Nehemiah 4
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Leader & Opposition audio (5MB)
Sometimes you read these stories from the Old Testament and they seem so remote, so removed from our modern world that you wonder whether they can have any relevance for us. I mean, as George pointed out last week, we wouldn’t even think of getting out and building a church by ourselves. Building has become a skilled occupation. You need the right tools and you need to know how to use them without injuring yourself.
Yet as you read through a passage like this you realise that in fact some things haven’t changed. The task may be different but the obstacles are much the same. The reaction of their enemies to their success was similar and the techniques used by those who oppose them have a very contemporary ring to them.
Nehemiah knew before he left Susa that he’d meet opposition. That’s why he asked the king for letters of authority. That’s why the king sent an armed troop with him.
The moment he arrives in Judea, he’s met by the local governors who immediately express their concern at his plans. They’re worried that he’s come to promote the welfare of the Jews.
That concern only escalates as Nehemiah and the Jews go about their task with gusto. Sanballat comes down from Samaria and begins what will be a campaign of opposition aimed at stopping the work. And the slowly escalating opposition takes a familiar course.
Nehemiah 3
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- Written by: George Hemmings
The Leader & the Work audio (6MB)
When I was growing up, I spent my weekends and holidays working on our family farm. I’d come home from boarding school and straight away be put to work. There’d be a long list of jobs to do, like mowing the acre that was our front yard, or weeding the garden beds. And even if I managed to get all the other jobs done, there was always one that never seemed to end. That was fencing. There was always some section of fence that needed to be repaired or rebuilt or tweaked. Fencing was a never-ending job. I’d go out with Dad, day after day, working on one section, then moving along and working on the next section. Even though we only had a small property, I worked out that the external fences alone were about 5 kilometers long.
Nehemiah 2
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Leader & Organisation audio (6MB)
Nehemiah 2:1-20
The stage is set. The actors are all in place. Nehemiah has finally come to the moment he’s been working towards as he’s prayed and fasted over the previous days or weeks.
Nehemiah enters, stage right, with the jug of wine for the king, as he does every day. But unlike every other day before this, this time his face is downcast. It was, of course, palace protocol that those who served the king should always appear happy in his presence. He had enough to worry about without having servants bringing a cloud of gloom over the royal proceedings. So Nehemiah is taking a big risk by letting his feelings show so openly.
If you were here last week you’ll remember that I talked about how, as Nehemiah had prayed and fasted God had put a plan in his mind; a plan to do something about the situation in Jerusalem. I pointed out that Nehemiah was first and foremost a man of prayer. But what we discover today is that he was also a strategic thinker, a leader who was able to think through the possibilities and come up with an approach that would overcome the hurdles in his way. And enhancing those two characteristics, his prayerfulness and his strategic thinking, was a strong faith in God.
Nehemiah 1
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Leader and Prayer audio (6MB)
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Have you ever looked at the great Christian leaders of our time and wondered what it was that gave them their success? Were they just natural leaders? Had they worked hard at their studies of management and leadership as so many young leaders today are taught to do? Or were they perhaps just the right person at the right time? What about you? What would make you a good leader?
Well, today we launch into a study of the life of Nehemiah, one of the great leaders of Israel at a very difficult time in their history. And what we find today is that much of Nehemiah’s success goes back to the fact that he was a prayerful man. Today we’re going to think about the prayer that opens the book, that introduces us to him and sets the scene for what will follow.
Isaiah 60-61
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Arise, Shine for Your Light is Come audio (3MB)
We come today to the end of our series on Isaiah and to the climax of the book. Here we find God’s salvation brought to its culmination. God has come to dwell with his people; and the whole world is drawn to him to receive the salvation he offers.
It’s as though Isaiah sees a vision that slowly unfolds, first of God’s saving work and its implication for the world, then of the task that’s given to God’s people as a result of this salvation.
