Bible Study Library

Dear Disciples:

This post concludes our nine-part series on Nehemiah. I’ll summarize the application lessons we’ve learned through our study.

For our purpose, Nehemiah’s story can be divided into five sections:

SECTION 1: Preparing to do God’s work (Chapters 1 and 2)
SECTION 2: Getting To Work (3:1-4:9)
SECTION 3: Dealing With Opposition (4:10-5:13)
SECTION 4: True Leadership (5:14-7:4)
SECTION 5: When You’re Done, Stop (7:5-13:31)

Here are the primary application lessons we’ve learned in each section:

SECTION 1: Preparing to do God’s work (Chapters 1 and 2)

1. Develop a sensitivity to what God needs you to do, very specifically.
2. Understand that when God lays something on your heart, He wants to accomplish through you.
3. Be well aware of the obstacles that might get in the way of accomplishing God’s will.
4. Trust that God will (not “can” or “might”) remove these obstacles.
5. If it is God’s work through you, it cannot fail. Trust that and let it be your fuel.

SECTION 2: Getting To Work (3:1-4:9)

1. Pray. Confess the sins of God’s people. Confess your own sins. Be specific. Mourn and fast.
2. Assess the situation. What needs done? What repairs need made, what bricks need laid?
3. Break tasks into parts. What are the small components of the whole task?
4. Gather workers, clearly define responsibilities, and delegate tasks.
5. Beyond assigning tasks, assign accountability for the outcome to convey ownership.
6. Keep an eye toward the reason for doing the work. Don’t just build the wall. What will happen when the wall is built? What comes next? What’s the purpose?

SECTION 3: Dealing With Opposition (4:10-5:13)

1. If you are doing God’s work, you will invariably encounter opposition.
2. When opposition comes, find relief by meditating on your original commitment that you’d allow God to work through you. Don’t resist God.
3. Opposition may come from people who claim to be believers.
4. Opposition may come from people of the world.
5. Opposers will weaken as the work progresses.
6. With people working with you and tasks clearly defined, you will see progress. Celebrate that progress.
7. When the work begins to seem impossible, reflect on God’s promises.
8. Rely on God’s strength throughout the work. Exhaustion and frustration come from trying to do the work in your own strength and your own way.
9. Give God the credit for the work and its results at every opportunity. Take the focus off of yourself and those working with you and place it on God Himself.
10. Ensure that the people involved in the work with you are effectively using their own gifts toward the final goal.
11. Continue praying regularly for the task.
12. Remember that the effective leader is the servant-leader.

SECTION 4: True Leadership (5:14-7:4)

1. True leadership requires an unwavering commitment to the task at hand, placing the good of God’s purpose ahead of our own egos.
2. True leadership requires modesty, self-sacrifice, and a determined - but not vengeful - spirit.
3. True leadership requires hard work, getting your hands dirty when necessary to make sure the work is completed
4. True leaders know when it is time to turn leadership over to their successors, and they spend a good part of their ministry developing those successors.
5. True leaders attribute success to God and failure to themselves

SECTION 5: When You’re Done, Stop (7:5-13:31)

1. Do what you’re called to do, then stop.
2. Take measures that will ensure the results of your faithfulness continue into the future, as Nehemiah appointed two godly men to govern before he left
3. When renewal comes from the work God does through you, encourage the people involved to recommit themselves to God, cleanse their lives, and celebrate the renewal!

This is the last lesson in this series! Return to the Main page >>