READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l Nehemiah’s plans worked from conviction to commission through contemplation.
- Conviction
There are three aspects of Nehemiah’s spiritual leadership that gave rise to the strong conviction. He had
i. Love for Community (Spiritual Community) – He had strong concerns for the state of his country, even when he was far away. Nehemiah was one with his people. God’s church is not about the tasks, but about community. When we are in community, we experience happiness and sadness. As people leaders, the people need to know that we are for them. Without relationship, there is no community.
ii. Love for Scripture (Spiritual Wisdom) – His prayer in Neh 1 showed that he knew the Old Testament well, especially Deuteronomistic Scripture. He used it to petition for his people which was impossible without knowledge of God’s laws and statutes well. To have a strong conviction on what God desires for His people, we must study Scripture to know God well.
iii. Love for Scriptural Way of Life (Spiritual Holiness) – His reverence for God and His Word drove him to have a very tight and trusting relationship with God. He had such strong faith in God, and he lived the life to be set apart – Although he was in the world, he was not of the world.
These three aspects guided his morals and convictions to give his life. Such conviction is missing in many today and our faith is weak. - Contemplation
Nehemiah had been preparing for four months in contemplation where he paused, pondered and prayed with God before he requested to the King to be sent to rebuild the wall. His faith told him that even the Persian King was subjected to the sovereign God.
Workplace discipleship principles from Nehemiah 2 (Leadership tips):
i. God can work through a pagan boss (v1-11) – it is possible for Christians to work in a non-Christian environment. It is our identity that matters.
ii. Let your work shine to bring praise to God (v1-5, Matthew 5:16) – our work needs to be acceptable to God and favourable to men for God to transform the workplace.
iii. Integrity – Be honest about your convictions (v3-5) – we do not need to be hypocrites at work. Convictions do not translate to complaints, but to prayers.
iv. PRAY-PARE and communicate well (v5-6) – Nehemiah prepared well and prayed to God so that the King could not say no.
v. Bring assurance to people about your work (v6) – no one likes to work with insecurities. It is important to build trust and it takes intentional effort and planning.
vi. Be prepared for challenges in a fallen world (v10) – No one is perfect and imperfection is a part of everyone. We need to manage our expectations that people (even Christian bosses) can make mistakes.
vii. Discern the best time to share your intent (v11) – do not be in a hurry but take time to pray-pare!
viii. Validate assumptions and know the ground – go and see for yourself (v11-16) – leaders need time to walk the ground and understand the situation.
ix. Look out for God’s favour upon people (v17) – good spiritual leaders are able to discern God’s provision, even how God is working through non-Christian means.
x. Trust God in your work Com-mission1 (v19-20) – no endeavour is without discouragement but be of good cheer and trust God in faith, like Nehemiah.
These prayer-soaked principles were how God used Nehemiah to be the salt and light for His Kingdom.
Nehemiah’s pattern of contemplation was consistent throughout. He was also a leader who walked the ground and knew the place well. He was contemplating for this project to be successful; it must be backed by God. Therefore,
• Share Conviction
• Seek Confirmation
• Serve with Confidence! - Com-mission
The mission in our work is the key. We are placed there by God and He will enable and provide. Nehemiah was able to move from conviction to commission because the bulk of his time was spent in contemplation where he got his confidence. He pondered and prayed, and his confidence was from God.
In everything that we do, contemplation is the difference and so important to move our conviction. Many leaders move too fast from conviction to commission without praying and wonder why they are not successful. Let us ponder what have we done with our conviction.
(Sermon notes by Honey Vreugdewater)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Think about a time when you felt really strong about a genuine concern for someone. Did you act on it? Share how you processed this concern and what influenced your final decision.
- Review the prayer Nehemiah made in Nehemiah 1:5-11, can you identify elements of the prayer that would be impossible to be listed without knowledge of Scripture. Why do you think he has such strong convictions? How would you describe Nehemiah’s relationship with God and His people?
- Read 2:1-6 – What can you say about Nehemiah and his relationship with the King? Would you have done the same thing? What can you say about Nehemiah’s relationship with God (v4)? How do you think Nehemiah arrive at this level of confidence?
- Are you able to list any spiritual leadership principles or lessons from v1-6 that would help you in your work? (see sermon for more specific pointers)
- Read 2:9-12 – Why do you think Nehemiah kept secret about his intention? How do you think this differs from modern styles of leadership (even with your own style).
- Are you able to list any spiritual leadership principles or lessons from v10-20 that would help you in your work? (see sermon for more specific pointers)
- Read 2:17-18 – Put yourselves in the shoes of the people – what would give you confidence to respond to Nehemiah in that way?
- Read 2:19-20, What was Nehemiah’s posture as he dealt with opposition? How do you think Nehemiah arrived at this response? What can we learn from this?
- Conviction –> Contemplation –> Commission – Can you see Nehemiah going through this process and his dependency on God? What inspires you and what convictions do you have?
- Commit these convictions to God and one another in prayer.
