Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20101128.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Nehemiah: Excelling In Leadership In Hard Times
Part I: Preparing One's Self Before God To Excel In Hard Times
(Nehemiah 1:1-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Good leadership in family, church, business and government is in great demand in our challenging era.
    2. To our benefit, we have the record of great leadership by a man who lived in very hard times, a record in the book of Nehemiah, and we note his leadership skills began by proper self preparation before the Lord:
  2. Preparing One's Self Before God To Excel In Hard Times, Nehemiah 1:1-11.
    1. The book of Nehemiah records God's use of Nehemiah to lead Jerusalem to rebuild its destroyed city wall after the Babylonian Captivity, and Daniel 9:25 NIV indicates this would occur "in times of trouble." ( Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 719, "Introduction To The Book Of Nehemiah: The Man Nehemiah.")
    2. The first step on record of Nehemiah's great leadership in such hard times is that of his proper preparation of himself before the Lord, the step needed for any party in oversight if he would excel in that role:
      1. Nehemiah lived a very responsible, trustworthy life before God and man, Nehemiah 1:1, 11c:
        1. The opening verse shows Nehemiah was in the Persian king's palace, Ibid., ftn. to Nehemiah 1:1.
        2. Nehemiah as a captive Hebrew was functioning there as the king's cupbearer (Neh. 1:11c), a very responsible position of high trust as follows: (1) the cupbearer certified that the wine the king drank was not poisoned, for he tasted it himself before serving it to the king, Ibid. (2) This meant the cupbearer was considered "wise and discreet, and consistently honest and trustworthy. Nehemiah's position alone reveals much about his intellectual capabilities, his emotional maturity, and his spiritual status." ( Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 674). (3) As cupbearer to Artaxerxes I in particular, Nehemiah had to be especially outstanding even as cupbearers go, for secular records report that this king was afflicted by intrigue in his own harem ( Zon. Pict. Ency. of the Bible, vol. Four, p. 404).
        3. Thus, to be so trusted that he as a Hebrew captive would be elevated to be this king's cupbearer meant Nehemiah revered God well before his trustworthiness was evident to men, Prov. 1:7; 3:1-4.
      2. Nehemiah was dedicated to God's eternal plan in his life, Nehemiah 1:2-3:
        1. Regardless of his lofty, secure position as the king's cupbearer, Nehemiah expressed concern for the welfare of Judah due to a command that had come by his king under influence by Samaritans to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls , Neh 1:2-3 with Ezra 4:12-24; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T.
        2. The rebuilding of Judah and Jerusalem so Messiah could arrive fit God's eternal plan (Daniel 9:25), so Nehemiah put the good of God's eternal plan above his own ambition as the king's cupbearer.
      3. Nehemiah focused on relating to God in righteousness, Nehemiah 1:4-7: upon hearing of the difficult plight of the remnant of Israel in Judah and Jerusalem, Nehemiah wept and confessed his sins and the sins of his people, Israel that had led to God's judgment and destruction of the area, Nehemiah 1:4-7.
      4. Nehemiah adhered to Scripture in his life, Nehemiah 1:8-10:
        1. As he prayed to the Lord, Nehemiah recalled the authoritative words of God's servant, Moses, words not only of the judgment that Israel had experienced due to her sin (Nehemiah 1:8), but also of His restoration and reconstruction of the nation, Nehemiah 1:8-10.
        2. Nehemiah thus adhered to the written Word of God as his authority for faith and practice.
      5. Nehemiah planned for action to take advantage of opportunities as God provided them, Neh. 1:11a,b:
        1. Part of Nehemiah's prayer dealt with an appeal he planned to make to the king, Nehemiah 1:11a,b.
        2. We know from Nehemiah 2:5-8 that Nehemiah intended to reconstruct the broken city wall as the big, necessary step toward being able to rebuild Jerusalem safely and so strengthen Israel.
        3. Thus, Nehemiah had sensibly planned ahead to use his influence to acquire the means and the time to organize and to rebuild Jerusalem's important wall toward strengthening the nation Israel.
Lesson: To excel in oversight in hard times, Nehemiah lived a very responsible, trustworthy life before God and man, he was dedicated to God's eternal plan, he related to God rightly, he adhered to Scripture in living and he planned ahead to take advantage of opportunities to advance when God provided them.

Application: May we prepare ourselves like Nehemiah to be ready to excel in oversight in hard times.