Next week in Drawing Near to God’s Bible study series we will begin our study of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was quite the leader! We have so much to learn concerning his boldness, discernment, handling opposition and his unfailing tenacity against all odds. But above all, we see in him a leader that turned to God first in crisis. He prayed, fasted and sought the Lord. In the book of Nehemiah, we see nine principles that may help you in your walk with Christ as you lead others. Some of you may be thinking that you are not a leader, but we are all leading someone and we are all following someone.
As a young Mom, I quickly realized that this was more than a game of follow the leader; my kids needed to not just follow me but become like Christ in me. I was a model of Christ and when I tapped into this truth, it completely changed my parenting style.
Our goal is for those who follow us to:
- Believe (in Christ)
- Behold Christ
- Become like Christ
Nehemiah understood that he needed to do more than simply tell the Israelites to follow him. He needed to model following His God and in turn, they too would become God-followers. On this side of the cross, we too as believers beholding and becoming like Christ, will lead those who follow us into a relationship with Jesus known as discipleship. That is what we do in the ministry of Drawing Near to God. We invite you to join us live in Charleston SC or via streaming or form your own group studying Nehemiah this fall. Below are the nine principles we will learn as we follow Nehemiah’s Godly leadership.
Principles In Nehemiah
- God allows us to go into captivity when we continue in rebellion but releases us when we turn back to Him. God is sovereign over captivity, release, death, and liberty.
- Beware once you have been set free not to return there.
- God is our Comforter.
- God will use anyone to accomplish his purposes, even a pagan king.
- God restores and will heal and rebuild the land (a metaphor for our spiritual lives).
- God uses the body of Christ together to fulfill His purposes.
- God will do exceedingly more than we can imagine to accomplish His purposes.
- God will use the things in your life that were stolen. He takes the rubble mistakes of your life and uses it for restoration.
- When we humbly pray and seek the Lord, He sees our damaged walls and broken-down places. It is HIS work to heal, repair, and restore us into freedom.
