“A World Changing Leader”
Nehemiah 2-3
Sermon Series: “Change Your World In 52 Days”
Introduction: When we look at history in general and Scripture in particular, we see that when God wants something done in the world that He usually raises up a leader to accomplish the task. We agreed last week that our world needs to be changed so leadership is necessary for that change to happen. I believe that each one of us can be a leader on some level.
I agree with John Maxwell when he says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I also agree with him when he defines leadership as “influence.” I think that spiritual leadership is being used by God to influence people to follow Jesus and do the will of God. If you are going to change the world by prayerfully acting on your God-given burden, it will require you to be a leader. Today I want to equip you as a leader. Here are four characteristics of a world changing leader:
1. Defines and communicates the mission clearly (v. 1-5, 17-18). If we can’t see it, we can’t state it, and if we can’t state it, we can’t do it. The key to leading anything is knowing what God has called us to do and being able to communicate it to others. Here are some quotes about mission (Or you may call it vision. I am using the terms interchangeably). Aubrey Malphurs has written, “A leader without a clear vision has much in common with a person trying to drive blindfolded.” Bob Logan (quoting his dad) writes, “Success in life is finding out what God wants you to do and doing it.” President John F. Kennedy said, “Some people see things the way they are and ask why; I see things the way they could be and ask why not?” At the completion of Disney World, someone said to Mike Vance, director of Disney Studios, “Isn’t it too bad that Walt Disney didn’t live to see this!” Vance said, “He did see it-that’s why it is here.” We can communicate the mission clearly by:
A. Stating the problem or need.
B. Sharing a solution.
C. Showing people how they can be involved.
D. Inspiring people to be involved.
2. Strategizes wisely (6-9, 11-16). This involves:
A. Gathering the needed information to have knowledge of the situation.
B. People.
C. Resources.
D. Plans.
The famous British historian, Arnold Toynbee, said, “Apathy can only be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.”
3. Builds teams effectively (v. 17-18, chapter 3). The essence of leadership is really bringing others along with us to work together to accomplish the mission. My favorite leadership proverb is, “He who thinks he is leading and has no one following is only taking a walk.” A long ranger is by definition not a leader. Chapter 3 records almost all the people working together to accomplish this difficult task.
4. Stands boldly in faith in the face of opposition (v. 19-20). A leader has to have a tenacious perseverance for the mission because opposition will come. We need to remember that opposition often comes because we are doing what is right instead of what is wrong. Nehemiah trusted that God would accomplish His mission through their obedience, and we have to stand boldly with that same conviction when we doubt or people oppose us. In his classic work, Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders said of Nehemiah, “Faith builds faith. Pessimism dismantles faith. (The spiritual leader’s primary task is to build the faith of others.)”
