Nehemiah - The Stewardship of Influence

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            Last week we saw the importance of not only building properly, but also learning how to protect what we have built.  This week we see very clearly that the greatest threat to Nehemiah’s mission is the enemy that lies within:  internal strife, division, sin and the misuse of influence.  Many times, as in the case of Judas Iscariot (Jesus’ disciple), Satan can and often does work through those who are in positions of spiritual influence among God’s people to cause the greatest amount of division and destruction.  God’s people, led by Nehemiah, had fought off the enemy from without, but truly the greatest threat to the mission being completed was the enemy that arose from within the Israelite community. 

            This misuse of influence, many times caused by lust and greed, is a horrible witness to unbelievers who we are called to reach out to.  How we steward our influence will determine our ability to build a city within a city. We see in Chapter five the importance of stewarding our influence (power, prestige, money, etc).  

            We once again see the incredible example of Nehemiah as he confronts his own sin and his people’s sin to bring about true kingdom change.  We will break down today’s passage into three parts:  Part 1 The people’s complaints  Part 2 Nehemiah’s action steps  Part 3 Nehemiah’s personal example. 

            Our desire as a church leadership is that we follow the example of our great Shepherd, Jesus, as we continue to build a place of refuge for God’s people.  We can look at this chapter of Scripture and truly glean many vital truths that give us an accurate picture of God’s heart for all His people.  Men like Nehemiah a great examples of what it means to ‘seek the welfare of the city’ (Jeremiah 29:7). 

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