Hello Everyone,

Read with me Nehemiah 2:17-20

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” ¹⁸ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰ I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

God uses human leadership. He gets the glory, but His way to accomplish His work is thru leadership.

Would Israel have ever crossed the Red Sea if not for Moses?

Would they have taken the Promised Land without Joshua?

Would Jerusalem ever have become what it still is to this day if not for King David?

Would the gospel have ever penetrated to Asia Minor and on into Europe if not for the Apostle Paul? No way!

I love Nehemiah because he is a great leader. Everyone else saw obstacles and he saw opportunities. Where many saw problems he saw potential. Even today engineers marvel at what was accomplished in Jerusalem in just 52 days with all volunteer labor and no modern equipment.

Last week we saw the first 4 principles of leadership:

The value of solitude, preparation, seeing the big picture, and choosing their words.

This week we are looking at a couple of more. Hang in there with me because:

Greater Things are Still to Come!

Pastor Phil