Page 33 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

greater, but the people were willing to follow him because of The Law Of The Buy-In, which says that people
buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

Before I move away from the statement “Let’s start rebuilding,” I must ask this life application question. What
walls and gates need work in your life? Does your eye gate need attention? Do the words of your mouth and
the meditation of your heart need attention? Only you can answer the question of which walls and gates need
attention in your life.

The term, the gracious hand of my God had been on me, is an expression that Ezra uses over and over. (Ezra
7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31) And this is also true of Nehemiah. “The hand of God is a way to refer to His power, so
the benevolent power of God is on Nehemiah. God brought Israel out of Egypt with a strong hand, and now He
brings them out of Babylon to rebuild the city and wall under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. The good
hand of God is on them both.” 113 Many Bible teachers often speak of Ezra and Nehemiah as the second Exodus.

As Nehemiah cast his first vision, the early vision community began to form. For years, they lived with little or
no hope. However, Nehemiah was a giver of hope, and they were encouraged to ⌊do⌋ this good work. One of
the primary functions of every high-impact leader is to be a giver of hope. In The Good Book on Leadership,
these authors say, “A leader is a dealer in hope. The prime function of a leader is to keep hope alive.” 114
Nehemiah had experienced hope firsthand, and now he was trying to lead this early vision community to
understand that hope for any Christian is as bright as the promises of God! You do not build hope by looking at
the past but by looking at the future. Nehemiah realized that hope is the foundation of change. As leaders, our
job is to remind people of the possibilities and to help them succeed. “It is the leader's job to hold hope high, to
instill it in the people he leads. Leaders must remind their people that there are no hopeless situations: only
men have grown hopeless about them.” 115

“Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of a man whose shop burned to the ground in the great Chicago fire.
The next morning, he arrived at the ruins carrying a table and set it up amid the charred debris. Above the
table, he placed this optimistic sign: “Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. The business will resume
as usual tomorrow morning.” 116 In these verses, Nehemiah reminded them that this goal was conceivable,
believable, and achievable by God’s grace and that…it’s never too late for a new beginning!

5. Handling opposition (2:19-20)
19When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard ⌊about this⌋, they
mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I gave
them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building,
but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

Opposition comes in two forms. First, opposition comes from within the church, and second, opposition comes
from without. Sometimes opposition from without collaborates with opposition inside. But any leader of a
congregation should expect opposition according to the following scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. James 1:2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever
you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Sanballat, Tobiah,
and Geshem were leaders from regions that surrounded Jerusalem. They began their opposition by mocking
and despising us and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” This was an old
tactic that had worked in the past to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (See Ezra 4:11-26) These critics would try
the same strategy, knowing full well that weak, demoralized people are inclined to give way before threats. But
their mocking rang hollow as the Jews could see the soldiers that had arrived with Nehemiah and his letters
that the king himself signed. They had not reckoned with the strong leadership abilities of Nehemiah. At this
point, Nehemiah couldn't care less about unnecessary polarization. His words were meant to polarize! I gave
them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. Our servants will start building, but
you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.” A wise leader knows when to use polarization and not
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