Title: Leadership posture/Nehemiah 2:11-20
Leadership/Nehemiah 2:11-20
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After conquering the Babylonian Empire, King Cyrus of Persia returned the Israelites from captivity three times. At this time, the three leaders of the nation of Israel appear: Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Zerubbabel rebuilds the ruined temple and completes the so-called Zerubbabel Temple (515 B.C.). While studying and teaching the Word of God, Ezra taught the Israelites the idea of resurrection and restored life in God. After coming as governor in 444 B.C., Nehemiah rebuilds the ruined walls and rebuilds the foundations of Israel.
Historically, Judah in the south and Israel in the north were destroyed by Babylon and the people were taken into captivity in the same situation. However, the northern Israelites did not return and became a diaspora, and the southern people of Judah returned. Why is there such a difference?
The people of southern Judah did not lose faith in God and national consciousness first. Although he was in captivity, his faith in God was clear. So God saved the people and used them. And the people of southern Judah had a leader who could lead the nation. A nation without a leader will disappear from history. More than 3 million died in Cambodia in the Killing Fields. No need to mention the idea where more than 3 million are killed to maintain communism in a country of only 12 million people. There was no leader who loved the nation.
Dear brothers and sisters, please believe that in order for our nation to survive, we must continue to produce leaders with clear Christian faith.
Let's first look at the situation in which Nehemiah's leadership appears through today's text.
Nehemiah scouted the city three days after entering Jerusalem. Then, at the gathering of all the people, God's help and what King Artaxerxes allowed to him are explained and suggested that we rebuild the city and rebuild it. There is no equipment and no manpower to repair the castle and rebuild the city. The returning people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in a deep sense of defeat. And there were saboteurs. The situation was very difficult, but under Nehemiah's leadership, all the people united and followed.
Here is an analysis of Nehemiah's leadership:
The first is to plan for success.
When creating a plan, the following steps are required:
① Sufficient information and data must be researched and secured. It is not to be judged based on limited information and data alone. Nehemiah received a report from a local official in his capacity as governor, but he came up with a plan after seeing and feeling the field.
② Information must be changed. It is to analyze the obtained information and organize the expected problems, benefits, needs, and justifications. That is, self-planning.
③ Implementation plan establishment. The implementation plan must have a process. Only those who do it well will be successful.
Successful leadership develops a close eye on issues through this process of information, data, collection, conceptualization, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. You must have insightful insight, that is, eyes that can see the little things. In addition, there must be insightful insight, which is the eye that sees the whole. You have to have the eyes to discover that there are weaknesses when looking at small things, but there are also strengths when looking at the big picture.
God has given us such eyes through church education, home education, and school education.
In today's text, Nehemiah looked at the wall while he was assigned to Jerusalem. There were reports from local officials, but they were confirmed again. There, we find the problem in detail, understand the field, and think about where to start solving the problem. And the lack of a solution is to be supplemented through consultation with an expert.
Second, knowing when is the right time to run.
Someone who knows the right time to execute can take the initiative. You can catch the flow of the situation. Nehemiah enters Jerusalem three days later. During those three days, he felt the atmosphere of Jerusalem and gathered information in various ways. And after analyzing and reviewing the information, we entered. If it's too late, your senses will be dulled, so you're there. And when it comes to information and data research, the nobles and priests, that is, those who had the local initiative, were never informed. And when it's supposed to be announced, it's an announcement.
Beloved saints, I hope that when we do everything, we will know the right time for action. If you don't know, you should pray. You should consult an expert. I want you to realize that the world is not driven by my heart and thoughts.
The third is to present a persuasive goal.
When presenting the goal, Nehemiah first spoke of the necessity for us to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. It emphasized that our nation should never be put to shame again. And all the people testified of the work of God through Nehemiah and the permission of King Artaxerxes. And the goal was clearly presented. Now the people will follow Nehemiah with a clear view of that goal. Leaders need to be able to present goals and visions. Children's education should also present goals and visions. Each department of the class, men's and women's missions, youth associations, and church schools must also have goals and visions. Our church also has a mission goal, and we believe that it will surely come true because the members are praying for it. Because God works. A person who cannot set goals cannot be a leader. Like Nehemiah, set clear and persuasive goals.
Fourth is the identification of the problem.
Nehemiah was the people who lost their kingdom, lost their center, and were in despair and misfortune, and they saw themselves as themselves. They say that they have not forgotten their motherland and kept their faith in God during their captivity, and they regard them as brothers and sisters of the same nation. And he identified the problem that was encountered as Nehemiah's own problem. What God did through Nehemiah to build the city of Jerusalem, the conditions were created to move King Artaxerxes to rebuild the wall, and this is what we all need to do. And the people are convinced that Nehemiah, the leader, is not a separate person from the people, but the same brother and the same people. The goal of Nehemiah is to know that the people themselves are the problem.
Sixth, there were countermeasures against the adversaries.
It means that there must be a countermeasure to the problems that arise in the process of implementing the plans and objectives. It is also one of the must-haves for a leader to provide appropriate countermeasures against errors in the plan itself and the adversaries encountered during the implementation process.
There is no such thing as a problem-free life, just as there is no problem-free life. But only those who overcome it will succeed. Disease-causing germs also roam in the air. But if we have strength and health, we overcome it. Even if you have predicted a problem that may arise when you are doing something, I hope that you entrust the solution to God and establish it. Please build it up while praying. Don't be consistent with a workaround. You shouldn't do it in moderation. Don't do it emotionally. When we go forward with the right measures in God, we can win.
Finally, there was the assurance of faith in God.
You can see that organizations, peoples, and countries change depending on what the leader's philosophy is. Nehemiah's philosophy was God's thought, God's faith, God's love, national love in God, and national righteousness. Because the leader has the assurance of faith, all of God's people followed him. The leader himself had a cause for his own faith and had boldness in his faith. And he had a sense of mission that he had to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in his broken homeland. This is why God used Nehemiah.
Verse 20 I answered and said, The God of heaven will prosper for us, and we his servants will rise and build, but you have no inheritance, no right, no list in Jerusalem.
Please believe that the God of heaven makes us prosper. It is God, not us. I pray in the name of the Lord that all members of Chungnam Jeil Church will become leaders built on faith.