HSS_2019_Q4_EP13

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are concluding a series

on Ezra and Nehemiah,

great leaders from the fifth century B.C.,

today, our topic, Leaders in Israel,

but I'd like to say,

"...and leaders for today"

because there are principles we will learn

that will revolutionize our influence

with those in our circle.

So it's going to be exciting to learn,

and we're glad that you're

part of our study.

And I'm glad that we're here today.

What a great series this has been.

It's amazing how true it is

that God's Word is a lamp
to our feet and...?

(Team) A light to our path.

(Derek) Very practical, and we're glad

that you're with us wherever you are
around the world.

We get emails from, well,

we know of 150 countries,

but if you haven't written to us recently,

write to us at [e-mail].

Tell us how God is blessing you
through His Word.

We're especially interested if you've
downloaded the outline and started

an interactive Bible study group
in your area.

Send us a picture of your group,

and we'll share it with the team.

We're always excited to hear
what God's doing.

Oh, I forgot to tell you

about the awesome app,

if you haven't downloaded

our Hope Channel app,

it has Hope Sabbath School,

but you can search

all of the other programs.

It's amazing; you can look

in different languages - great.

It's free; go to the App Store

or Google Play and download the app.

It's been provided so that you

can be blessed, and tell others

about the Hope Channel app, too.

Well, here's a note from Ethiopia.

Thanyang writes to us and says,

"First of all, I would like

to greet you all in the name

of the Lord Jesus," Thanyang.

"My family's background is Presbyterian;
I made a choice

to become a Seventh-day Adventist
Christian

because of the Bible teachings

and how they call the world
to follow Jesus.

My name is Thanyang Koang

from Gambela Field in Ethiopia."

Well, we're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family,
Thanyang.

I'm sure you've got

a story to share of God's goodness,

and we're glad that you're a witness

for Christ there in Ethiopia.

Here's a note from Christine in the UK.

Anyone else from the UK besides me?

All right, homeland.

"Hello, brothers and sisters,

my name is Christine.

I enjoy Hope Sabbath School every week

and find it very helpful

in understanding God's Word,

and it helps me have

a closer relationship with Jesus."

That's what we're praying for, isn't it?

"God bless you all

as we pray for each other

in Jesus' name. Amen."

Christine, thanks for writing
to us from the UK,

and it really is our prayer

just to know more Bible.

Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures;

you think that in them

you have eternal life,

but these are they which testify of Me,"
Jesus said,

"and yet you refuse to come to Me

that you may have life."

So when you say, "I'm learning
about the Bible,

and I'm drawing closer to Jesus,"

all the angels say...?

(Team) Hallelujah.

(Derek) Hallelujah, right,

praise the name of the Lord.

South Sudan, a note from James.

He said, "I would like to thank God

for Hope Sabbath School.

It makes it possible for me

to follow a Bible study

while working as a busy intern

in a local organization.

May God continue blessing your program

that draws many people

to salvation." Amen?

South Sudan, God bless you

with safety in your ministry there, James.

Oh, another one from the UK,

but it's a Zambian

living in the UK, named Tandy.

And Tandy writes and says,

"I'd like to thank you

for being a part of my Christian growth.

I'm Zambian, living in the UK
at the moment.

I was born into a Christian home,

so Jesus has always been a part of my life

even though I didn't understand

a lot then as I do now.

I'm still a work in progress."

Who can say, "Me, too,"?

"I'm blessed that I'm not

the person I used to be,

even though I'm still not the person

I'm supposed to be.

But God isn't finished with me yet.

I'd like to share my brief story."

I'm going to take a moment

to read Tandy's story.

"At a young age, I allowed the devil

to reel me in with the love
of this world -

partying, lies, drugs, alcohol,

vanity, selfishness, and much more."

By the way, we ought not

to accuse anyone of that,

but if a person gives her testimony,

we know she's telling the truth, right?

"I praise my Father in Heaven

for the painful sacrifice He made

to give me mercy." Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I hurt a lot of people

who loved me and cared for me

when I was in the world,

but those same people

did not stop praying for me."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "What the love of a mother

can do in prayer; she pleaded

to God on my behalf

to bring me back to Him.

There is hope," says Tandy.

She started preaching now.

"There is hope in any situation.

We should never give up.

I extend my love to you all

and to the entire Hope Sabbath School
family; I'm waving."

And we're waving back.

Isn't that a powerful testimony?

Praise God. Praise God.

Thank you, Tandy's mom, if you're watching

Hope Sabbath School today.

Thank you for your prayers.

Well, we could read many more emails,

but it's exciting what God's doing.

Right now, we've got a song to sing,

and talking about leadership,

not just back in the time

of Ezra and Nehemiah,

but to be the leaders God wants us to be

as women and men of God today.

But let's sing our song first,

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul."

♪ music ♪

(Derek) I just was seeing
your faces smiling,

and I'm going, "Thank You, Jesus."

It is good to give thanks

to the Lord, isn't it,

and to "sing praises to Your name,

to declare Your lovingkindness
in the morning

and Your faithfulness every night."

And, you know, it's a wonderful thing

with Scripture songs

because the Bible says,

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in My name,

He will teach you all things,

and bring to your remembrance

all things that I said to you."

So that song may be just what we need.

And we're talking about leadership today.

We're glad you're with us,

and we're praying the Holy Spirit

will teach us practical lessons

for our lives today.

Father in Heaven, thank You so much

that Your Word is alive,

and Your Spirit will lead us

into truth as we study even today.

As we think about leaders

back in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah,

but also what you want for us today

as leaders in our circle,

we thank You that You will instruct us,

not only to bless our lives,

but to bless the lives of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, Leaders in Israel,

certainly we've been studying

about two of them, fifth century B.C.,

Ezra, who was by occupation a...?

A priest but a leader priest, right?

And Nehemiah, who by occupation was a...?

A cupbearer in the Persian court,

but a leader cupbearer.

But before we focus in
on them in particular,

in fact, specifically Nehemiah

because many have discovered

that in the book of Nehemiah,

it's like a book on leadership.

There are some powerful principles

that we can draw for our lives today.

But let's take a bigger picture

and look at the Scriptures in general,

particularly in Israel.

Who were some great leaders

that immediately come to your mind,

great leaders in the time

of the people of God in Israel? Anybody?

(Team) Moses.

(Derek) Moses comes to mind.

What stands out in your mind

about his greatness as a leader?

(Gary) Patience.

(Derek) Patience.

(Nicole) He actually had a stutter,

and even with the stutter,

God was able to use him for a great work.

(Derek) There was a time he thought

he was able to do anything,

but then he felt like he

couldn't do anything, right?

But God can use people

who may have some things

that don't work quite right, yes?

What else about Moses

that made him a great leader?

(Jonathan) Humility.

(Derek) Humility, right? Yes, and...?

(Heide) Love.

(Derek) Love for his people, right?

"Lord, blot my name out," you know,

"if you can save them."

(Heide) Who would do that?

(Derek) Yeah, who would do that?

Maybe mom, right, the love
of a parent maybe.

"Lord, blot my name out."

God's like, "I don't want

to blot anybody's name out," right?

But Moses was a great leader.

All right, who else

comes to your mind? Jason?

(Jason) David, the king,

even though he was an imperfect leader.

(Derek) Help me think

of some things he did.

You know, he arranged

for a person's death,

he took a wife from someone,
but he repented.

What was it about him

that made him a great leader? David.

(Travis) You could stay it's still love.

I remember his son was

out to kill him and whatever,

and I remember, after he

found out he died,

he said, "Oh, Lord, that I

would have died instead," and he had...

(Derek) When Absalom died, yes.
All right.

(Travis) He had a love for his people.

(Derek) Was he not one

who loved to worship God?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) I mean, he wrote all
these Scripture songs

including the one we just sang,

though we don't know what the tune was.

He was a great leader, too.

Who else stands out in your mind

as a great leader?

(Adison) Joseph.

(Derek) Joseph, right,

ends up in Egypt, second in command.

What would you say about Joseph

that made him a great leader?

(Adison) There are so many
characteristics,

but he was a very humble man

and was just willing to do anything

for the cause of God,

even if it meant going to the prison,
which he was there for awhile.

(Derek) He was a person of integrity,
wasn't he?

(Adison) Yes, yes.

(Derek) Integrity, and that

would be recognized by the Pharaoh later;
what else?

(Jason) My favorite thing about Joseph,

he let God lead him,

whether it was at a high point
or a low point.

He trusted God, and he let God

direct him wherever he went.

(Derek) There's a little guy

who was a great leader,

and he kind of grew into a great leader.

His name was...? Josiah.

How old was he when he became king?

Eight? Eight!? I think he had

some good counselors, maybe his mother.

Maybe there was another counselor

he had, fortunately.

What was it about Josiah?

Do you every remember reading about...

He was called "Little King Josiah"?

He did grow up, and what do you remember

about him that made him a great leader?

(Jonathan) He led out

in one of the strongest reformations,

I believe, that was ever recorded

in the Old Testament.

(Derek) So, he was passionate

about honoring God, right,

restoring the worship at the temple.

Yes, anybody else that stands out?

(Thomas) John the Baptist,

I mean, he was a great religious leader.

(Derek) Sure, he wasn't a king, was he,

but he was a great leader.

And what made him a great leader, anybody?

What stands out in your mind

that made him a great leader,

besides the fact that some people said,

"Are you the Messiah?"

(Evelyn) Passionate, he was enthusiastic,

and people fed off of that.

(Derek) Yes, he was passionate,

even when confronting things

that were wrong, like, "You're living

with your brother's wife,

and that's not right,"

that resulted in imprisonment
and death, right?

But he was courageous.

(Travis) He set a great example.

He was a great example

of denying the world, standing apart.

You know, he had to do that alone.

I mean, with God, but, you know,

it wasn't like he had a bunch

of friends around him.

(Derek) I think it was Josephus,

the Jewish historian, who said

that Herod Antipas was afraid

of John the Baptist,

that he would raise a rebellion

because the people, the masses,
followed him.

And yet, what's his attitude?

Do you remember that beautiful testimony

recorded in John 3? "He must..."?

(Team) Increase.

(Derek) Talking about...?

(Team) Jesus.

(Derek) "Jesus must increase,
and I must..."?

(Team) Decrease.

(Derek) A great leader, right?

So we could look through the Bible,

and, by the way, it's not bad
to read their stories.

We can learn lessons.

There are also some stories of leaders

who really damaged Israel, right?

They led Israel astray.

I don't want to focus on that

for the whole study,

but who can you think of?

(Team Member) Ahab.

(Derek) Ahab is one, and we

talked about him in a previous study.

And one of his worst mistakes was...?

(Derek, Team) Marrying Jezebel.

(Derek) We talked about it
in a previous study,

how important it is choosing

a life companion, right?

Any others that you say were not good?

(Travis) Abimelech.

(Derek) Abimelech?

(Travis) Killing his brothers.

(Derek) What about Rehoboam,
son of Solomon?

Given counsel, "You show kindness to them,
they'll follow you."

And what does he do? The exact opposite.

He says, "I'm going to make it harder

for you than it ever was before,"

and what does he do?

He splits the kingdom.

So there are plenty of examples

of great leadership, poor leadership.

At the end, we're going to get

to the best model leader; He's coming,

after John the Baptist, right?

But I want to focus in the heart
of our study

on someone we've been looking at

and his testimony during this series,

and that is a cupbearer

in the Persian court, named Nehemiah,

who leads some of the captives back

and helps rebuild the wall.

And I'm going to just give us some verses,

and as you read the verse, tell me

what quality you see there in this leader

and why that's important for us
even today, okay?

Let's start in Nehemiah 1 and verse 4.

Nehemiah 1 and verse 4, Evelyn,

do you have that?

(Evelyn) I will be reading

from the New Living Translation,

Nehemiah 1, verse 4:

(Derek) Okay, principle for leaders,

well, there are actually two.

I'm going to come back

to the second one,

so give me the first one at the beginning.

What do you see there

that's an important quality of a leader?

(Travis) Love for others.

(Derek) Love for your...?

Love for those that God has

called you to lead, right?

Why is that important?

(Travis) You associate yourself with them,

and when you associate yourself with them,

and you love them,

you're going to be, how would I say,

you're going to be very adamant

about your leadership.

You're going to be particular.

You're going to really be invested

in leading that group of people.

(Derek) And, of course, we're going to see

that later with Jesus who,

when He sees a multitude,

like sheep without a shepherd,

it says He had...?

Compassion, right, on them.

So, loving those that we're
called to lead?

Check? Important?

What could that look like

in your life today?

Heide, what could that look like?

(Heide) I teach children at church,

and if I don't love them

then I'm not going to be as patient

and as happy when they all come around

because sometimes they push your buttons.

So having love for them,

the love of Jesus,

it's just going to look like joy

and happiness and that patience,

a lot of patience.

And I'm going to have

just a desire and a passion,

you know, to save them.

(Derek) Yes, Gary?

(Gary) Getting to know their needs,

spending the time with them

to know where it is

that you need to lead them.

(Derek) All right. Tom?

(Thomas) We can think about this

as just people in our own church,

but if we're called to lead the world,

then we should love everybody,

even outside of our church borders.

(Derek) Sure, especially those

who are different from us, right?

All right, so, if we just took

that one leadership principle,

love those that God calls you to lead,
really important.

Thanks for starting there.

Let's keep going, Nehemiah 1, Jonathan,

if you could read verses 8 and 9,

let's see what we hear there.

(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading

from the New International Version;
it says:

(Derek) So what's a principle

we learn there, Jason,

from how Nehemiah is interacting with God?

(Jason) Make sure that a leader

is following God's commandments,

God's guidance, and that he's

in tune, in connection with God.

(Derek) And where do we find that out?

(Heide) The Word.

(Derek) The Word, right.

Does anybody have

a little chain reference?

Stephanie, do you have?

Does it tell you where Nehemiah
was quoting from?

(Stephanie) "If you transgress,"
in verse 8?

(Derek) Yes, where he's quoting

from the Scriptures, verse 8 and 9,
anybody have it?

(Heide) Mine says Leviticus 26:33

and Deuteronomy 30:2-5.

(Derek) That's right;

he's quoting from the Torah, right,

from what we call the Pentateuch,

or the Books of Moses.

How did he know that?

(Heide) He's been studying!

(Derek) That's an obvious answer.

He'd been studying the Word.

He didn't have all

of the wonderful Scriptures that we have,

and he didn't know his book

would end up being one of them.

But the Holy Spirit inspired

the writing of that book.

We have, not only the Hebrew Scriptures,

but we have the New Testament, too, right?

A leader, she needs to know

the Word of God. Why?

Bible text, "Because His Word is..."?

(Team) A lamp.

(Derek) A lamp and a light, right?

So, being acquainted with the Word of God,

another important aspect of leadership.

How could that relate

to your work situation today?

Some of you work; Gary, you work

in I guess what we would call

a secular environment, right?

How would knowing the Bible,

I mean, Chris , I think

you're a pastor, right?

So we say, "Well, of course, pastors

are going to know the Bible."

By the way, there are pastors

who don't know the Bible.

So praise God for pastors

who know the Bible, right?

We need more men and women of God

who know the Bible.

But you're in a secular work environment,

why would knowing the Word of God

be also important for you as a leader?

(Gary) In a secular work environment,

and if you are a leader,

that means you have employees

or your coworkers that you're

leading on various projects,

or maybe just in your day-to-day
activities,

but you want to still convey

a loving, compassionate direction

to your employees or your coworkers.

And looking at the different types

of models of leadership

out there in the world,

compared to what the Bible shows

as the model of leadership,
servant leadership,

I know of coworkers who feel

like they are being lorded over

by their bosses, right,

and they feel that they're just pawns...

(Derek) Treated like something,

like a disposable cup, right?

(Gary) A commodity, used

then gotten rid of when you're done.

But when you exemplify

that you care about them

and want the best for them,

they want to work for you,

and they want to get to know

why you are the way you are.

And it opens up a way

for you to witness to them.

(Derek) And that's where the Word of God
comes in, right?

God gives you a relevant Word for them.

All right, love them,

be filled with the Word.

Let's look and see another principle

we can find in Nehemiah, chapter 1,

verses 5 through 7, 11 and 2, verse 4.

Jason, would you read

those verses for us?

You notice I'm kind of pulling them out,

but I'm pulling out some principles.

Let's see what we can learn
in those verses.

(Jason) And I'll be reading here

from the New King James Version,

Nehemiah, chapter 1,

verses 5 through 7, says:

And then verse 11 says:

And then 2:4 says:

(Derek) Did you get it?

Third leadership principle

that we learn from Nehemiah is...?

(Team) Prayer.

(Derek) Yeah, pray for guidance.

Genuine love for the people,
that's important.

Being attentive to the Word of God
is important,

but be a praying person,

praying for guidance,

praying for, maybe, courage. Yeah, Heide?

(Heide) I just want to say, as a leader,

I work also sometimes with the youth.

And sometimes I see,

when we come together,

that we come up with all these ideas,

and I feel that they are our own ideas.

And this shows me that we can't

just come up with our own ideas

because we think it's a good idea.

It shows me that I need to be praying,

and we each need to be praying

and asking and seeking God's guidance,

you know, to make sure that it's His will

and that we have His blessing.

And maybe sometimes in churches,

some things are not as successful

as we would like them to be,

And it might be because we're

missing that component of prayer.

(Derek) While you were sharing

about asking God, "What do You want?"

I think of that blind man Bartimaeus

when Jesus said, "What do you

want me to do for you?"

He could have said,

"Could you give me lunch?"

And instead he's like, "I want to see!"

Praying for wisdom that may cause me

to maybe be much more courageous

than I would otherwise be. Thomas?

(Thomas) I was just thinking

about the need for grace as a leader.

I remember when I was a student,

there were many times

that I needed grace from my teachers.

And now that I'm a teacher,

I try to remember that--all the times

that I was extended grace

so that I can show that grace to others.

But when we haven't

experienced that in our own lives,

then we're going to be hard to live with,

and people are going to feel like

they have to walk on eggshells

around us, you know?

And so, when we can remember,

that grace allows us

to be a good, positive leader.

(Derek) Sure, and that brings
a good point,

and that is that the praying

is not just asking God what you should do,

but just communing with Him.

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God

as to a friend, right?

So it's just spending time

in communion with God.

That was something that Nehemiah did.

Now he could have said,

"I'm way too busy to do that; I've got

so much 'leadership' stuff to do."

And the answer is...? The answer is...?

(Stephanie) That's why you need to pray.

(Derek) That's why you need

to be taking the time to pray,

is exactly right. Travis?

(Travis) Something I learned

very early in business was

to be a good leader

you had to first be a good follower.

If you didn't know how to follow,

you couldn't be a good leader.

So, being a good leader,

you have to be a good follower.

(Derek) And part of that

is God is our Leader; we're spending time

in communion with Him.

And that brings us

to a fourth important leadership
principle:

If we are indeed genuinely experiencing

the love of God for those

He's called us to lead,

we're listening to His Word, we're

in prayer, in that communion with Him,

which also reveals His compassion

but also gives us wisdom and courage,

then, well, let's see what happens

and what's the lesson.

Nehemiah 2, verses 4 through 8, Nicole.

There's a lesson we can glean
from this action.

(Nicole) The New Living Translation

of Nehemiah 2, verses 4 through 8 says:

(Derek) I'm always astounded
when I hear that.

You know, it's like, "And if I could

also have your credit card

with an unlimited limit," you know,
no limit on it.

What's the lesson there?

Tom, you had a thought.

(Thomas) I just want to ask, first of all,

what is his role, to begin with?

He's a cupbearer; what is that

the equivalent of today?

Is that like the bodyguard, or...?

(Derek) That's a good question.

It's a little more than like the bodyguard

kind of security detail.

It involves protecting

the monarch, obviously.

What would you compare it to today?

We don't really have it, do we?

They say in ancient records

that the cupbearer was

one of the highest paid officials,

so it was a high-ranking official.

(Thomas) The reason why I ask

is that he's not like a governor, though.

He's not in charge of something,

so the fact that he asked this,

he's got a lot of nerve.

He's got a lot of guts

to ask something like that.

I mean, it really shows courage.

You don't know how this guy

could have responded.

The king could have killed him,

who knows; I don't know.

But it shows that he really put

his confidence in God as his King,

and it was because of that

that he had that kind of courage,

that audacity, to ask something like that.

Otherwise, he could have just asked

something like, yeah, like you said

with the blind man, "Maybe give me
some lunch or something."

But he asked for rebuilding
the whole city, you know?

(Derek) There is a principle there,
isn't there?

God is opening a door

because the king has said...

He prayed, remember,

"Give me favor in this man's eyes," right?

And now the king has said,

"What do you want?" and he stops to pray

because he recognizes, what is God doing?

(Team) Opening a door.

(Derek) God's opening a door.

And what's the lesson for leadership

that we just reflected on?

When God opens a door...?

(Team) Go through it.

(Derek) Yeah, take action.

(Adison) Walk through that door.

(Derek) Take action...? Courageously.

I mean, I don't know about you,

every time I read this,

I'm like, "Really?!"

That was really bold,

the amount of things that he asked for!

Now, the Holy Spirit, I'm sure,

was guiding him in that.

But when God opens a door, don't hesitate.

So how do we know if it's God

who's opening the door?

Maybe sometimes people rush through,

and God hasn't even opened the door.

What indication would you say Nehemiah had

that God, Stephanie, was
opening this door?

(Stephanie) I think that God speaks

to each one of us individually.

He knows what we need to know.

For this, I could almost imagine

that when he prayed to God

in the first chapter,

he had an idea of what it was

going to take to get him

from where he's at

to where he needed to be.

And as he was praying through that,

God gave him wisdom to know what to ask

and gave him very specific boldness.

(Derek) Do you know how much time passed,

by the way, between chapter 1
and chapter 2?

I have this vague recollection in my mind

that about four months had passed.

(Nicole) The following spring.

(Derek) So this was not like,

"And the next day...,"

which probably is another lesson,

that we persevere in prayer. Gary?

(Gary) I was going to say that Nehemiah

was specific in his request
to God, initially,

and when he saw the opportunity,

he knew that this was a specific answer.

Your earlier question was

how do we know it was God, right?

He was specific in what he wanted

in his request to God,

and he saw that this was

a specific answer to that.

(Derek) Sure, and he had been praying

about that for the last four months.

I've got to move on

to a few other principles,

if you don't mind.

Let's go on to chapter 2,

verses 11 and 12 and 17 and 18.

Not only do we need

to go through the door when God opens it,

but we've got to know something else

when we get through the door.

Let's look in verses 11 and 12.

Adison, if you could read that,

and then verses 17 and 18.

We're in Nehemiah, chapter 2.

(Adison) And I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

And verses 17 and 18:

(Derek) So he knew the people of God
were in trouble.

He mourned over that.

God opens a door of opportunity

after he's been attentive

to the Word and in prayer.

He goes boldly through that door.

And what's the first thing he does

when he gets there? Travis?

(Travis) Waits.

(Derek) Waits?

(Travis) He waits for three days.

(Derek) It kind of ties us back

into which one of those three

was it about prayer;

I guess that was the third one, right,
third principle.

And then what does he do

after he waits and prays? Jonathan?

(Jonathan) He assesses the situation,

and then he makes a plan

and clearly defines that plan

to the people that needed

to take that plan on.

(Derek) Nobody gave him

those instructions, right?

Why don't you think he told everybody

that he was going out to look?

Why did he not tell anyone?

He just went out. Travis?

(Travis) I think for two reasons.

One, we knew that there were people

opposing this reconstruction.

So, if all of a sudden,

a new group of people came,

and they knew what they were up to,

they could start hindering them

before he even got to talk with the people

and start to build confidence

in what he was trying to accomplish there.

(Derek) Do you think, back to Tom's point

about being a cupbearer,

do you think he learned all

of those leadership skills as a cupbearer?

(Travis) He learned some of them.

(Derek) Some of them, you think?

I don't know. What do you think?

Or was God teaching him?

Does God enable us to do that

which He calls us to do?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Let's look at verse 20,

another leadership principle

in Nehemiah 2:20; Malaina, if you

could read that verse for us.

(Malaina) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) I think you may be
in the wrong chapter.

We're in chapter 2, verse 20; It's okay.

(Malaina) My page turned on me.

(Derek) That's all right, 2 verse 20.

(Malaina) All right, one second:

(Derek) So, another principle

is this word "we."

Now, we're going to talk
about servant leader

because he doesn't say "you" or "I."

What's the problem if he says,

"I will arise and build"?

What's the problem?

There's no way; you're not going to do it.

And they ended up building it

in how many days, do you remember?

(Heide) Fifty-two.

(Derek) Fifty-two days? There's no way.

So, what's another important leadership
principle here?

In fact, the whole chapter 3,

which was part of what Malaina got to,

was a whole list of different groups

who did this piece of the wall,

this piece of the wall.

What do we call that? What's the word?

(Team) Delegation.

(Derek) Delegation, that's right.

"Oh, but you can't build as well as I can,

so just wait; I'll be there

in seven months, maybe."

Important lesson for leadership?
Delegation.

So, think about an area of leadership

that you have where you might be tempted

to say, "Well, I really could do it

better," Adison, "if I did it
myself," right?

What does delegation...

What message, Chris, does delegation send?

(Chris) First of all, I think

it humbles you a little bit

because, first of all, you have

to understand that you
can't do everything.

We, as human beings, we're not God,

and there are other things

that people can do that they can do

better than we can.

And I think it's important

to understand that and to empower

other people to be able

to do those things.

(Derek) We said he didn't just say,

"I will arise and build."

But neither did he just say,

"You will arise and build."

Look at one verse, another principle,

in Nehemiah 4, verses 21 to 23.

Heide, if you'd read that for us,
Nehemiah 4:21-23.

We're just kind of gleaning

some principles through this chapter.

(Heide) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Derek) So, what's the principle

of leadership here?

Someone used the term earlier.

Who used the term servant leader?

Who used that term?

(Travis) I think I might have.

(Derek) A leader who serves.

What do you see Nehemiah doing?

What was his profession again?

(Derek, Team) A cupbearer.

(Derek) What's he doing now?

He's doing construction, masonry work.

Did he have any training in that?

Do you think...I mean, physically

do you think cupbearer is like,

"Oh, that's a big cup"?

Do you think he'd say,

"I'm built for this"?

Or do you think maybe some people looked

and said, "Nehemiah, you're

not really built for this,

but you sure are with us"?

I don't know. What do you think, Travis?

(Travis) Back to something you

kind of pointed to before

is that he might have seen things

in Babylon back there

and been involved with things

as he worked his way up

because, to go and do all this,

obviously God was leading.

We see His hand in all of this,

but he couldn't have done this

if he didn't know something

about what was happening there.

He had to have some knowledge.

And being a good leader,

when you can go out and show by example

that you're willing to sweat
and work alongside,

that is one of the most encouraging things

for your employees.

"If my boss is going

to be here doing this,

I can do this, too."

(Derek) By the way, I'm not expecting,

if you're joining us in our study today,

that you'll remember all
of these principles.

Maybe God will impress you with one,

and you say, "I need

to remember that one."

So, here's another one in chapter 5,

and I'm just going to ask someone

to read verses 14 through 19.

Tom, maybe you could read that for us,

verses 14 through 19.

Let's see something else about Nehemiah

that illustrates his leadership.

(Thomas) And this is

from the New King James Version:

How much? Oh, keep going.

(Derek) Down through verse 19.

(Thomas) Okay:

(Derek) Now, that's interesting

because it does say here,

that even though he was a cupbearer

back in the Persian kingdom,

that Artaxerxes did appoint him
as governor.

Did you notice that?

So that was definitely a promotion, right,

to a governor over the region.

But what's the principle here
of leadership?

There was injustice.

He said, "Before me,

the governors were doing," what?

They were just taking.

And what leadership principle

do you see here, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) He was establishing justice

and showing that not only was

he going to enforce it,

but he himself was making sure

that there would be justice shown.

(Derek) He's helping to correct

past injustice, isn't he?

Why is that important for a leader?
Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think in other words

he's also showing empathy.

He's putting himself in that place

and realizing, all this stuff

that has happened is something

that needs to be righted.

He needs to lay out the example

that they're calling them to

so they can have a good example.

(Derek) Well, we could look at chapter 4

not being overwhelmed

by opposition, human opposition,

but I want to go on to chapter 6,
verses 1 to 4.

Chris, if you could read

those four verses in Nehemiah 6.

Here's another principle,

and we'll need that in whatever area

we are called to lead.

(Chris) I'll be reading

from the English Standard Version:

(Derek) What's the lesson, as a leader?

(Stephanie) Stay focused.

(Derek) Stay focused.

How many times did they send that message?

(Team) Four times.

(Derek) How did he know they were

intending to him harm, by the way?

What do you think?

(Jason) He was in connection with God.

(Derek) He was in connection with God,

and God's like, "Don't go down there."

By the way, even if God

had not revealed that to him,

there was enough history

of the characters of these people, right,

that he's thinking, "Why would I
want to do that?"

Now sometimes, when we're

doing a work for God

in whatever leadership role
He's called us,

we allow ourselves

to be easily distracted.

"Oh, it's a good opportunity

to take a break," right?

What's going on, really, for us

when we're so easily distracted?

What's the antidote

for being so easily distracted?

Nobody has ever had that happen?

"Well, let's just go

and watch TV for four days," you know.

What's going on, Tom?

(Thomas) We can get distracted by crises

or problems that arise,

and those are not really the main issue.

We just need to stay focused

on what God is calling us to do.

(Derek) So, let's say I'm feeling myself

wanting to be easily distracted.

Is anybody with me?

You understand what I'm talking about?

Like, "I've got to study for this exam,

but I think I'll go and play soccer,"

or something, you know.

Come back and say, "Okay,

what's going on here?"

And what might I do at that point?

Pray and say God, "Search me

and know my heart."

And He might say, "I think
you're overtired."

You know, you're going to go

and eat a bunch of stuff

that you don't need to eat."

I know I'm in dangerous ground here,

but you know what I'm talking about.

And why don't you take a nap
for a little bit

and then keep doing

what you need to be doing?

Does that make sense?

Sometimes we can be easily distracted

because of other stuff.

That's just like the external stuff,

but there's other stuff going on

in the inside? Travis?

(Travis) I think of the verse,

I think it's Matthew, chapter [26:41].

It says, "Watch and pray,

lest you fall into temptation.

The spirit is willing,

but the flesh is weak."

I think of that verse

when you're talking, "Watch and pray."

(Derek) So, for him it was Sanballat

or whoever it was that was

trying to distract him.

For us it could be other things.

By the way, there's nothing wrong

in going and hanging out

with friends for a little while

as long as you've thought it through
prayerfully, right?

And that you're not

just avoiding something that really needs

to be done. Jonathan?

(Jonathan) I think sometimes

we lose sight of the goal.

We don't really remember, like,

"What is it that God has called me to?"

And, "Am I focused enough on that?"

Am I really remembering to make sure

that that's my focus and my actions.

(Derek) One last principle

from Nehemiah 13:6-7, and then I want

to hyperspace forward to Jesus

because He's always the perfect example.

But we found some great examples

among the leaders of Israel, right,
young and old.

By the way, there are great women leaders

like Deborah, too, and Esther.

There are great leaders

that God has raised up.

But let's look at one last principle,

Nehemiah 13, and, Gary,

could you read verses 6 and 7 for us?

(Gary) Okay, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Nehemiah 13, verses 6 and 7:

(Derek) So, here's a leadership principle.

He goes back to a very comfortable
position

in the Persian court.

Why didn't he stay there?

I mean, we read some of the challenges.

People were trying to kill him.

He was not able to even wash his clothes.

He'd work, right, just change
to wash them.

Why did he go back, Stephanie?

What does that tell us

about his leadership?

(Stephanie) He had a passion
and a mission,

and he was going to stick with that.

God had given him that passion,

and he couldn't do anything

but go back and serve.

(Derek) You know, is it Paul

who says basically, "I don't have

any choice but to preach"?

(Stephanie) Yes.

(Derek) And for us it's different things,

but that God has given me a mission,

and it's not done, right?

Hyperspace forward to Jesus.

By the way, great examples

of leadership qualities in Nehemiah?

(Team) Yeah.

(Derek) We could list some and say, "Wow,

if I could take one or two of those."

I'm not going to have you read passages;

I'm just going to have you

think of stories where you say,

"That is a great example

of how God calls me to be as a leader

in my circle of influence," all right?

Tell me a story in the life

and ministry of Jesus.

We find those stories...

By the way, the Bible is important.

How much would we know about Jesus

without the Scriptures?

How much would we know?

(Team) Nothing.

(Derek) Almost nothing.

No wonder the Holy Spirit preserved

these texts for us, right?

Tell me a story that illustrates, Nicole,

beautiful leadership of Jesus.

(Nicole) Servant leadership

when He washed the disciples' feet.

He washed them all, even the one

that was going to betray him.

He still set an example for us today

of what we should be doing

when we come in contact with those

that need our examples,

and so I would think about that story.

(Derek) And that one is recorded

in the Gospel of John, chapter 13.

And you're absolutely right.

He doesn't say, "Well, I'm just going

to wash your feet."

"I'm not going to wash your feet."

And they're all stunned, by the way,

because that was the work

of a slave or a servant,

but He's showing them an example.

He said, "If I, your Lord and Master

have washed your feet,

you ought to wash

one another's feet, too."

Great example of saying

lead by a spirit of humility. Adison?

(Adison) It was a common occurrence

in Christ's ministry for Him

to go to a solitary place

and there commune with His Father,

asking his Father for a clearer vision

of what he needed to accomplish
as a leader

and to fulfill the mission

that His Father had given Him to do.

(Derek) So, oftentimes,

when we think of great leadership,

we think of times when Jesus
was with people.

And Adison is saying,

"What about the times

when He intentionally wasn't with people?"

Mark 1:35, "He went early in the morning

to a deserted place,

and there He prayed."

So, a great principle of a servant leader,

and we learned that

with Nehemiah, too, right?

A time to fast, a time to pray,

time to be attentive to the Word of God.

You see that very much.

You know, if anyone could have said,

"I'm really too busy to do that,"

it would be Jesus, right?

Another story that comes

to your mind, Jonathan?

(Jonathan) Kind of the opposite of that

or a corollary of that is dedication.

I mean, there were so many times

that the crowds were coming to Him,

and He was working all the time,

focusing on serving people.

And his relatives, His mother

and brothers, were concerned about Him.

But He was so focused on the people

that were like sheep without a shepherd,

that He was focused;

that was what He needed

to make his priority.

(Derek) It's interesting, and we

don't know everything from the Gospels,

but when Jesus recognized

that His disciples were so busy

they didn't even have time to eat,

He said, "Time out.

Go to a quiet place and rest."

And people would say, "What about Jesus?

Didn't He need quiet places to rest?"

Sure He did; you know,

when the 12 went out,

and then when the 70 went out,

where was Jesus during that time?

We don't know; could He have gone

to a quiet place to rest?

But certainly passionate commitment.

Tell me another story

that really illustrates. Tom?

(Thomas) It's a story that He told.

I like the story that He shared

about the Good Samaritan.

We don't typically think of that

as a story about leadership,

but the first two people

in that story were leaders.

And yet the Good Samaritan

was going out of his way

and doing something different

and caring about people.

I think it's an illustration

of what Jesus does.

He looks at all us

regardless of our positions

and cares about us.

I think that's what really a leader does.

(Derek) That's a powerful illustration,

that the two leaders

weren't acting like godly leaders.

And the one who wasn't "technically"...

We're all leaders somewhere, right?

He was the godly leader there,

wasn't he, in the story.

And he manifested the character of God

in caring for that person.

One more story. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) His sacrifice.

He loved enough to give all,

even though He didn't deserve it.

(Derek) So, laying down His life,

dying on the cross.

"Father, forgive them;

they don't know what they're doing."

Self-sacrificing love.

Move forward several generations,

maybe a couple of millennia would be good,

because God wants to see examples

of that kind of leadership.

We could say Nehemiah's qualities,

or maybe, we mentioned Joseph or Moses

or David, imperfect, Deborah, Esther,

not perfect but used by God.

We've mentioned Jesus now.

Today, where have you seen

an example of that kind

of servant leadership?

Does anybody come to your mind
that you say...?

And we hesitate with that

because we don't want to what -
flatter people?

But I remember in a previous program

you mentioned a pastor

who studied with your father,

and then baptized you

and your twin brother, too.

That honors what God did

through that person's ministry, right?

Someone come to your mind, Jason,

that you just say, "I saw
servant leadership,"

an example of how Jesus wants us to lead?

(Jason) When I was in high school,

I was part of an orchestra,

and we had our music director.

And I've been part of a lot
of different music groups,

and the one thing I really appreciated

about this director was he would push

the limits of what could be accomplished

in ministry and in sharing

the gospel with other people.

He would have us go

to different countries.

He would have us travel all over.

And you could just see his passion

and dedication to make sure

that we could share God's love

to as many people as we could.

And there were times

when we were really exhausted,

and we definitely were like, "Oh, wow,

I don't know we can keep doing this."

But he had the enthusiasm
and encouragement

that helped us get through

and really share God's love

all over the world.

(Derek) Anyone else have

an example of someone? Tom.

(Thomas) I just think of a man
in our church.

His name was George, I believe,

and he really just wanted

to put together a community service fair.

And I just thought, "Phff, we're
a small church.

We could never do that."

But he really wanted to do it.

He saw this vision and made it happen.

And he really inspired me to think

we can do anything with God's power.

We just hold ourselves back.

(Derek) I like what Tom said,

"His name was George, I think."

It wasn't about George, right?

What impressed you

was what God accomplished through George,

and that's really what leadership
is all about.

That when it's all said and done,

people say, "What a great

and awesome God we serve."

And that's what God calls
each one of us to,

Ezra, Nehemiah, they were

individuals like that.

We could name other men and women of God

through the centuries,

and by God's grace, name them today

who exemplify what we see most clearly

in the love and leadership of Jesus.

Because when those characteristics

of leaders are revealed in our lives,

just like Jesus said,

people will see our good works,

not glorify us, but glorify

our Father who's in Heaven.

Let's pray whatever circle of leadership

God's given you, God's given me,

that we would be leaders

that would honor His name

and bless His people.

Father in Heaven, we thank You

for the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah

and also men and women of God

through the centuries,

and most clearly we see in Jesus.

And even today we see people

who reveal the beauty of Your character

in the way they lead.

May we be those kind of leaders, too,

not to earn Your love, but to honor You,

our great and awesome God and Savior.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

The journey continues as we continue

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

Share the principles you've learned.

Go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

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