wrote your names together in His book above. You cannot keep the other person in the marriage if they choose to act like the world – but you can choose not to act like the world in front of your spouse during your marriage. If enough believers do this – the world will see a difference in what we mean by MARRIAGE. That is a practical solution that considers the Biblical definition – and we should do no less.

Precision of Records: A leader keeps a proper account (7:66-69).

All through this journal, you have to admire the care with which Nehemiah kept track of things. He wrote:

Nehemiah 7:66 The whole company numbered 42,360, 67 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. 68 There were 736 horses, 245 mules,a 69435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

His record revealed three important components of the work:

• Number of core group: 42,360 people
• Number of servants: 7,337; choir: 245
• Number of livestock- horses: 736; mules: 245; camels: 435; asses: 6,720

I am not completely sure why it is, but I have discovered in ministry that some individuals and even churches fear records. Of course, records can reflect a lack of growth or an uncomfortable decline at times. At the same time, I agree with Carl Rogers famous quote: “The facts are always friendly, every bit of evidence one can acquire, in any area, leads one that much closer to what is true.” Good leaders have mechanisms to “keep track” and they pay attention to what they are tracking.

No work will ever be properly organized without an accounting of people and assets – that is just common sense. At the same time – numbers aren’t the whole story. God started the church with some grand scale of conversions, from Acts two and the three thousand. At the same time, only a handful of people went out to start the majority of the churches across Asia Minor, Bithynia, Pontus, Macedonia, Achaia, etc. Numbers help give us a sense of support, but they don’t make the work progress. A few with a passion to participate will quickly exceed the work of a stadium of spectators. Don’t forget that a small group of highly committed people was the beginning point for most every great work in human history!

Price of the new settlement (7:70-73)

How is it that the people involved in the work, after hours and hours of labor, would now be called upon to GIVE to the support of the work? The answer is SIMPLE- they knew they had what they had because GOD GAVE IT TO THEM. Look at the journal:

Nehemiah 7:70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. 71 Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests. 73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.

Three things you will notice right away:

• The governor got out front: good leaders give first!
• The chiefs of families got on board: Key families signaled acceptance!
• The rest of people got involved – because no one felt exempt.

The key to enthusiastic stewardship is thankful recognition that God has blessed us! Great leaders have a great capacity to show thankfulness:

In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”

He wasn’t the only leader like they that we have had. When George Washington was about 20 years old he wrote this in his prayer journal:

“O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon. I have heard thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer, so that, O Lord, tho’ I have done thy work, yet it hath been so negligently that I may rather expect a curse than a blessing from thee.” [George Washington’s Prayer Journal From William J. Johnson George Washington, the Christian (New York: The Abingdon Press, New York & Cincinnati, 1919), pp. 24-35. From a sermon by David Scudder, Prayer is Seeking Our Father, 9/11/2011]

Great leaders get that way because they understand WHO they work for – God and His people. The work isn’t just about the accomplishment followed by the accolades – but about the people themselves.

The real work of God is not simply about building up assets, it is about changing people.

The churches of our day cannot simply content themselves with full buildings and nice things…we are in the invitation to transformation by God business –and our self-evaluations must be based on how effectively THAT OBJECTIVE is being met.

I want to ask you a personal question as we begin this lesson: What are you most AFRAID of? In the world of psychological disorders, there are literally hundreds of phobias that are both named and have a diagnosis standard, with most offering a treatment regimen. Grab any medical dictionary and you will be amazed at the number of fears we have added to life over the centuries. Here are just a few from that list that should make you think about how unsafe life on this planet must really be!

• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning
• Acrophobia – fear of heights
• Agrizoophobia – fear of wild animals
• Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning
• Autophobia – fear of being alone or isolated or of one’s self
• Barophobia – fear of gravity
• Frigophobia – fear of becoming too cold
• Gamophobia – fear of marriage
• Gerontophobia – fear of growing old
• Globophobia – fear of balloons, or balloons popping
• Hemophobia, haemophobia – fear of blood
• Ichthyophobia – fear of fish
• Melissophobia – fear of bees
• Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt

Some I just never thought about:

• Omphalophobia – fear of navels
• Ophthalmophobia – fear of being stared at
• Papaphobia – fear of the Pope

And, of course, my favorite phobia:

• Phobophobia – fear of having a phobia!

It seems like many of us live in FEAR, and some of us are AFRAID that we might someday be AFRAID! I mention this short sample list, because FEAR is the essential subject of Nehemiah 6. Reduce the chapter down, and that is what the whole thing is about: planting fear, manipulating by producing fear, and distracting God’s servants doing God’s work through fear…First, let’s set the chapter before we get ahead of ourselves…We have been looking at the ancient journal of a Jewish wine steward who grew up in the exile of the Persian Empire about four hundred and fifty years before Jesus, and following God’s work in his life over these past lessons. As we followed the adventure from God’s burden on his heart to the journey into Jerusalem to do God’s bidding, we noted this is really a journal of leadership. In fact, there is perhaps no better place in the Bible to see a leader work from the call of God to the construction of God’s work.

The truth is that any time you attempt to do what God has laid on your heart, you will run face to face into God’s enemy, and he will stir up opposition. Every believer needs to KNOW THIS and reckon it into the plan of the work. In this journal, we have seen that spiritual foe stir up trouble in the form of testing against the leader and his workers. It began with criticism of the work, and morphed into planted stories of gossip in the ranks of Nehemiah’s followers. It was further challenged by the draining of his energy through the complaints of abused and battered people involved in the work, and then the lure of gain in the heart of the leader himself. By the time we open chapter six, we see the four previous attacks have been increased in severity, as Nehemiah now faced a trio of very personal troubles – slander, private intimidation and public threats. These all had one thing in common: they were meant to produce FEAR.

How do I know? If you skim the chapter, you will see the words in 6:9 “to frighten us”, and in 6:14 “to frighten me” and again in the close of the chapter in 6:19 “to frighten me”. Nehemiah made no mistake about what the enemy was trying to do. He wanted to stop the progress by bringing fear. He used unsealed letters, unpublished threats and a constant undercurrent of evil men speaking evil words…

Key Principle: Any fear that is greater than the awesome reverence of God acts as an idol of ungodly distraction to God’s people.

The Hebrew word that is used in different forms is the word “Yiraw”. It is used in two different senses in the Bible – depending on WHO is fearing. The very same “fear of the Lord” that anticipates with dread facing a Creator from within the heart of the unbeliever, is in us as we follow the Lord – not as dread, but as an awestruck wonder of the Creator’s magnificence. What is dread for one is reverence for the other. God’s love casts out the dread when we kneel before Him, and replaces it with awe.

Let’s look at the “terrible trio” of potentially fear producing problems with a special eye toward God’s leader – and how he handles each issue, beginning with SLANDER…

Test #5: “Enduring Slander” (Nehemiah 6:1-9)

6:1 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. 5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.” 8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” 9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

The Setting of Opposition (6:1,2)

Look in the opening two verses (6:1,2) at the setting of the opposition. Three items are revealed:

1. Wall breaches stopped – every gap was closed with the exception of the gateless doorways.

2. The constructed and fortified gates were not in place (so they were still vulnerable).

3. A conference was called by the opponents of the work.

The simple truth was this: Since God’s declared objective was the completion of the work, Satan’s objective was distracting from the work’s completion, by slowing or (if possible) stopping the work for a time – in the hopes of eventually destroying both the work AND the workers. The fact that Nehemiah included in his journal the setting of the call to a conference was a specific indicator that he looked with discernment to recognize the enemy’s objectives – and thereby avoided falling into them or feeding them! This is the first truth of the passage – a believer must recognize the enemy’s strategy. Everything that crosses your path during your mission from God will either be the Holy One’s direction or the enemy’s distraction. Every problem will either be a platform to show God’s work in and through you, or it will require you to avoid it altogether. A mature believer must discern the ORIGIN of a test by discerning the PURPOSE of the test.

Remember the Apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesian church regarding the goal of maturity in this regard? He wrote in Ephesians 4:11 “And He [Jesus] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ…”

If you look closely at the words of the Apostle, they are a warning to recognize strategies, and discern truth. Nehemiah saw through the plan, and that maturity allowed the work to continue unabated. Notice the simple end to verse two: “But they were scheming to harm me.” Often God provides an inner sense of danger or caution that a mature believer can heed. The call is not to overreact, nor under react, but walk circumspectly! You have an enemy, and you must not think that evil distractions arrived at your door by mere coincidence.

The Sounds of Distraction (6:3,4)

Notice verse three the sounds of distraction in the repeated requests that became as annoying as a gnat flying around your face doing yard work. (6:3,4) The fact is that we cannot effectively ignore the problem because the enemy is too persistent at the task of interruption, but we would be wise to keep the priority on obedience to the Word and fervor in the work. A second leadership challenge, behind looking with discernment is to effectively and consistently measure the critical nature of our time and be prepared to choose God’s priorities.

The Slander of the Opposition (6:5-7a)

Look for a moment at the slander of the Opposition (6:5-7a). It included an open letter that cited a false motivation – a lust for power – and included open lies about the work. Here is one of the tell-tale signs of the enemy’s work…LIES. When the Father of Lies touches a work, he will leave a trail of lies behind. It is wise to know the content of what is alleged and by whom, before we take much leadership time to try to and answer lies and objections.

Let me offer you a secret that has helped me decide what to answer and how to answer it as a matter of leadership. If someone questions something we are doing, I look at that as an opportunity to offer counsel and instruction. If they criticize it, I look at that as positive feedback and try to figure out what we can learn from it. If they LIE about what is happening, I evaluate that as an attack from the enemy using a weak brother or sister – and I gauge response accordingly. Sometimes I simply don’t respond at all. Sometimes I make boundaries clear.

Recently a man came to me and asked why I don’t use the “actual Word of God” – by which he meant his preferred version. I took a few minutes and explored two things: His knowledge of the subject for which he had such a strong opinion, and why he felt he needed to confront me in it. When I saw the spirit of the man seems utterly unteachable, I made clear that I was not going to be silent if he lobbied the hallways and made trouble. He disappeared a week later. If he was truly interested in instruction, or wanted to offer helpful ways to help us grow, that would be fine. I believe he was a weak brother under the influence of the enemy to distract believers from the work we have been called to do in this place – which is “make disciples that make disciples”. His initial approach to me signaled that there was no real desire to learn about the subject he brought up. He knew what he thought, and he felt the right of the prophet to stand and pronounce us wrong, but he was not interested enough to involve himself in the process of building anything. There are many self-proclaimed prophets that distract the work of God today, and no good leader can afford to let them run roughshod over the people of God and slow down the call of that people.

The Summons of the Opposition (6:7b)

Look at the summons of the opposition for a moment and consider the sheer “chutzpah” (guts) of someone asking, “In spite of the fact that I have spread lies and rumors about you, let’s sit down privately and “discuss” your mission!” Seriously? Here is the truth: We need not feed the fire of the opposition by communicating more with those who are clearly trying to ensnare us! If a person is open to God’s work, then there is little we should be unwilling to do to make it plain to him. If, on the other hand, they show themselves to be people setting a trap for the unsuspecting, don’t waste time placating them.

The Sure Response of the Leader (6:8-9)

I love that our text offers the sure response of the leader (6:8-9). I call it a SURE RESPONSE because it was delivered without a shaky voice. Nehemiah flatly denied the false charge openly, because the charge was made openly. He returned lies promptly to their place of origin, and then turned to God with a response of his heart. Look closely at the two elements of his “breath of fresh prayer”:

• He acknowledged the objective was to promote fear and discouragement.
• He made clear there was a choice – do the work or slow the work.

Don’t neglect to spot some of the ways the enemy uses intimidation as they are revealed in the text:

1. He cites “cloudy” sources (6:6) “It is reported..”

2. He uses exaggeration and inaccuracy surrounded by baseless rumors.

The point was simple: a GOOD LEADER will never respond at the expense of the work, nor will he respond ONLY to the accuser, the issue isn’t over until you’ve laid it to rest in God’s hands! The last verse (6:9) may not be clear – so let us make it clear – IT WAS A PRAYER. He was talking to God in his journal. He knew how to get peace – it was by taking the complaints and problems to the ONE Who was able to help him get settled and stay with the work.

That opened the door to the next test…

Test #6: “Facing a Personal Threat” (Nehemiah 6:10-14)

This time, the test was fired directly at Nehemiah’s personal sense of safety…

6:10 When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” 11 But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” 12 Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered [his] prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He was hired for this reason: that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. 14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were [trying] to frighten me.

Let’s break the narrative into five points that will help us unravel the problem:

The Disturbance Point (6:10a).

First, let’s look at the disturbance point (6:9). It is clear in reading the whole chapter that fear is the objective, and that spying (as in 6:18-19) and lying (6:6-7) were the methods employed to throw Nehemiah off his planned execution of God’s work. Look carefully at what seems WRONG IN verse 10. Nehemiah went to see a man who was CONFINED AT HOME, but the man called for a conference OUTSIDE HIS HOME because of the word of impending danger to Nehemiah. The situation just didn’t look right on the surface. A good leader cannot let the emotion of the danger blind his senses and force his actions.

The Deception Attempt (6:10b)

The tenth verse continues with the key request that was a rouse. “Let us meet together” was not the point of the proposition. The idea was to get Nehemiah to do SOMETHING GOD DIDN’T ALLOW, so that he could be blamed and defamed. To pull off the deception, Nehemiah’s enemies paid off a “prophet for hire” and gave him the words of a death threat. Note the “religious” nature of the deception. The enemy often uses the “religious sounding words” to mask the “right thing to do”. The issue was not complicated, but the enemy counted on the emotion to throw off Nehemiah. When you cut through it, the issue is this: Will I follow God’s Word to do God’s plan and trust God’s protection? If I believe that I must violate God’s stated Word – in this case the violation of a civil ruler entering the holy space of the Temple – then I close God’s chief source of direction and revelation goes “dark”. How can I follow God forward if I ignore what He already told me to do?

You want to build a big building to house your ministry. A man offers money, but you know the source is from a shady business deal. Do you do wrong to do right? God’s clear answer is no.

The Decision Explained (6:11)

Nehemiah answered directly, “Should a man that represents God by doing the work He called me to do run for my life and in the process break the Law of God? Of course not!” He knew exactly what to do personally – he set the question before the revealed Word of God, and that was enough to get a straight answer. His simple question was this: “Am I allowed to do this?” If not, the choice is wrong no matter how tempting it is! This is the logic the modern church needs to recognize. The answer to what we do will not be found in the badly formed moral conscience of the populous. We shouldn’t look to the polls to figure out right and wrong ways forward – the answers that light the path are found from the same lamp that lit the way generations ago – the Word of God.

The Discredited Prophet (6:12-13)

When the standard is the Word of God, and it has been carefully considered, the messenger’s integrity can be easily measured. Look at the perception of God’s leader. He said: “The man was not from God, he was the source of the so-called prophetic words, he was hired by enemies, he was trying to get me to be afraid, he wanted me to SIN to discredit me…” He seems to have seen all the way through the issue and made a thorough assessment. God gave us the Word to judge the events and the Spirit of offer inner cautions to slow us from danger, but we must choose a path of spiritual sensitivity. Fear is a terrible motivator for right decision making, so it is one that our enemy often chooses to move us in the wrong direction. In the life of a leader, the fear can be for the future of his family, for the stability of his economic safety, for the personal perils that come with opposing spiritual forces, and the like.

The Discussion with God (14)

Nehemiah AGAIN took his troubles, as well as his frustrations to God in prayer – an example to every believer. The fact is that God’s work will always suffer attacks. Leaders serving God have available equipment from the Word to work in the midst of attack if they will stay at the task, allowing God to handle the attacks! They also can’t get caught in the blame game. We have to learn to leave retaliation to God and get on with the work!

Test #7: Answering “Under-miners” (Nehemiah 6:15-19)

The third and final test of this chapter was to confront the situation of spies that were undermining the work from within the camp:

6:15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of [the month] Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard [of it], and all the nations surrounding us saw [it], they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s [letters] came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

The Work Accomplished (6:15)

Finally, the fifty-two day wall project was completed. The work was accomplished (15). It was a tough job, and Nehemiah took it on and got it done, in spite of the distractions of testing and trouble. The man or woman who stays with it until the task is done may collapse, but they will do so with the reward of finished labor. At the same time, every step forward should be met with the anticipation of another level of attack.

The Wicked Astonished (6:16).

Those who boasted that such a project could not be completed were confounded at God’s success. Evil often boasts as though God is their equal competitor – it is bluster. God has no equal. He will finish what He chooses when He chooses – and there is none in Heaven or earth that can stop God. Armies can march against Him, Chiefs can curse Him, whole populations can spurn Him – but He marches on. The people around Judah could see that He was helping the Jewish migrants get the work done… and it frustrates them and robbed them of confidence.

The Workers Anxious (17-19).

While the nations about Judah were flustered, the people in the work camp were not as confident as they should have been. Other leaders attempted to coax Nehemiah into peace at all cost. They cried for Nehemiah to be more TOLERANT and UNDERSTANDING to those who tried every distraction to shut the work of God down. They tried intimidation, undermining, and alas – they were down to “buttering him up”. Nehemiah didn’t like the slippery sensation of being lathered in butter. He turned and saw right through yet another ploy. How did he do it?
First, he carefully discerned the real purpose of the undermining – to create fear in him (Nehemiah 6:19). Next, he recognized the ties that bound people together, and connected the loyalties to figure out what was truly going on. He was not looking for fault, but rather trying to make sense out of the issues. He took the time to observe the results of each offender’s life carefully, in order to make true statements with real substance. He even appeared to understand the loyalites and marriage ties, and simply took them into account in examining the situation.

The bottom line is that he didn’t let fear of men determine his actions, but reverence of God and loyalty to God’s Word. A successful life is not an easy life. It is a life built upon specific character qualities: sacrifice, loyalty, integrity, authenticity. Listen to the words of a wise Pastor of decades gone by:

The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited constitutional monarchy. The king is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a flag or a national anthem. He is lauded, feted, and supported, but his real authority is small. Nominally he is head over all, but in every crisis someone else makes the decisions. On formal occasions he appears in his royal attire to deliver the tame, colorless speech put into his mouth by the real rulers of the country. The whole thing may be no more than good-natured make-believe, but it is rooted in antiquity, it is a lot of fun, and no one wants to give it up. — A.W. Tozer (cited from a sermon by Stephen Sheane, The Kingdom of Heaven, Sermon central – 8/24/2011)

The church of our day needs a renewed vision of God. We need a renewed fear of HIM, a new reverence, a renewed sense of our beginning days. In the ninth chapter of Acts, where the story of the Apostle Paul’s conversion was first unfolded, you see a church facing waves of persecution, followed by times of peace and rest. This was our beginning:

Acts 9:26 When he [Paul] came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was with them…31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

Afraid of a man and his reputation of persecution, the church would have turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Apostle that, in the end, wrote most of the Christian Scriptures! Fearing God, they grew into listeners… Any fear that is greater than the awesome reverence of God acts as an idol of ungodly distraction to God’s people.

Maybe you don’t think it cannot happen. Maybe physical threat seems too powerful and spiritual reverence too abstract. It may be because we haven’t suffered much yet: One of the most powerful prayers in the midst of suffering I have read was uncovered from the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ravensbruck was a concentration camp built in 1939 for women. Over 90,000 women and children perished in Ravensbruck, murdered by the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom, who wrote The Hiding Place, was imprisoned there too. The prayer, found in the clothing of a dead child, says: O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness. (Quoted from Pastor Victor Yap, Sermon central illustrations).

Target is taking aim to fight back against those who have been hacking their credit card information, and trying to hold on to weather the storm of disgruntled shoppers. On the one hand, shoppers know that Target took security seriously, and it wasn’t some flagrant mishandling of information that caused the problem. On the other, people are hassled knowing the credit card information of upwards of seventy million people is now in the hands of people who will attempt theft in some way. Watch your cards. Watch for charges of between eight and nine dollars – small ones that will erode your pocket slowly and over a long period of time.

Have you ever gotten ripped off in a business deal? Have you ever come home with buyer’s remorse after you felt pressured into buying something you didn’t really need or really want? You may have felt “hustled” by someone in the marketplace….How about the other direction…Have you ever been in a situation where you felt your heart being tugged by the desire for something you didn’t really earn – but greed and temptation swelled within you?

I faced this many years ago, and I remember feeling the ugliness of it. I was guiding groups in a country where guides typically get a substantial portion of the amount of shopping their clients do, because the store pays a percentage to the stable of guides that uses their store. It is a mutual agreement that works in many countries and sights. In those days, I made my primary income from guiding, and the rate was small, so the shopping was essential to a good paycheck. People would approach me and ask which ring looked better on their finger, and all I could do was think, “Which is more expensive?” As soon as I started my own business in that field, I cut shopping to a minimum, and refused to accept any money from shops. I increased my per day salary to compensate, and told people what I tell them to this day: “Buy anything you want. I don’t accept percentages, and I ask the stores to lower your price to give your money more buying power. It costs them nothing, so they are usually willing to do it.” I did what I did because I hated how accepting that money made me feel. I know it is part of a system, and I begrudge no one else for operating in it, but I couldn’t. I teach Bible on site, and I don’t want that conflict in my heart and mind over money. It doesn’t feel clean to me.

What is clear to me now, is that temptation is a part of life we all have to face on some level. Sometimes we are taking advantage of others, and sometimes they are taking advantage of us. If any of these problems have been in your life, the set of tests from the journal of an ancient leader of Nehemiah chapter five will help you identify and deal with the issues of exploitation and greed!

Key Principle: We are physical beings that can be broken by another taking advantage – but we also have to admit we are sometimes tempted to take advantage ourselves.

Test #3 Handling Broken Spirits (Nehemiah 5:1-13)

When enemies could not blast the leader from his work, when gossip and criticism did not stop the work (as we noted in Nehemiah 4), the tempter loaded Nehemiah’s path with broken hearted “high needs” people, and followed up with temptation to lure the leader into accepting perks…with the promise of gain! Both of these problems is very real for a leader, and we will look at each separately – to take each seriously…Let’s look first at the broken spirited that came before him.

To be clear, a “broken spirit” is one who has been crushed under the load of discouragement, and is, perhaps slowly, becoming ineffective in the work they were assigned.

Reasons people’s spirits become broken: (1-5)

Why do people get discouraged in the work that God gave them to perform? Let me offer four reasons from the text. First, look at the first five verses of the story:

Nehemiah 5:1 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live.” 3 There were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine.” 4 Also 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 like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

People can be pressed downward in four ways, according to this story:

• Exploitation by someone trusted (1). In this case, land holding Jewish relatives that were in Judah before the rebuilders came with Nehemiah were taking advantage of those who returned from Babylon to rebuild the walls with Nehemiah. The painful part was not the economics of borrowing – that was common. The painful part was the coldness and lack of compassion from people who were kin. How could they not understand that the returnees were building, not simply for their own benefit, but for the nation’s benefit? I am sure they felt the way some of our veterans have felt when they didn’t get proper benefits after service of our country. They were hurt, and but today’s hurt becomes tomorrow’s anger, and the third day’s bitterness. If you have ever been exploited by people in the family, when you honestly were working to help the many – and not yourself – you know how these abused relatives felt.

• Defense of someone close (2). Along the same line as exploitation by one that was trusted, there is a second issue – the extreme sensitivity we have for those we hold dear – like our children. If you are a normal parent, you know what I mean when I say that “You can hurt me, and I will ‘get over it’, but if you hurt my child, I may struggle to EVER get past it.” When we are protecting others, any pain that comes to them hurts us greatly. As a child, I never believed what my father said until I was one: “It is going to hurt me more than it hurts you!” I believe him now, because I am a dad. Defense of someone close has its own brand it leaves on your hurt heart.

• Defense of things (3). Others in the text simply said: , “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine.” Any day I call the health insurance provider for my family I feel this level of pain and injustice. One of my children say a doctor for minutes in the hospital and was billed $1118.00. No particular services were rendered, and the insurance decline to pay any of it. The doctor’s office took forty percent off the bill if we agreed to pay immediately. How did we feel? We felt that no one living in our community, regardless of their knowledge, should be able to outlandishly bill a fellow citizen at such an alarming rate, simply because they could. We feel ripped off. They got paid, because I am a local Pastor and cannot leave all of us open to accusation in the way I pay my bills, but I feel ripped off – and I get frustrated trying to fight to hang on to both the things God gave me to steward, and deal in a way that doesn’t harm my testimony. If you have felt this, you know what the people who were facing a famine felt. They were working harder and going backwards…and that is a burden to negotiate in the heart, as well as the wallet.

• Stress of excessive burdens (4). Still others complained: “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards.” Who cannot understand the frustration of having to stretch to make end’s meet so that government can so wisely spend our collective funds?

CNS News reported last month: “The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is planning to spend $3.35 million to ‘improve the quality of media content and strengthen the media’s capacity to meet professional standards.’” The kicker is that this is to improve media quality, not in America, but in Armenia! “No American media organizations are eligible for the grant, but ‘government controlled and government owned organizations’ in Armenia are encouraged to apply.” Doesn’t that warm your heart? Just knowing that Armenians will get better news coverage is worth a few extra pennies out of this week’s check, isn’t it?

The author Michael Snyder has made a career out of cataloging the strange a ridiculous wonder that is our US national budget. He wrote long lists of the things we are spending federal dollars on. I won’t drag out the pain, but a few are just too good to pass up:

• The U.S. government is spending $750,000 on a new soccer field for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

• If you can believe it, the U.S. government has spent $175,587 “to determine if cocaine makes Japanese quail engage in sexually risky behavior”.

• The federal government once spent 30 million dollars on a program that was designed to help Pakistani farmers produce more mangos.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture once gave researchers at the University of New Hampshire $700,000 to study methane gas emissions from dairy cows.

• A total of $615,000 was given to the University of California at Santa Cruz to digitize photos, T-shirts and concert tickets belonging to the Grateful Dead.

• China lends us more money than any other foreign nation, but that didn’t stop our government from spending 17.8 million dollars on social and environmental programs for China.

• The U.S. government once spent 2.6 million dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly… (source: Michael Snyder).

We could go on and on… but I think this is enough to produce the groan that is called for to feel the pain of the people in Nehemiah 5:4. We all believe government can do and does do important things that help us stay safe. I want someone checking our food chain and water supply, and holding companies responsible for polluting them and endangering our children. At the same time, I will not personally sleep better at night knowing that Chinese prostitutes are drinking under their legal limits. I admit it: that is a problem I just cannot bring myself to care much about. I wonder what that says about me as a person? Perhaps I have the sense to know they have bigger problems to worry about.

The point is, there are broken spirits that leaders must face. They feel abused, and often have good reason to feel that way. What can a good leader do?

Reactions to a broken spirit (6,7).

Read the next two verses, and you will see the three recorded responses of the leader. Nehemiah 5:6 Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. 7 I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, “You are exacting usury, each from his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.

• First, he faced the fact that the problem left him with anger inside that had to be dealt with (5:6). A good leader understands and monitors his emotions – not to be self-focused, but to be self-controlled.

• Second, he took a step back from the situation and considered it before responding. Pondering is a good reaction, because it allowed him to think before he acted! (5:7). How often I WISHED that had been my course of action!

• Third, the leader took the problem to the source in a direct confrontation (5:7). Sometimes that is the only way to right the wrong. Matthew 18 reminds that it is the proper thing to do in cases between believers where one offends another – sin or not.

Reaching out to a broken spirit (7b-13).

The leader did not try to look as though he did not take a side. That is popular among leaders today – but is inappropriate when one has taken advantage of another. Listen to his words:

Nehemiah 5: 7b “…Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. 8 I said to them, “We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 “And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. 11 “Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

Brush by the seven parts of what we just read. We don’t want to get lost in the detail, but the steps offer a pattern worthy of a moment:

• He brought the sides together – and called a forum of two sides (public only when public sin) 5:7b. He didn’t try to solve the issue without all the players together – a very effective method.

• He made absolutely clear the violation as he saw it – in an attempt to lay the sin bare (5:8-9). There were no flowery words and long speeches – just clarity about the events and their meaning.

• He allowed a response time, but there wasn’t one (5:8). Agreement is about everyone getting on the same page with both the problems and the solution, but we must allow time for the other party to answer charges if they can.

• He set clear measurable conditions for reconciliation (5:10-11). There is no sense in trying to decide by committee or in debate what will resolve the issue. That should be decided before the meeting.

• He accepted reconciliation when conditions were met according to the standards of the Word of God (5:12). Interest was wrong, and they were in violation of God’s stated policy. When they admitted that, the conditions for reconciliation became crystal clear: get back into conformity with God’s Word.

• He committed ultimate judgment to God, who sees the hearts of men (5:13). He didn’t try to exact a pound of flesh beyond reconciliation. Either the meeting was to resolve the situation, or to punish people and satisfy the hurting emotions. He chose reconciliation – the right choice.

• He publicly praised God with everyone else because reconciliation was available to all! (5:13).

God called the leader to size up and confront the situation, and reconcile the parties to GOD’S STANDARD – not to feed the emotional need for revenge. This is the path to healing for broken spirits who have experience exploitation.

Yet, there is another side of exploitation the enemy can, and does, work within leaders. It is the danger of accepting the perks of the office…the rest of the chapter is about this problem…

Test #4: The Lure of Gain (Nehemiah 5:14-19)

People get exploited because of the basic GREED in human nature. Yet, it isn’t only something we encounter in OTHERS – it is something with which we must wrestle within as well….

The Privileges of Promotion (15)

The leader had an opportunity to live with four great benefits, in spite of the struggles of those around him.

Nehemiah 5:15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

• First, Nehemiah was entitled to tax those under his care, like the other governors. He was entitled to a forty shekel salary stipend. By law, he was allowed – but by conscience he couldn’t do it.

• Second, he was entitled to use the other barter taxes to live well – in bread and wine.

• Third, he was entitled to operate a collection system that allowed for his servants to force the people into submission, and offer him budgets for entertainment, etc.

• Fourth, he was allowed to personally elevate the status of those close to him – to serve his household.

A good leader may not take all that he is allowed to take – because it would present undue hardship on the people he or she leads. Yet, the temptation will be presented to take advantage of people – and that has to be monitored both within and without.

The Policy of the Promoted (14,16)

Nehemiah wasn’t simply self-justifying his practices in this journal – he was explaining what he believed Godly leadership was all about. Look again at his journal:

Nehemiah 5:14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance… 16 I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

• He said he did not take rightful salary, because he didn’t require it and thought it burdensome on the people.

• He claimed that he did not withdraw involvement in the work – but labored with the people.

• He stated that he did not take advantage of “perks”, at the expense of people (such as real estate, etc.).

• He made clear that he kept those about him in the work– not as lords, but as leaders!

As a leader, Nehemiah identified WITH the people, not ABOVE the people. He made one law for himself and his house as with them. Dangers lurk when leaders do not see themselves as PART of the work. Even in the work of the ministry, I want people to observe that I give my best to the tasks I am assigned to do – and that I am diligent in even the details. The better the living example, the better the student can see how the model of work should flesh out. If we lack discipline as leaders, we can expect even worse from followers – that comes with the stewardship of the leader’s life.

The Personality of the Promoted (17,18)

Notice how personal and personable Nehemiah was in his leadership. He wrote:

Nehemiah 5:17 Moreover, there were at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep, also birds were prepared for me; and once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

• Good leaders are aggressively and deliberately generous people (5:17). I am continually amazed at how stingy some people are with their time, talent and treasure. Some of the most influential believers I have known make a regular practice of being generous in every area – and people love them for it.

• Good leaders are comfortable and hospitable (5:17). Awkward people don’t lead well. We need to recognize one of the great needs in leadership is not only character – but comfortable atmosphere. If a man or woman is awkward with people, they will lead poorly.

• Good leaders are careful stewards of what God entrusts to them – both in people and in goods. Notice he counted all that were served (5:18) and could account for all the wealth spent properly.

• Good leaders are sensitive to the needs of people (5:18). If the leader doesn’t understand how the people are feeling, he or she will make critical errors in assumption.

I think this is one of the problems of our day in America. People don’t trust the government and they don’t like the aggressive stance on social change that is being shoved on us. It makes us suspicious of every change in school curriculum or NSA search. We don’t know what they are up to, but we don’t really trust their agenda. When that happens, bad blood poisons good intentions. A good leader moves to make clear what he or she is doing, and why. They know the people they lead – and what is important to them. Yet, even if all that is true – a good leader MUST have ONE MORE ESSENTIAL COMPONENT… Trust in God. Good leaders depend on God. Look at the way the passage ends

The Prayer of the Promoted (19)

Nehemiah 5:19 Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

• He remembered the secret of his success is not found in him or his abilities.

• He recognized the object of his labor was “for this people”, not for personal fame or building a personal power base. God blesses unselfish labor.

The problem is this: leaders DO get perks. It is FUN to lead if that is what God called you to do. While that is true, it is also true that a leader can be tempted to take advantage of the perks and not serve diligently or steward wisely. Thomas Carlyle was right: “Adversity is hard on a man; but for every man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.”

We are physical beings that can be broken by another taking advantage – but we also have to admit we are sometimes tempted to take advantage ourselves.

Let me close this story of two tests by thanking God for the direction given in His Word on practical troubles…During Superbowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, “Thank you.” But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?” She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.” Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth and strength are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them. (Observation from A. Todd Coget, Sermon Central illustrations).

The Word provides the necessary means to navigate life well – but it takes the effort of one to open the package…