Spiritual Leadership Principles of Nehemiah (1–10)
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ”
Spiritual Leaders receive a weight of something from the Lord. Nehemiah 1:4 (I wept and mourned)
Spiritual Leaders don’t judge God’s judgments.
Spiritual Leaders want to actually experience a Godly life by experience, not just by hearing about it.
Spiritual Leaders truly see people and pay attention to those that are around them.
Spiritual Leaders become owners of problems through prayer, they don’t complain about problems. 75 years vs 52 days. Jesus demonstrated that identifying a problem and solving it is what servants do. (John 13)
Spiritual Leaders never use Manipulation or Domination they only influence. Influence comes from character and vision (God’s vision not the leader’s). I am controlled by the Agape of God: “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14
Spiritual Leaders never forget their true identity. They know that you don’t get your identity from who they work for (Artexerexes) or where you live Babylon but an intangible spiritual heritage. Nehemiah was not a Babylonian or a Persian, He was a Jew who had promises from God.
Spiritual Leaders Pray and their Prayers always start with humility. Humility identifies with those who have failed. Jesus was counted among the transgressors. And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.
Spiritual Leaders are willing to pursue God purpose with indirect and indistinct summons from God (mourning, weight, burden, sorrow of heart….not a clear ‘ personal word from the Lord’. A general word that the Lord that He would return his people to Jerusalem after 70 years was specific enough for Nehemiah to zealously pursue God’s purposes. (Jeremiah 25 & Daniel 9)
Spiritual Leaders are Authentic. Nehemiah risked death to reveal his pain over Jerusalem. Maturity takes longer than we think, obedience accelerates maturity not knowledge. We are tempted to “seem” rather than to “be”. To “ be” is the mark of mature authenticity. You are not changed by simply seeing His glory but seeing it with an unveiled face.
a) True community come out of common worship of Jesus not common understanding of doctrine. (John 4:19-26)
b) Often, we use our agreement over certain doctrine as a veil and hide behind them. A veils hide you from others. Veils distort your vision of others and them of you. (2 Cor 3:12-18)
c) Authenticity replaces veils with vulnerability.
d) Jesus’ body was completely unveiled on the cross.
e) Nakedness (vulnerability) is what our cross looks like to others.
f) Veils that hides you from others hides others to you, so neither of you is seen.
g) Unveiled encounters with others often reveals Jesus in them too!
h) On some days, the lesson you learn from the Lord will comes only through others so removing our veils is expedient.
