So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I rose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Amen. Dear Saints, you may be seated. May we enjoy together some more time of prayer. Let's go to the Lord yet again. Heavenly Father, we do thank you that we can do that. Come before your throne again in prayer as we hear Jesus Christ preach himself to his church and feed us his very being. May we enjoy each word of this holy scripture tonight and apply it to our lives and be led by the Lord Jesus. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So we're continuing in the second chapter of Nehemiah tonight and sometimes God's leaders have to be alone for a time as they view for themselves the state of things and incorporate this knowledge with what they have already received from God namely his commission to do a certain task. Now every one of you, being the faithful church that we prayed for first today, because in your prayers you should always do that, Jesus did, he always prayed for his 11 faithful disciples first and foremost, and among those, the three that were even closer, Peter, John, and James, you all have a ministry in the church and also in the world, all of you do. and you are leaders in the world and in the church. And so this sermon is really for you. You've been given a commission just like Moses was in Exodus 19.3, and Joshua was in Joshua 8.13b, and David was in 1 Samuel 21.1, and especially our Lord Jesus himself in Matthew 14.23. And such was the situation too for Nehemiah in tonight's scripture lesson. He is going to get a first-hand sense of the condition of Jerusalem, the old covenant temple area, the headquarters of the old covenant church, and he keeps his heart's musings close to the vest, which is an expression that means He keeps it secret. He's not going to share it with anyone until the right time comes. And when the right time does come, of course, he will express those to God's people and he will lead them gently and they will follow him. There's the best leaders in whatever field, be it in the church, in government, in business, in schools, in any endeavor at all. don't first look to the people they're going to direct for guidance and inspiration. They don't hold their finger to the wind to decide which way the popular opinion is going. They don't take polls. They don't do focus groups. They don't need any of that. The best leaders, the top quality ones, first go to God himself. and then trust the Lord to do best by and through those leaders who will then serve the people that they are working with and endeavoring to help. So in light of all this, and with Nehemiah as a good example, let's make it our goal this evening To follow God's order in Jesus, which leads to harmonious effectiveness, we're looking at Nehemiah 2, 11 through 16, and the leader takes stock, he assesses the situation before He makes an important decision and he also has an animal with which he is operating tonight as well. So we'll note that. The doctrine, before words are spoken or work is done, leaders must clearly assess the situation. A-S-S-E-S-S. which means to figure it out, to come to a conclusion about what it is, the nature of it. There's nothing of value is ever achieved or accomplished in the world or the church until or unless the mission is clearly understood. A church must have a very clear vision and mission for why it exists, what it is to do, what it is not to do, what the core values are to be, Of course, your church is blessed with us. We value Christ, the church, the gospel, the Lord's Day, His worship, and from here, the evangelism of the entire world. Those are our core values, and we stand on those. And in the worship, we do what scripture commands us to do. Preach, pray, sing, participate in the sacraments often, vows, prayers, those things that we're told to do, means of grace. Now this is only possible, that is, the mission being clearly understood, when the problems, the resources, and the solutions are absolutely vivid to the leader and the leaders and later to those who will follow them. So, first of all, there is a problem. Everybody knows it. There are resources. We need to know what they are. And there are solutions. But they need to be God-honoring, simple, and Christ-glorifying. So before words are spoken or work is done, leaders must clearly assess the situation. This blesses the church in that there is a single focus. See, the single focus is really important. Now, think about Nehemiah and Jerusalem. Some of the people living in Jerusalem, even before Nehemiah ever got there, who had maybe lived there for months or years, might have said to him, forget this wall building project, let's spend our energies straightening out our financial troubles. Others may have suggested, who needs a wall? We haven't had any hostile armies around here for a long time. Instead of repairing that thing, let's develop some nice new neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Now there's, at first blush, none of this is bad. The problem is that people generally don't really know what is best for them, and that's the leader's role. to find that out, to discover it in the gospel, and then to execute it in the church, in our case. It's one of the principal roles of God's leaders, be they, again, in the church, the state, the home, or wherever, to direct people into what, better, who they really need, and to who Christ will provide them the greatest long-term good and support. The problem is that people don't know what they really need. Now there is also in tonight's text and throughout the book of Nehemiah a big emphasis on secrecy. Nehemiah knew that God had blessed him. His blessing was on him. The good hand of God was on him. We saw that back in, I think, verse 8. And now the intent is to reveal the Lord's designs at the right time in the right circumstances. So part of the reason for this secrecy may have been so that he could listen for and hold down the proffering or the offering of lots of other ideas that people were having. Ideas bubble up like crazy. And it's not always bad, but it can be a problem. So before words are spoken or work is done, leaders must clearly assess the situation that blesses the church and that there is a single focus that will involve all the believers in the fulfillment of it. Good church leadership always seeks to get as many of God's, the right, if you will, people as possible into the action of the mission of the church. And that always starts with those who are most committed, like those folks who come on Sunday night, for example. And that is part of leadership, and we see a vivid picture and example of this starting in chapter 3, verses 1 and following, where the people start lining up, their names are mentioned, and they get to work, and they follow. and they all work together. Excellent leadership starts with Christ and it ends with the members of the church, even the smallest ones. Pastors and officers are linchpins of inspiration, example, and guidance, but ultimately it's you that make the difference. Once the faithful people in the church covenant are on the same page, the work not only gets underway, that's for sure, but it also steadily progresses, though not without difficulty and opposition, as we'll see very often in this book of Nehemiah. So the church is defined as the whole body of Christ and not just the head, Jesus, or the church officer corps. And all of us get to share in the joy of the work of the Lord. So with all that preface doctrinal, let's now look at the text together and do some explication and observe how the thoughtful leader takes stock. And godly leaders need to be thoughtful, need to take time, need to prepare themselves, need to do due diligence, need to be educated. need to be prepared, called, directed, appointed, ordained, and set to the task. Only God can do all of those things. So, we're gonna see how Nehemiah, as a pattern for leaders, of which all of you here are, conducted himself in light of the project before him. How the thoughtful leader takes stock, or assesses a situation before making an important decision, verses 11 and 12. by clinging to God's clear directives. So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, and I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. So the important word here, one of the most important, is verse 12b, where we read, what my God, personal, my God, had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There's a lot there. My God, it's God, His God, puts it in His heart to do for Jerusalem, the Old Covenant Church community. of God. Incidentally, now, I don't want to make a lot of this, and I want you to be careful with what I'm going to share, but I have to show it to you. I can't help but notice the intriguing phrase of verses 11 and 12a. It reads this way. So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days, then I arose in the night. Anybody sense something from that? How about reminding us of Jesus' resurrection on the third day of the first Easter Sunday? That's not what this text is saying. But I'm just alluding to it as a reality and a fact. And it's an interesting one. But the point that we really do need to see from this text is this. Nehemiah never loses sight of his goal, his objective, which was to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. And again, there are a lot of other ideas about what can be done, what maybe should be done. And not all of them are bad, but there has to be a distillation of those ideas down to the core need, the heart of the matter. Also, the word night is very significant in this section of scripture. It's found three times in verses 12 to 15. So think about this with me. Nehemiah is in Jerusalem, probably for the first time in his life. Remember he had been in Susa, in the capital of Persia, serving the king Artaxerxes as a cupbearer there. So he goes there, speaks Hebrew, he is a Jew, he's got all these leadership qualities, he's got a call from God, a commission from the king, a commission from the king of heaven, And he does nothing significant for three days. Kind of reminds me a little bit, this just came to me. This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the first one, in June or July of 1969. And when Neil Armstrong got to the moon, he just basically took a nap. at one point, which is not what I would think somebody who goes to the moon would do. Of course, Buzz Aldrin takes out some Lord's Supper elements and has a private communion service on the planet, on the moon. The point being that sometimes it's weird. Here he is, he gets there, and he does nothing for three days. Then he finally gets to doing his reconnaissance mission, and he does that at night. And even though he takes a few people with him, and his animal of course, on this inspection trip, he doesn't divulge his ideas to them. He holds it close to the vest. Now, you know, I like history, and one of my all-time favorites, I've got to mention, not in my notes here, One guy that inspires me so much is Thomas Jonathan Jackson, sometimes referred to as General Stonewall Jackson. Died in 1863. Great Christian, Presbyterian, but he was so famous for being a Nehemiah type. Great leader, but extremely secretive. And sometimes it got him into lots of, some trouble. Just felt like he had to hold it close. But there is a time where you have to share, and even Jackson would do that. But he wanted, I think the secrecy thing was because he wanted to keep his God-ordained perspective while only adding to it first-hand knowledge of the city's situation, and not lots of ideas from other people, necessarily. So, how the thoughtful leader takes stock, by clinging to God's clear directives, and then verses 13 to 15, surveying the state of things. We're looking over the state of things. S-U-R-V-E-Y-I-N-G. I went out by night by the valley gate to the dragon spring and to the dung gate and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned. Again, there's this emphasis on night here. He's doing this stuff at night, beginning at verse 13 and ending at the end of verse 15. But even more apparently and particularly, note how carefully Nehemiah apprises himself of both the general state of Jerusalem and the particular state of its broken down wall sections. And sometimes, Sometimes it's not good enough for leaders to get reports from subordinates or helpers and instead they need to see the problem with their own eyes and the circumstances with their own senses. Sometimes you notice that that'll happen with huge national disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes or something like that where presidents other leaders will actually go there and get a first-hand appraisal of the situation. This has the effect, in a lot of cases, of making the work, the progress, and any potential problems or snags more personal to the leader, so he has a direct sense of the context and the situation. And it also brings the heart of that person of God, that leader, into the picture more dramatically. Especially when one considers that in the case of Jerusalem, this was once an elegant, exalted, and God-favored city. So, Nehemiah, who knew his church history, knew the state of affairs, knew the Bible, could walk around there and see that this was once a great place. And its current status elicited sadness, repentance, and pity. And it taught a great lesson that unrepentant of sin causes everything to collapse and dissolve and become rubble. So as Nehemiah, think about this, dear, as he traversed those spots in Jerusalem, probably for the first time in his life, he could envision King David the prophet Isaiah, prophet Jeremiah, many other prophets, the good Judean kings, Josiah, Hezekiah, some of those. and other prophets beautifying the city and the area, because when they ruled and when they were listened to, things prospered. And it also may have inspired Nehemiah as to what this place could once again be. And dearest, I would say that for us too, as we look not only at our beautiful church, but beyond it to the world that we affect, that we are called to do something that beautifies it. that reclaims it and brings it, not only its former glory, but a greater present and future glory in Jesus as well. And there's nothing that can stop us. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No bad state of affairs, nothing can stop us if we're faithful. So how the thoughtful leader takes stock. Clinging to God's clear directive, surveying the state of things, verse 16, by organizing plans in advance of stating them. Where we read, And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. So obviously, Nehemiah had no desire to have any fanfare. He wanted no special celebrity status. That was completely off his radar screen. He had no interest in it whatsoever. All he hoped to do was to see the Lord's will get accomplished, not only in his own lifetime, in his own life, but in the Church of God as well. But I think verse 16 is Nehemiah's last chance to finally collect all his thoughts before he would begin to share them with others, because the pressure would be mounting. As more minutes and hours and days passed, the people would be expecting him. to begin to divulge something. So this last verse 16 gives him a chance to do that. And keep in mind too that folks aren't typically too excited about newcomers arriving on the scene who have little or no real knowledge of the physical, geographical, or spiritual lay of the land. So Nehemiah had to do that due diligence and homework. And now he would make some dramatic and drastic suggestions for change to repair all of that. This way, Nehemiah could say with credibility, because he had done the reconnaissance, he could say, yes, indeed, the refuse gate and the fountain gate really are burned beyond remedy, for instance. So how does all this relate to us tonight, to you, as you go and lead in your church and in your family and in your workplace and your school and your neighborhood? Well, we need to be involved and knowledgeable in many ways. We need to be hands-on, and especially if we expect those following us to be as well. We can't ask anyone to do anything that we ourselves aren't willing to do. And Nehemiah is a good example of that. Well, let's do a little bit more application tonight. and briefly consider why it is important for God's people to be well-led. And I just want to say it's really important. All of you are intelligent, bright, gifted people. And you know the frustration of having to follow someone that is incompetent and doesn't have the gifts and is just full of oneself and is placed in a position where they shouldn't be. It's very frustrating. And yet God's people must be well-led because everything of significance hinges on leadership. Even very excellent, outstanding, gifted people, if they are not properly directed, will never live up to their full potential in Jesus. And that is our goal here, that everyone here can live up to their absolute full bloom and blossom of who they may be in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let's consider why it is important for God's people to be well-led. First, because otherwise there are too many voices. And that's the problem, in a nutshell. The problem is that there are far too many solutions being put forth for the troubles that everyone agrees exist. I mean, look at the religious world in the United States today. Anybody with any sense or care is really concerned. They really are, and I can appreciate that. So everybody's got answers. Unfortunately, 99% of them aren't good answers. They're sincere, they're earnest, but they aren't good answers. And so there are too many voices. Now again, this isn't to say that people aren't sincere in their suggested remedies. And it's not even to assert that some of those ideas don't have some merit. But instead, our intent is to get to the deepest root of the issue. To get to the heart of the problem. Get, if you will, to the heart of the solution. And the heart of the solution is the person of Jesus. Loved and worshipped and obeyed and served in the context of his church, on his day, and from here to everything else. You hear that all the time because it's so important. It's the heart and soul of the answer. It's the gospel. Christ is the person of the gospel. Like Nehemiah, we recognize that the church is the key to the restoration and reclamation of the whole fallen world. There's, with all due respect, it's not Washington D.C. or any government. As much as we appreciate them and the people that serve in those places, and they all have important roles, but they can't do it. They weren't called to. They're not equipped. It's not God's way. It starts with you, the church. You're the key. And for the glory of Jesus and the gospel of grace, let's put ourselves out just like Nehemiah did. So why is it important for God's people to be well led? Because otherwise there are too many voices which lead to confusion and not progress. And God will accept the fruit of our faith, our heart's efforts, even if they're not as well conceived as they could be. But again, until or unless we get to the heart of the matter, We're always going to feel a little unsettled. We're never going to be completely satisfied. We're always going to have some dissonance remaining in us. Some sense that it's not quite right. And this is also a humbling thing for us because we haven't arrived. And we are still on the journey. We know who the goal is. We know who the answer is. We know his simple means of grace. But we are still on that journey. And we are seeking to please him. And like Nehemiah, dears, here's what we need to keep doing, and do even with more earnest as we enter the new year. Continue to focus on Jesus, his gospel, his church, his day, his worship, his means of grace, and his word. And if we will do that, and if we will hold the course, stay the course, Even when things look a little glum and slim and slight and whatever, just like Nehemiah's wall, it will come together in God's good time. Indeed it will. It's impossible that it won't. because we stand on the promises of God in Christ. But that takes faith. But dears, doesn't it take faith for us to be redeemed, to have our sins forgiven, to be pleasing in the eyes of God, all through the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone, whose blood is imputed to us? Brethren, when we talk about the leader taking stock, we're talking about you, not just me, or the elders, or the deacons, We're the teachers, we're talking about you. So that everyone can benefit. Jesus did this for us. He took stock. He evaluated the situation. He knew what the answer was, and he went to the cross, and to the grave, and to the resurrection for us. Let's follow his perfect example, dears. The leader takes stock. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this, because these are your people right here. Some are older, some are younger. But they're all gifted and they all have tremendous potential. And I pray that as they enter the new year, they will imbibe more of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy Him even more and grow in the grace and knowledge of Him. and find their lives, yes, difficult, no doubt, but blessed and exciting, no doubt. Thank you for Jesus Christ, our Lord, who is our supreme and ultimate King. We bless you in His name. Amen.