You may or may not view yourself as a leader, but almost everyone has some kind of influence on those around them. The question is, “How are you leveraging that influence?” In this message from Nehemiah 5:19–24 from David Platt, we’re challenged from the example of Nehemiah to see our influence as a responsibility before God. We want to point others to Christ and lay down our lives for their eternal good. In the end, followers of Jesus don’t live for their own rights or for the opinions of men: we live for the commendation of God alone.
You may or may not view yourself as a leader, but almost everyone has some kind of influence on those around them. The question is, “How are you leveraging that influence?” In this message from Nehemiah 5:19–24 from David Platt, we’re challenged from the example of Nehemiah to see our influence as a responsibility before God. We want to point others to Christ and lay down our lives for their eternal good. In the end, followers of Jesus don’t live for their own rights or for the opinions of men: we live for the commendation of God alone.
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt. If you have a Bible and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with. Let me invite you to open with me to Nehemiah, chapter 5. Feel free to use table of contents if you need to to find Nehemiah 5, 14 through 19 today, and I want to set up this passage with a question for you to think about. Here's the question what opportunities do you have in your life specifically and every one of us? The answers to this are going to be unique because no one else is in your shoes what opportunities do you have to influence others? And I want you to think about opportunities for influence in a variety of different ways in your relationships. So think about your family members, your friends, your coworkers or classmates or others that you know. What opportunities do you have to influence these people co-workers or classmates or others that you know. What opportunities do you have to influence these people? Or think about opportunities you have for influence with your resources. Think about opportunities you have to affect others with your money, with your unique talents, with your unique time. Think about opportunities you have to affect others with power or privileges you have. There are privileges that accompany merely being a citizen of this country and living in this part of the world. Or think about any power or any position of leadership you've been given, whether it's formal or informal, in your home, in your workplace, at school, maybe in the world, maybe by the nature of your job, unique to the capital of our country. Maybe you're a politician or you're in some other position of influence in our government or the military. And then, finally, think about opportunities for influence you have, not just in your relationships or with your resources, but through your rights, and this could obviously go in many different directions, but, in light of being 2024 in our country, many of us have a right to vote that we can use to influence our country. We have rights to speak and write and post and act in ways that can influence others. The point is, every one of us has opportunities to influence others in our relationships, with our resources and through our rights, and we need to hear from God about how we view these opportunities and how we steward them for good, because, let's be honest, we can all think of examples of people with power or position or money or talents in companies and countries or in our lives who have done or are doing much harm with the opportunities for influence they have. And the same thing can be true in any one of our lives.
Speaker 1:So let's read Nehemiah 5, 14 through 19. For anybody who's not been here the last few weeks, we're walking through this personal account from Nehemiah of how God called him as cupbearer to the king, to leave the comforts of the Persian palace behind and go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around that city. We've seen how Nehemiah went to the Persian king. Artaxerxes asked for support for this work of rebuilding the walls, and the king gave it to him. But now, for the first time, we're about to hear about how Nehemiah was. You'll see it in the very first verse he was appointed to be their governor for 12 years. That's a high position with all kinds of power and rights and resources and relationships. So let's hear how he approached, how he viewed and stewarded this opportunity to influence others.
Speaker 1:Nehemiah says from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year to the 32nd year of Artaxerxes the king 12 years neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration 40 shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now, what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox, six choice sheep and birds and, every ten days, all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember, for my good, o my God, all that I have heavy on this people. Remember, for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this people.
Speaker 1:So if you're taking notes, I wanna encourage you to write down three takeaways from these verses, about not just what God did in and through Nehemiah here, but how God, all throughout his word, calls us to see and steward opportunities to influence others. Starting with this Number one, see your opportunities to influence others as a responsibility before God. So in just a minute I'm going to explain what Nehemiah was doing here as governor. But before we even get there, I want you to notice the end of verse 15. He contrasts himself with previous governors and he says did you catch it? I did not act like they did. Why? Because of the fear of God. Like circle that. Because all throughout this story that Nehemiah is telling, all throughout this book, nehemiah is making clear he knows he is where he is. He's doing what he's doing. He has the opportunity for influence that he has because God has given it to him.
Speaker 1:Remember Nehemiah 2.8, when he asked the king for permission to leave the palace and support to rebuild the walls, he wrote how the king granted me what I asked for. The good hand of my God was upon me. Four verses later he wrote how God is the one who had put it into my heart to do this for Jerusalem. By the end of that chapter, verse 18, he's telling people in Jerusalem I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, that had led to all of this. So when Nehemiah becomes governor. He knows I've been given this position not ultimately by King Artaxerxes, but by the king himself. God, as the king of the nations, has entrusted me to be the governor of this people and I have responsibility, yes, to King Artaxerxes, but ultimately to God, for what I do with it.
Speaker 1:And this is a reminder for all of us that opportunities to influence others are a responsibility before God.
Speaker 1:Just think about this in your life. The opportunity to be a husband means responsibility before God for the good of your wife. The opportunity to be a parent means responsibility before God for the care of your children. The opportunity to be a leader in any company or organization or country is a responsibility before God, and not just for formal positions like this, but all the opportunities we have in relationships with our resources or rights. Like we mentioned before, we are responsible before God for how we use all these things.
Speaker 1:Don't forget he is God. He's the Lord over all, which means that any position of leadership we have is under him. We're never ultimately in charge. He's always in charge. He's the owner of all, which means any resources we have come from him. You may think it's your house or your car or your money, but it all belongs to God, not ultimately you. He's the king of all creation, which means any rights we have are not ultimately given to us by our country, but by our creator.
Speaker 1:Now you see why Nehemiah said I govern this way because I feared God. Because your perspective on leadership and power and money and talents and resources and rights changes when you realize all of these things Bring responsibility before God. Picture it this way Think about Heather and I going out on a date or a trip and entrusting our children to someone's care. That person has an extremely important responsibility before us. I think. By the Olympics coming up, athletes will be given an opportunity to compete in a way that carries with it a responsibility to represent their country well.
Speaker 1:So we see this relationship between opportunity and responsibility in so many areas of life. Now see it in all of life, by realizing that any leadership, any power, any money, any talents, any resources, any rights, any relationships in your life have been entrusted to you by God himself. That changes your perspective, which then leads you to the second takeaway. God says with whatever opportunities I entrust to you, steward your opportunities to influence others for their good. I'm going to show you this in Nehemiah's example as well as God's word, far beyond Nehemiah, and then think about what this means in our lives In three particular ways. God calls us to steward our opportunities to influence others for their good One. God calls us to willingly sacrifice your rights.
Speaker 1:So a little background here. As the governor under the king's authority, nehemiah had the right to tax the people in order to provide food for himself, and Nehemiah was personally able to provide for himself and his household. The point is he could have gotten more by taxing the people, which is exactly what previous governors had done, but not Nehemiah. Nehemiah says remember it. He says neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. He had a right to tax the people for that food allowance, but he didn't take it.
Speaker 1:This is really similar language to what Paul says to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 9. We've studied this before, where Paul's talking about the right he has to food and drink and support from the church there. But he believed that would actually hinder his spreading the gospel among them. So he wrote in 1 Corinthians 9, 12, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. And he goes on to say in that chapter I've not made use of a number of my rights so that I can spread the gospel among you.
Speaker 1:So God, all throughout his word, is telling us that stewarding our influences for others' good sometimes means sacrificing our rights for others' good. So just think about all the rights in your life. Most of us are Americans, after all, who cling to our rights. You have a right to eat, drink, watch, wear, study, listen to and say whatever you want. You have the right to organize your schedule this week, to spend your time to choose this week to spend your time, to choose your career, to make your money, to use your money to take your vacation and plan your retirement. In the end, you have the right to do what you want to do, go where you want to go and live how you want to live.
Speaker 1:Maybe more than any people in any other country or culture in world history, we know our rights, which makes this important, this word from God, especially important for you and me, because God is calling us, as his people, to sacrifice some of our rights for the good of others, and that's a very different way to live in this country, in this world. This world says if you have more money, then indulge in more things for yourself. This world says if you have more money, then indulge in more things for yourself. This world says if you have power, use it to your advantage. If you have talents, promote yourself. There's a sense in which the American dream is built on these things, leveraging our rights to get the most for ourselves. It's the way the world works and God says it's not the way you work. You willingly sacrifice your rights for others' good and selflessly serve in your relationships.
Speaker 1:So, as governor, nehemiah was in charge of all the people in all the work, which means he could have sat back at his house and just told the people what to do, without doing the work himself, either with them or doing any work for them. But in verse 15, did you notice how he talks about how even the servants of the governors before him lorded it over the people in oppressive ways? But then he says in verse 16, I also persevered in the work on this wall and we acquired no land and all my servants were gathered there on the wall for the work. Nehemiah was on the wall with the people and all the people who worked with him were on the wall with him as well, because Nehemiah saw his position of leadership as a position of service. He was leading not by being served by others, but by being a servant of others. A servant of others, and God makes clear throughout his word that this is what he requires of his people.
Speaker 1:Exodus 34, another potent example of this, when God's speaking to the leaders of his people, the shepherds of Israel, who were supposed to be caring for the sheep he'd entrusted to them. Listen to what God says to Ezekiel, son of man. God says to Ezekiel prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God ah, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding yourselves, should not, shepherds, feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak, you've not strengthened the sick, you've not healed the injured, you've not bound up the strayed, you've not brought back the lost, you've not sought and with force and harshness you have ruled them. Do you see God's definition of leadership here? Leadership is strengthening the weak, it's healing the sick, it's binding up the injured, it's bringing back the strayed, it's seeking after the lost, god is saying in the relationships I entrust to you, you're the servant.
Speaker 1:And then God says a few verses later, verse 10, behold, I'm against these shepherds. I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord God. God says I'm going to come and do this myself. I'm going to come and serve my sheep. And ultimately, god does exactly that in Jesus.
Speaker 1:In John, chapter 10, verse 11, jesus says, in a very clear reference to this imagery from Ezekiel 34, he says I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. That's why I'm here. And then, a couple chapters after this, in John 13, jesus redefines greatness and leadership with a towel on a basin as he stoops and he washes his disciples' feet. And then he looks at them and he says do you understand what I've done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet, for I've given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know, these things blaster you. If you do them, god is clearly saying all throughout his word selflessly serve in your relationships.
Speaker 1:So think about your relationships. Does that remember us? Well, we'll start there. For those of you who have others in your home, do you see yourself as the servant of those others or as someone who's supposed to be served by them? It changes the dynamic of a home when everybody sees themselves as a servant of each other.
Speaker 1:Heather and I were with our young adults here at Tyson's Citywide a couple weeks ago talking about marriage in Ephesians, chapter 5, where we see God's call for a husband to lead his wife by laying down his life to serve her, and I share with them. I know this passage in Ephesians is not popular in our culture and sometimes even in the church today, but I've never met a wife who is not glad to follow a husband who is ultimately serving the Lord and daily laying down his life to love, serve and sacrifice for her good For any husbands. Your responsibility before God is to serve your wife. That's just one relationship. Think about other relationships. Think about your friendships.
Speaker 1:Do you see yourself as the servant of your friends? Just picture who are the people that come to your mind when you think about your friends. Do you see I'm a servant of theirs? I live to serve them. Now bring your co-workers to mind, those of you who have jobs. Do you see yourself as their servant? What about students? Your classmates? Do you see yourself as a servant of others in the halls? Your classmates? Do you see yourself as a servant of others in the halls of your school? Every relationship, down to the people you and I interact with, that we don't know every day that we'll meet this week. Do you see yourself as the servant of those people God is telling us today in his word I entrust relationships to you for you to be the servant. Then, third, god is telling us today, in this picture, to steward our opportunities to influence others means generously sharing your resources, generously sharing the resources you have.
Speaker 1:Starting in verse 17, nehemiah describes his dinner table at night, and it's a feast, to say the least. I think I feed a lot of people at my table For Nehemiah. It's 150 men, jews, officials, in addition to people who come to us from nations around us. What is that? That's a lot of people With ox and six choice, sheep and birds and every day, 10 days, all kinds of good wine in abundance. And then he says again I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, and all of this. So to be clear, this isn't Nehemiah being generous with others' resources. I can think of more than one occasion when one of my older kids has been out with their friends, maybe with some money we have given them, and my kids have been happy to treat their friends meals or whatever else they wanted. It's just so kind of them. They have such generous hearts With my money. But that's not what Nehemiah is doing here. Remember Nehemiah had sacrificed that right. Instead, he's using what he has and he's sharing it generously with all these people. What a picture. That makes me think of the very first picture of the church that we see in the Bible, sharing it generously with all these people. What a picture. It makes me think of the very first picture of the church that we see in the Bible.
Speaker 1:The New Testament the beginning of Acts, chapter 2, tells us, as soon as the first Christian sermon is preached and thousands of people come to know Jesus, acts 2.42 tells us they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers All came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were being themselves the apostles, teaching the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers all came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. Then watch this All who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any ad need. Isn't that not amazing? It's new Christians, one of the first things they do as they start selling their possessions and their belongings and giving them to anyone who has needs, in such a way that two chapters later look at this, acts 4.34, there was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold Later, the apostles feed. It was distributed to each as any had need. What a picture. God's people then were selling land and houses and possessions for the sake of others in need. What about God's people today? This is the picture of what it means to be the people of God.
Speaker 1:God makes very clear in his words that his people use their resources very different from the rest of the world. So let's just think about the resources I mentioned at the start, starting with money. Do you generously share your money for the good of others? Is that true in your life, or do you generously spend your money on yourself? God tells us very clearly in 1 Timothy 6, right after he tells us that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, he says as for the rich, in this present age, those with money charge them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. In other words, don't hope in your money, hope in God alone. Don't trust in your money. Trust in God alone. Don't seek money for satisfaction, seek God alone for satisfaction. Then he says they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. Thus, storing up treasure for themselves is a good foundation for the future, so they may take hold of that which is truly life. Generously share, don't hoard and keep to yourself. Spend on yourself, and not just money.
Speaker 1:How can your talents be stewarded to promote others' good, not yourself? Promote others' good, not yourself. How can your time be used on what's best for others? What about any power or privileges you've been given or position God's placed you in? How can you steward these things for the good of others, particularly people in need? That's why God gives us resources yes, to provide for us and that these resources might overflow through us for the good of others.
Speaker 1:Don't buy into a lie. The world says the more you have, the more you should get. It's not true. God has designed your heart to be glad in giving, not in getting. That changes the way we live. This is clear in so many different ways. Just look to the end, when Jesus describes the final judgment in Matthew 25, when he will welcome his people into his kingdom. What does he say? For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. This is what the kingdom of God is all about being generous with your resources on behalf of people in need. It's what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and I want to pause for just a moment here and praise God for just a few of the many Nehemiahs in our church family who are doing these things, who are sacrificing rights and serving and sharing resources, who are stewarding opportunities to influence others for their good. So it's just a couple of examples.
Speaker 1:At different locations this month, we've hosted, on certain Saturdays, a respite days for access families and out of MoCo, it was a rainy day. Praise God, there were people clapping. I'm trusting, because either they were serving as part of those or they were, yeah, being blessed by those really helpful, important days. And out at MoCo, it was a rainy day. They still found a way to get outside, go to a playground nearby, and these days always require a lot of volunteers who sacrifice their right to a nice, comfortable Saturday at home to serve, some of whom are pictured here.
Speaker 1:And I want you to notice Max. We'll circle Max and Max did. Yeah, max definitely didn't ask me to do this right here, but he's the. I mean it's not a surprise that the guy from the next gen is holding the picture and the selfie, so he's in college a few hours away from MoCo and he was home on spring break that day. But on multiple occasions Max has driven three hours back just to serve in access on a weekend or to serve in the next generation ministry. I don't know what your college budget was like, but gas money today on a college budget is like most of the budget and he's stewarding his time and money to serve others. Praise God for how that's happening in young adults across our church family.
Speaker 1:And then I got an email this week from someone outside our church bragging on some members of our church family. Then I got an email this week from someone outside our church bragging on some members of our church who came together last Saturday to help a ministry in our city that's serving kids who age out of the foster care system. And the email said I am completely blown away and I'm gonna zoom in a little bit. I mean, you can just see all ages represented here. So sorry, I don't want to make you sick. Okay, here we go. Email said I'm completely blown away by the amount of volunteers who came out to spend their Saturday serving both the staff and young adults at Impact Living Services. They cleaned and cleared out two garages, loaded pickup trucks with furniture, took multiple trips to the dump, transformed two garages into stores and furnished an entire apartment. This was above and beyond what we could have dreamed for this day, like just another Saturday for these brothers and sisters.
Speaker 1:And then so then one more, one more, I think, of a precious sister in our church family. I don't have a picture for this one, and she wanted to make sure that this was anonymous. I didn't give Max that choice, or the other people in that picture, but this precious sister in our church family saw her husband go to be with the Lord unexpectedly and suddenly this last fall, right before, like a couple of days before, she was about to give birth to their second child. Their first child has special needs and her church group has walked with her through all of this. And recently she had a car. She didn't need it anymore, but instead of selling it which she could have done made money on it, and that would not be wrong by any means. She gave it away to another church member who just so happened to be praying for a car. That church member was so shocked when he learned that this sister, after all she's been through, was giving her car to him.
Speaker 1:And then her baby, who was born this fall, has been growing extra fast and one day she realized she's going to need new clothes for him sooner than she thought and she walked out of her house and there was an Amazon package at her door. That day she opened it up and it was full of brand new clothes in the size that her child needs. And the only thing the package said in the sender line was quote from women who are praying for you yes, I praise God for this stewardship that we see in Nehemiah playing out all across your lives and church family in the words of Galatians 6, 19,. Let's not grow weary in doing good. Let's live to do good, like this, which all leads to the last takeaway from this picture in Nehemiah 5, based on all the Bible see your opportunities to influence others as a responsibility before God. Steward your opportunities to influence others for their good. And number three seek and be satisfied in the commendation of God alone.
Speaker 1:Now, this might feel contradictory because I just commended a variety of different people across our church family. So let's be clear on a couple of things. One biblically, it is right and good to encourage and to celebrate God's grace in each other's lives. So look for opportunities to do that all the time. And two, I'm confident none of the people I'd mentioned did what they did to get a spotlight in the sermon. They were doing what they were doing for others' good and God's glory, and that's the point. So back here in Nehemiah, I'm sure other people expressed I hope they did expressed gratitude to Nehemiah for God's grace in and through his life and his leadership. If you're sitting down at that table, a thank you seems appropriate.
Speaker 1:But this is what I love about where Nehemiah 5 ends In verse 19,. Nehemiah prays Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I've done for this people. This is what Nehemiah is focused on. He's seeking the commendation of God alone. He's satisfied as long as he knows that God is pleased. And did you notice the language here? You got to see this Having done all of these things for these people, so sharing, serving, sacrificing for their good. Ultimately because I fear my God, I believe it will lead to what, my good, you see it, it is good for us to fix our eyes on God and, as we do, to serve other people for their good. It will be good for you to seek and be satisfied in the commendation of God alone.
Speaker 1:I want you to think about why this is so important in a world where you and I, every day, are constantly tempted in so many ways to look to others, to think about what others are thinking about us, what others might say about us, looking to others for a sense of approval or acceptance or applause or any number of other things God says. Don't do it. Don't be like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said in John 12, 43, they loved praise from men more than praise from God. That's an empty way to live, looking to what men, women, other people say or think about you, what they like about you. No, don't see yourself through the eyes of others and spend your days consumed with what they think or say, or even follow this, or even how they might respond to all your attempts to work for their good. Don't look to them. Look to him, seek and be satisfied in praise. What a word From God. Praise From God, period. That's what we're living for and the words of Jesus and the parable of the talents that's also in Matthew 25. Live to hear God say well done, good and faithful servant Like seek his well done. Good and faithful servant Like seek his well done, be satisfied in his well done. That's a full way to live.
Speaker 1:Now let's realize this is the most important part of this entire message. Let's realize we cannot hear well done from a perfect, just, holy God on our own, because we have all sinned against God on our own, in and of ourselves. We have all turned aside from God to ourselves. Instead of orienting our lives around him. We orient our lives around us and, as a result, no one of us could hear on our own well done from a good and just and holy God. We deserve not commendation but condemnation for our sin. But the good news of the Bible and the greatest news in all the world is that God loves us so much that, despite our sin against him, he has come to us himself in Jesus, like a good shepherd who loves his sheep enough to lay down his life for them.
Speaker 1:Jesus said to his disciples right before he went to the cross to pay the price for their sins the son of man, talking about himself, came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus gave his life, he paid the ransom price, the penalty for our sins before. Holy God, are you seeing this? Jesus, god in the flesh, did not come to be served by you. He came to serve you. He came to be the servant in his relationship with you. He sacrificed his rights in glory, came to pay the price on a cross for our sins, and then he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven so that he might share all of his resources to anyone who trusts in him to serve them.
Speaker 1:Oh for anybody listening today who's never trusted God to serve you by forgiving you of your sins and giving you eternal life with him through Jesus. I invite you, I urge you, to do that today. Why would you wait another day to be served with eternal life by God and turn aside from your sin and yourself and trust in God and his love for you and when you do, and for all who have, for every follower of Jesus. This is the Savior whose Spirit is living in you right now. So see every opportunity you have to influence others as a responsibility before Him and really as a gift from Him, and by the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus inside you. Steward those opportunities for others' good, just as Jesus did then and wants to do through you now Willingly sacrifice your rights, selflessly, serve in your relationships and generously share your rights.
Speaker 1:Selflessly serve in your relationships and generously share your resources. All in such a way that, when you lay your head down on your pillow at night, you can rest, not in the commendation of this world that leads to restlessness. What does this or that person think about me? No, so you can rest your head on your pillow at night in the commendation of God alone and ultimately, so you can stand before God one day, face to face, and, by his grace, hear him say well done, good and faithful servant. We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit Radicalnet.