In this sermon, I will break down the steps on How To Become a Leader Not a Follower. This is a Powerful message, and I am sure you will be blessed.
Just Lead
Nehemiah 2:13
This morning, I would like to speak a message that I believe the Lord has placed upon my heart.
You have all heard of the saying Just Flow right –
Well tonight I would like to introduce you to another saying and that saying is Just Lead.
I would like to use the word L E A D as an acronym –
the L is for look
the e is for evaluate
the a is for and
the d is for decide.
What we need in our generation today is not only followers, but we need leaders.
I came up with this saying in the UTC – because many time the students will walk around the U.T.C. saying – what are we going to do today.
I got tired of hearing that – so now I tell them just lead.
In other words, I am telling them – don't just be a follower and wait for someone to always tell you what to do but be a leader.
Because when you get out of the U.T.C you aren't going to have the schedule and the structure to tell you what to do every day and that is when you need to make a decision to lead.
So, I would rather you lead now – I would rather you make mistakes now – so you can be coached on how to do what is right.
So, tell your neighbor Just Lead…
When Nehemiah heard about the walls of Jerusalem and how they had been burned with fire and lied in ruins. Head lead the people to rebuild the walls.
The walls were in ruins and Nehemiah caught a burden to see these walls rebuilt for the Honor and Glory of God.
Just like Nehemiah caught a burden to see the walls rebuilt you and I should have a desire and a burden to see the lives of people who have been torn apart by sin rebuilt for the Honor and Glory of God…
There are a few things that I noticed that Nehemiah did that I would like to point out and then I will be done.
Somebody say he L.E.A.D.
1 – He looked at the situation
The Bible says in Nehemiah 2:13 – And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
We see here that Nehemiah looked at the situation – he viewed the walls and saw they were broken down and the gates had been burned with fire.
See there is one thing to hear about the need, but it is another thing to see the need.
Nehemiah didn't only want to hear about the need, but he came out of the Kings Palace and placed himself amongst the need. He wanted to see the need for himself.
Just like Nehemiah place himself amongst the need and wanted to see it, so it is with you and me.
It is one thing to hear about the need in our World and in our Country, but it is another thing to get out there and see the need right in front of your own eyes.
How many know we have a need in our Country – souls are dying, families are being torn apart, young people are being killed, drugs are destroying lives, the world is crying out for answers.
When is the last time that you and I looked at the need in our township, in our schools, in our country, and in our Continent?
Tell your neighbor look.
There are 3 different directions you and I should be looking as a Christian.
– we should be looking up
– we should be looking in
– we should be looking out
1. Look UP
Looking up means that we should always be looking to God from which comes our help.
The Bible says that we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author and the finisher of our faith.
We should always look to God – to strengthen us, to keep us, and to use us for His honor and His Glory.
I like what I read on Facebook as someone’s status, and it said – never forget that whatever you do that is meaningful to the church is only empowered by the Holy Spirit you never could’ve done it by yourself…ITS TIME TO GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY!!!
You and I need to remember to always look up to God.
2. Look In – Look in means that you and I should always remember that God is doing a work in our lives, and we should always evaluate and examine ourselves in our walk with God.
I know a lot of time we like to see the mistakes and faults in our brother and our sister, but sometimes you and I need to put ourselves in check.
You have heard the saying – when you point the finger at someone else there are 3 of them pointing back at you.
We should always be looking in and examining ourselves on a constant basis.
3. We should look out.
Nehemiah looked out and that is why he saw the need of rebuilding the walls and the gates that had been burned with fire.
As a Christian, not only do we need to look up, look in, but we also need to look out.
Look outside the Church once in a while and see the need of our world.
Sad to say many Christians spend a lot of their time looking up, but not for God to be their strength, but for their next blessing.
Only thinking about ourselves and how God is going to bless us next.
We need to also remember to look out and see the need.
How many know that we have been called to meet the needs of this generation.
Just like Nehemiah saw the need of the broken-down walls and the gates that had been burned with fire.
You and I should keep our eyes on the need…
For the first time, Nehemiah saw with his eyes what had been reported to him, and what God had called him to repair.
When Nehemiah heard about the need he felt the burden. I am sure when he say the need it even affected him more. He was broken in the presence of God before he saw the need. I could imagine how his heart felt when he saw the need.
The first thing in leading is we need to look at the situation.
2 – He evaluated the situation
The next thing that Nehemiah did was he evaluated the situation.
I looked up the word evaluate and it said:
1. to determine or set the value or amount of;
2. to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of; assess: to evaluate the results of an experiment.
To fix the situation of the walls being broken down and the gates burned with fire – became a value to Nehemiah.
He didn't just look and say oh well poor walls and the too bad the gates are burned, no he valued doing something about the situation.
He wanted to see the walls rebuilt and fixed because seeing these walls rebuilt was a value to him and a high priority.
Now don't get me wrong there were a lot of good things going on with Jerusalem.
They were back in Judah, the forced exile was over, the Temple was built, Sacrifice and Worship were conducted, and progress was being made – slow as it was.
There was a lot to be thankful for, but the walls being broken, and the gates being burned was a priority in Nehemiah’s life to get fixed.
Sometimes you and I must look at what is not going right to fix something else.
Nehemiah could have focused on everything that was going well and forget about rebuilding the walls.
He probably said to himself – yes, the exile is over, we are back in Jerusalem, the Temple is built, and great things are happening forget about the need, but he said no no no that is why I came out of the Kings palace I am here to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
I don't know if you know this Church but that can be a challenge that you and I face in our walk with God.
Sometimes we can focus on all that is going well and forget about what needs to be fixed.
Oh, I am blessed now, I am doing good right about now – I got my family back – got that job I was praying for – got me new car now – got me a little girlfriend or boyfriend now hey things are going great, but let’s not forget that God has called us to rebuild lives that have been torn apart by sin.
Now I am not saying that you must go around finding out everything that is wrong, because some people are great at that.
They are full of criticism. They believe they have the unique spiritual gift of pointing out everything that is wrong.
They like to say well I am just keeping it real.
But Nehemiah teaches us by example – we must look at the broken-down towers, and carefully study what is wrong – but only if we have the heart, the prayer, the vision, the passion to be used of God to do something about it and set it right.
There is little use in the Kingdom of God for sideline critics and back seat drivers…
Nehemiah was bold enough to look at the facts, diagnose and evaluate them, and then rise to the task and do something about it.
It was a value to Nehemiah to fix the walls.
That leads me to my next and final point.
3. He decided to do something about the situation:
Nehemiah didn't only look at the situation, he didn't only evaluate the situation, but he decided to do something about the situation.
He rebuilt the walls.
Today what we need are leaders – people who see the need, evaluate what needs to be done, and do something about it for the Honor and Glory of God.
Tell your neighbor “Just Lead…”
As a leader we are constantly making decisions.
It takes a leader to make decisions.
Illustration about making decisions:
A farmer hired a man to work for him. He told him his first task would be to paint the barn and said it should take him about three days to complete. But the hired man was finished in one day.
The farmer set him to cutting wood, telling him it would require about 4 days. The hired man finished in a day and a half, to the farmer's amazement.
The next task was to sort out a large pile of potatoes. He was to arrange them into three piles: seed potatoes, food for the hogs, and potatoes that were good enough to sell.
The farmer said it was a small job and shouldn't take long at all. At the end of the day the farmer came back and found the hired man had barely started. “What's the matter here?” the farmer asked.
“I can work hard, but I can't make decisions!” replied the hired man.
Nehemiah decided to do something about the situation.
Nehemiah Decided to do something – Nehemiah 2:17-18
Come let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah and the people had to decide to do something about the situation.
Are you and I willing to do something about the situation of our Country and of our world?
As a leader and someone who is in charge, we will constantly find ourselves in a place where we are Looking, Evaluation, and Deciding.
In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer
The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill
Bruce Larson, in his book Wind and Fire, points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes:
“These large birds, who fly great distances across continents, have three remarkable qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time. Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then, all during the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking their affirmation.
That's not a bad model for the church. Certainly, we need leaders who can handle turbulence and who are aware that leadership ought to be shared. But most of all, we need a church where we are all honking encouragement.”
I hope you have been blessed by this sermon. If you would like to read more of my sermons you can do to my blog page by clicking here.
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God Bless You
Pastor Dre
