Today we're looking at Leading with Action. I want to start by first looking at v. 15 which is kind of the punch line. "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul in fifty two days.” We've been studying Nehemiah longer than it took him to build the wall. What is the secret of this? How was he able to build the wall in 52 days?
Don't quit! He kept at it until he finished.
There has been major opposition to the rebuilding of the wall. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshum tried all different kinds of things. Division, discouragement, discord. They tried mockery, dread. Now they're getting desperate. The wall is almost finished. The only thing left to be done as we start chapter 6 is to hang the doors.
Let's look at how to complete a project in record time. v. 1 "When the 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 and the gates. Sanballat and Geshem sent this message to me. `Come let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.' But they were scheming to harm me. So I sent my messengers to them with this reply. `I'm carrying out a great project. I can't go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you.' Four times they sent me the same message. Each time I gave them the same answer."
Today in this passage, they tried three more tricks to stop the wall from being built. If we want to Lead in Life we've got to do three things:
1. KEEP WORKING IN SPITE OF DISTRACTIONS.
At first they tried to sidetrack Nehemiah. They said, Nehemiah, let's have a peace conference(pipe-offer.). Let's get together and discuss. They mentioned the plain of Ono, twenty miles north of Jerusalem. What could be wrong with that? But Nehemiah said, I'm carrying on a great project and I can't go down. Why should I stop the work on the wall and go down to you? He's saying, I'm not coming down. He would not be distracted until the wall was finished.
The time for discussion is past. It's time for work. Plus, he knows their past - Have you known people that want to talk more than they want to work? They discuss to stop you from working? That's what's happening here. Many people never
accomplish anything because they get distracted.
More than that, it would delay the project. Distr. R delays - trip
"Why should I stop and come down to you when the work has not been finished?" You don't want to discuss, or debate. You have a hidden agenda and want to delay the thing. You want to keep it from being built. "Leadership Law: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The reason why Nehemiah finished it he wouldn't let anything distract him. He kept his eyes on his goal. They came to him four times. He said no each time.
2. YOU KEEP WORKING IN SPITE OF DEFAMATION.
They tried to slander him, discredit him. v. 5 "Then the fifth time Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message and in his hand was an unsealed letter which was written. `It's reported among the nations and Geshem says it's true that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt. Therefore you're building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you're about to become their king and appointed prophets to make this proclamation among you in Jerusalem. There is a king in Judah.' Now this report will get back to the King of Persia. So come, let us confer together. I sent them this reply, `Nothing of what you're saying is happening. You're making it up right out of your head.' They
were trying to frighten us into thinking their hands will get too weak for the work and it won't be completed.'"
They tried to slander Nehemiah. You're just trying to build an empire. We know what you're doing. They were challenging his motives. They said, you're going to try to rebel against the king. They said, You're setting yourself up as king and you're hiring prophets to promote yourself. They sent this letter unsealed. It was like a letter to the editor. They wanted everybody to read it. It's meant to stir up rumors.
Anybody that sets big goals is going to be criticized and slandered by people who set no goals. Failures hate successes. Who is the most falsely accused man in history? Jesus. Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven."
First they tried to sidetrack Nehemiah and then they tried to slander him.
He denied the accusation and prayed for the strength. v. 9 "They were all trying to frighten us thinking, `Their hands will get too weak for the work and it won't be completed.'" He said, I'm not going to get involved in an argument. What you guys are saying is not true and I'm not coming down. No matter what you say. The wall is not finished. I'm not going to give in to sidetracking and get into a discussion with you. I'm going to keep on going."He discerned their motivations.He denied the accusation.
He prayed. "Now Lord strengthen my hands."
Alot of times opposition comes and we pray, ‘Lord get me out of this” - but Neh. says, “Lord give me strength” -
lead w/ action.
If you're going to be a leader you've got to realize first there's going to be things that distract you -- try to get you off course and there's going to be things that defame you -- people say things against you. You can spend your time fighting criticism or you can keep working on the wall. Nehemiah said, I'm going to keep working on the wall. That's why, in 52 days, they built it. He would not give in to distractions. He would not give in to defamation. He knew their motive was to try to frighten. He would not give in.
3. KEEP WORKING IN SPITE OF DANGER
If you want to be a leader, to lead with action, keep working in spite of danger. First they tried to side track him (come have a conference), then they tried to slander him (what you're doing is just for your own benefit), then they tried to scare him.
v. 10 "On one day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah who was shut up in his home. He said `Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple. Close the temple doors because men are coming to you to kill you.' But I said, `Should a man like me run away or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go.' I realized that God had not sent him but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me that so I would commit a sin in doing this and they would give me a bad name and discredit me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done. Remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me."
Now they're trying to scare him by danger. Evidently this man, Shemaiah was a friend of Nehemiah's and he was a priest. But evidently the bad guy Sanballat got to him and bought him off. "Go tell your buddy Nehemiah there's an assignation plot on his life. We've put a hit man out on him. The only way he could be safe is to run and hide in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The bad guys won't follow in there for fear of God."
Nehemiah's response, v. 11, "I said, `Should a man like me run into the temple to save his life? I will not go.'" He would keep on working in spite of danger. Why didn't he give into this?
1. It would make him look like a coward. "Should a man like me run away?" I'm the leader of this thing. I'm building the wall around Jerusalem. If I run and hide in the temple what's that going to do to the morale of the people? Their morale is going to go down. I'm not going to do it! Leaders don't run away. Other people are watching me. Lead n life by example.
2. v. 12 "I realized that God had not sent him" Underline "realized". Nehemiah was a very perceptive person. He realized that this wasn't advise from the Lord. This guy said he was from God, "I know! I have a word to you from the Lord. Run and hide in the Temple." Have you noticed that some people who say they're speaking for God, aren't? Some people say, "this is God's will for your life" and they have no idea at all. They may have a hidden agenda. Here this guy was one, a priest, and also, a friend of Nehemiah's and he's giving him bad advice because he had been bought off by the bad guys. Nehemiah is perceptive. v. 14 "These guys were trying to intimidate me." They're trying to tell me their advice is from God, but it's not from God.
You have to be aware of people saying, "God told me to tell you..." It's not always true. You don't always swallow it.
v. 13 "He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this. Then they would give me a bad name to discredit me."
The real issue here is that for Nehemiah to run and hide in the Temple would compromise his integrity. It was against the law for anybody to go into the Holy of Holies except the priest. Numbers 18:7 says that nobody is to go into the Holy of Holies except the priest and if they do they are to be killed. They are guilty of the death penalty. For Nehemiah to play chicken after hearing of the assignation attempt and go hide in the Temple, he would be sinning out of fear.
Never break one of God's laws out of fear. If the opposition can't scare you into quitting, they are going to try to just get you to sin, to make you ineffective, compromise. Then the whole nation would say, "What's our leader doing sinning by running and hiding in the Temple?" These are the last desperate attempts of the opposition. They are the very things that will happen to all of us as we Lead in Life.
They will try to get you through discord, discouragement, defeat, mockery, distraction, defamation, then through danger.
Because Nehemiah refused to quit, "The wall was built in 52 days." That's amazing.
Archaeologists have unearthed part of Nehemiah's wall. It's about ten feet across and twelve feed deep.
The wall was built around Jerusalem. v. 16 "When all of our enemies heard about this and all the surrounding nations, they were afraid and they lost their confidence because they realized this work had been done with the help of our God." The tables have turned. For six chapters we've been seeing the Jews be discouraged. We've watched them be depressed, afraid. But the moment the wall is built, Jerusalem is a fortified city. Now who's afraid? the enemy. They've lost their confidence.
I want to apply this to your life. Four characteristics of Leading with Action
All of the points I made today have something in common. They are all personal attacks on the leader. All the opposition in the past had been to discourage the workers. First they told them, "We're going to come kill you at night." Previously they tried to stop the project by attacking the people. Now, as a last ditch attempt because the wall is almost finished, they're going directly after the leader.
In football, one of the primary goals of the defense is a sacked quarterback. If you can sack the quarterback, chances are, you'll win the game. Take him out! Everything rises or falls on leadership. No organization, no ministry, no church, no family, no school, no business can go any further than the leadership that's leading it. If everything rises or falls on leadership, then the quickest way for the opposition to halt any project, any family, any business is to neutralize the leadership. They are doing three things here to stop the leadership. The quickest way to stop a movement is to knock off the leader. Jesus talks about when the shepherd is removed, the flock scatters. How true is that today in our families. - Single parents trying to raise their children after a spouse has left them for another or out of just plain selfishness. We see that all around us -
How you handle those attacks, those personal attacks, determines what kind of leader you're going to be.
One of the basic lessons of Nehemiah is that leadership is essential for any project. With the right leadership they were able to accomplish in 52 days what for 80 years people had been saying, "It can't be done!" When you get the right catalyst, things go into action. What kind of person does it take to pull off a major project? What kind of person does it take to accomplish the impossible? How do we lead in life with Action? Four things.
What do you need, as a leader, to succeed in the face of distraction, defamations and danger?
1. A compelling purpose.
This is the very first element of leadership. A cause. A vision.
A dream. An objective. A goal. It's something that pulls you towards that goal. It doesn't just drive you, it draws you. You have to have a compelling purpose.
That's why, when they came back in v. 3, and said "Nehemiah, we want you to leave the wall and come out and have a little party with us. You've been working on the wall too long. Come talk to us, Nehemiah." Nehemiah said, "I am carrying on a great project." Circle "great". Nehemiah was very single minded. That was one of the characteristics why they were able to accomplish the impossible in 52 days. He said I'm going to do this. I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to keep the main thing the main thing. I'm carrying on a great project.
Is there any great project -- an overall compelling purpose -- in your life? What motivates you to get out of bed everyday? Besides making money. What motivates you to live the rest of your life? What motivates you to keep on going? 1 reason Y study Neh. - not here 2 E, B, Take spce, u have a purpose.
Until you have a compelling purpose for your life, you're just existing. Nehemiah said, I have a great project! What are you exchanging your life for? Jesus said, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" When you give your time for something, you're giving your life. That's what life is made up of -- your time. We tend to think that the most important thing we can give people is our money. But money can be replaced. But when you give people your time, that's irreplaceable. The mark of a great leader is first of all, to have a compelling purpose -- an over arching goal in life that motivates me to keep going. Paul says, "Love compels me to keep going."
Leadership Law: Great lives are produced by a commitment to a great cause. Great people are just ordinary people who have made a great commitment to a great cause. That cause draws them out of themselves and makes them more than they could be on their own. We need a compelling
purpose for life.
I submit to you, that the most compelling purpose in life, the greatest cause that you can give your life for is the kingdom of God. There's nothing greater that you can invest your life in. That's going to last for eternity. Most of what we invest our life in won't last 20 years much less for a thousand years. I challenge you to say, whether you have 5 years left or 50 years left, you'll invest it in the kingdom of God.
A statement to live by: "A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will build a Great person".
Someone came to Jesus and said sum up the Bible. He said, "Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. On this lasts all the law and the prophets." Then His last words to the church as he went back to heaven was, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always - Those two things -- the Great Commandment and the Great Commission -- summarize everything we are to do. When we do those five things -- love God with all our heart (worship), love our neighbor as ourselves (ministry),KBL, go
and make disciples (evangelism), baptize them (fellowship), BVH, and teach them to observe all things (discipleship)LBF -- those are the five purposes of the church. That produces a great church -- a great commitment to the great command and the great commission will build a great church.
Unfortunately a lot of people give in to distractions. They get distracted from their compelling purpose. "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
2. You need a clear perspective.
Nehemiah had incredible discernment, spiritual radar. Every time a trap came up, he sensed it. He could smell it every time. v. 2 they had said come out and talk with us, he said, "They were scheming to harm me." How did he know? He was perceptive. He had discernment. v. 9 when they came and made the accusations of him setting himself up as king and eventually rebel against Artaxerxes, Nehemiah said "They were trying to frighten us." He looked and exposed their motives. v. 12 when the third guy said come hide in the temple, Nehemiah realized that God had not sent him. He has a very acute perception. He had the ability to anticipate a trap. If we're going to be a lead n life, we've got to have perception. Wisdom. How do you get that? James 1:5 "If any man lacks wisdom, ask God." That's what the Bible says. When you spend time in the word of God you begin to take on the mind of Christ and you'll be a more perceptive leader. You don't fall for every thing that comes.
Led by Holy Spirit
You need to have a compelling purpose and a clear perspective.
3. A continual prayer
Nehemiah was a prayer-addict. His first response to everything was pray. No matter what happened, he first prayed. That's the number one thing you do when you're slandered. Instead of taking it out on the person, you talk in out w/ God. Nehemiah did not get defensive and he did not retaliate when they started making all the false accusations. He just said, "It's not true" and went and prayed about it. That's all you need to do. If people are falsely accusing you as a leader, say "it's not true". You don't have to go into a long defense. Say "It's not true" and then go and talk to the Lord.
Luke 18:1 "Jesus told his disciples that they should always pray and not give up." Circle "pray" and "not give up". In your life you're always doing one or the other. You'll either pray or you'll give up. When the heat is on, when the pressure is on, you'll either pray or you'll panic. You need a continual prayer life.
4. A courageous persistence.
One of the great keys to success is the ability to hang in there! Keep on keeping on! Keep on doing what God wants us to do! If you were to study all the messages we've given at FOCUS*
We basically have two themes -- one for unbelievers and one for believers. The theme we have for unbelievers is "God cares about you. You matter to God." We say that in many different ways. We have one basic message for believers and that's "Don't give up!" You have a Purpose! We all get tired in the
battle, weary. God says "Don't give up!" You need a
courageous persistence.
How can you be fearful and courageous at the same time? Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is moving ahead in spite of your fear. If you're not afraid you're not courageous, you may just be dumb! You may not know how serious the matter is. Courage is when you move ahead in spite of your fear. That's what makes a courageous person. Notice v. 11 "Should a man like that run away." He says, "I'm not going to run away. I'm scared, I'm frightened. It's getting near the finish line. All we have to do is hang the doors and I know they probably want to kill me before the thing is finished, but I'm going to move ahead in spite of my fear. I'm not going to run away."
How do you know when you're afraid? You have the insatiable desire to run. Out of the job, out of the marriage, out of the relationship, out of the house -- because I'm afraid I can't handle it. Run! I've learned that it is never God's will for me to run from a difficult situation. If I do, God will just bring another one up later on so he can teach me a lesson. Just go ahead and face it.
Tuff season of life, desert -
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
You need a compelling purpose that is so over arching in your life, that you're not distracted by the trivial. Often good things can keep you from the best. What is it that's taking up your time in life so that you don't have time for the things that are really important in life? What things are important? Loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. Worship and ministry. If you're too busy to worship, too busy to have a quiet time -- you're too busy. If you're too busy to get involved in a ministry -- you're too busy. These other things aren't going to count years from now. Satan uses a subtle trap to substitute good things. You have limited amount of time. There may be some things you need to cut back so you can make time for ministry, make time for what God wants me to do.
Clear perspective. How's your spiritual sensitivity? Do you know the Word enough to spot a trap when it comes. How about your prayer life? Is it continual? Are you praying or are you giving up? Being led by the Spirit.
Courageous persistence. How persistent are you in doing God's will? Do you just do it when it's convenient? Have you ever made the decision in your life, "I'm going to follow Jesus 100% no matter what else happens, no matter what it costs, no matter what it takes, regardless of what people say about me, sidetracks, danger. I'm going to do the right thing." Those are the marks of the Leading w/ Action. That's how Nehemiah was able to do in 52 days what other people said can't be done for 80 years.
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