Over the last 3-4 months, our church studied the whole book of Nehemiah. It was so good for us. We received a lot of good feedback on the series. Many, many people saying they have never really studied the book of Nehemiah before.
You can go back and watch or listen all of the messages here.
One of the things we did in this study is that we were intentional to not reduce the book to just a study on leadership. While Nehemiah is a great leader, the book offers that leadership emphasis and also much more.
Another thing we did is we covered it all. Many studies in Nehemiah do not cover all 13 chapters. We took our time and covered all of it.
After completing preaching through every text, I preached this one final message. It was called “Takeaways from Nehemiah,” and you can check out that message here.
Here is a summary of that message:
- THE WORK OF PRAYER
While the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem is a well told story, what is often overlooked is his commitment to prayer. In every turn of the story, Nehemiah is found praying to God. While one can certainly see the work ethic and the teamwork as keys to the building of the walls, we must also recognize Nehemiah’s dependence on God and his faithful prayer each step of the way. - THE NEED FOR CONFRONTATION
Most of us do not like confrontation, but we cannot ignore that God’s word teaches that sometimes it is needed. Jesus in Matthew 18 tells us to go to them. Paul tells Timothy and Titus to deal with it. In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is willing to confront those who are dishonoring God. We must be willing to confront a sin issue when it is needed. - THE POWER OF INFLUENCE
Influence is real. God uses people. Now we must be careful to never do work in only our own strength that doesn’t have the blessing and power of God in it. But with that said, Nehemiah’s influence was massive and obvious. You have all of Jerusalem torn down and discouraged. Nehemiah finally speaks up and says “Lets rebuild the walls,” and you see many, many people saying “yes, lets do it.” Certainly, if God wasn’t moving in that direction it could not have happened. Psalm 127 tells us “unless the Lord builds the house, those that labor, labor in vain.” But we also can say that were it not for Nehemiah’s influence, the walls would not have been built. God used Nehemiah to influence many people. God uses people for God’s glory! - THE STRENGTH OF TEAMWORK
One of the biggest and best takeaways from the story of Nehemiah is the teamwork. Nehemiah did not do the work. Lots and lots of united people did the work. Chapter 3 uses the phrase “next to him” or “next to them” about 20 times to show that shoulder-to-shoulder and side-by-side they all worked together. The huge challenging project was completed because of teamwork. Teamwork is a beautiful thing. Teamwork makes the dreamwork. That is Biblical. We need other people in our lives. Other people need us in their lives. - THE SALVATION OF JESUS
For as good as a read as the book of Nehemiah is, it sure ends on a sad note. Nehemiah was able to influence them, but Nehemiah was unable to change their hearts. This fascinating Old Testament book leaves us longing for a savior. Only Jesus can bring the lasting change to a person’s life. Jesus changes our hearts which in turn changes us from the inside out. While so much of Nehemiah points us to his good godly convictional leadership, the main emphasis of this book and story is that only God’s son can bring us salvation. Jesus is the true leader we all need in our lives!
Our church loved this study. And I personally have been inspired and strengthened by God through Nehemiah!