There will be times in your ministry where the people working under you will complain. And we're quick to jump back to that story in Exodus. But here's the thing: some of those complaints have more weight than you realize. What does that mean for you today? Let's find out.
Coming up right now on the Three Week Today Show. Yeah. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill.
I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clearview Today Show. We're so glad you're joining us here in the studio with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah. If you're listening for the very first time today, welcome to the show.
We're going to let you know who's talking to you. Dr. Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show, Dr. Shah. We're talking leadership, we're talking what to do when the enemy comes against us and we feel all alone.
You know, Nehemiah rested in God. He had to face opposition from Sanbala, Tobiah, Geshem, and their people. And the first time around, it was ridicule. The second time around, it was threats. And both times, Nehemiah very wisely made the right moves.
He guided the people, he guided the people to look to God. To pray and then to get busy working. And the second time around, he even put certain soldiers. At the weak points of the wall to make sure that they felt safe. And the enemy knew that these people Had their act together.
That you could not just scare them or just bum rush them. They had their act together. And then he even put a person with a trumpet.
Next to him, and his job was to watch and see if the enemy were ever rushing the wall or rushing a gate that he would blow the trumpet and so that people could. Quickly rally there.
Now, not everybody would leave their positions, but some will leave and some will stay, but more will rally to the place where they can help each other. Repel the enemy and fight back.
So Nehemiah is doing this. He's displaying his own leadership and he's resting in God, right? Like, because he knows that when the fight comes, ultimately it's God that fights for him. And yet, so many times we forget that in our own ministry. We feel like I've got to make myself be the tough fighter that God needs me to be.
Well, I feel like it's important for us to just maybe camp here for a little bit because maybe there's somebody listening who the phrase rest in God is just foreign to them. They don't understand what that means. Do you mean I go to sleep? Do I take a nap? Do I take a break from the work?
Yeah, right. Do I just take some time off and just allow God to do his thing? Can you walk us through what it looks like to rest in God? Sure. In verse 20, he says, wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.
Our God will fight for us.
Now, what does that mean? It means. Mm-hmm. In a believer's life, we don't fight in our own strength, in our own power. We fight looking to God.
We fight. trusting Him and His power in our lives. We let Him lead us.
Now of course, we need to learn how to be discerning. We need to learn how to recognize the enemy. We need to learn how to put on the armor of God. All those things are necessary. But ultimately, the battle belongs to the Lord.
God's going to fight, God's going to put people in their place when He needs to. And so, in your own personal life, if you're struggling with something, know that God fights for you. That's right. Turn to Him. Lean upon him, look to him.
Not in your own self, not in your own ideas, or some scheme somewhere. No, look to God. Ask him to help you. I mean, that's what the life in Christ is all about. Paul says: it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
So what Nehemiah says here, our God will fight for us, Paul confirms in Galatians 2:20, I'm crucified with Christ, I no longer live. But Christ lives in me. Means God is fighting for me. Christ who lives in me is fighting for me.
So it's a daily trust relationship. It's a daily Leaning upon Christ's relationship is daily seeking his life, his power in us. It's not necessarily resting in God to where it's like, I'm going to take my hands off the wheel and let him steer. It's, I'm going to continue with what he's called me to do, trusting that he's going to work this out. Active trust, active dependence, active leaning on Christ and who he is.
That's right. You cannot just. Sign on the dotted line, or become a member, or one and done. I am a Christian now. I am a follower of Christ now.
What does that mean? It means your life is one with Christ. In fact, that's what baptism is all about. Right? Ordinance of baptism is where a person, whether a child or an adult, they go into the water.
And then they are laid into the water, kinda like they're lying down. Like like You know. like you're lying in your bed. And then you are brought back up. It represents like a grave, a watery grave, where you are.
Dying with Christ, you are buried with Him, and now you have risen to walk in the newness of life.
So now. Not at that point, it's already happened, but this is a demonstration of what has already taken place. Yes, absolutely. You are you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
So let him lead you. Let him be your power. Let him be your strength. Let him be your grace. Let him be a wisdom.
And not just in day-to-day life, but also as a leader, as you're leading your organization. How does that look maybe differently if you're a leader? Or how does that maybe look the same if you're a leader?
Well, as a leader, I know that it's not. It's not in me. I'm not the leader. Ultimately, this church belongs to Christ. When we say make Christ visible, We mean it.
Talk about that for a second because a lot of pastors say that. Mm-hmm. And maybe they believe it. On a metaphysical level, yes, ultimately this is Christ, but like, how does that change how you do things? You know what I'm saying?
Do you know what I'm asking? Like, how does that change how you? Because I truly believe this church belongs to Christ. How does that change how you operate as a leader?
Well, if you think about it. When it doesn't happen. when you don't look to Christ. For life for strength, for wisdom, for grace. For for vision which way are you going What is your purpose?
When you don't look to him, then that ministry becomes about self. It's about self-promotion. It's about self-fulfillment. Self-goals it becomes about self. And that's when problems begin to come because Satan loves that, because now it's no longer about God, it's about you as a person.
Which where are the people hidden? towards you. Because you are there Focus. You are their model. You're their life.
Without you, nothing happens.
Now pastors are important, they're shepherds. But Our goal is not to lead people to us, our goal is to lead people to Christ.
So I have to as a pastor daily spend time in God's Word. Daily pray. Daily Read Books or articles or have conversations with people. who can help me Get them to the Yeah. My purpose clarified.
Why am I doing this? It is to lead people to Jesus Christ. How am I doing this? It's through the power of Jesus Christ. It's all through him and for him.
And as a leader, if you stop doing that. And he's going to find ways to tear you down. He's going to tell you that, man, you're so good. You're so, so good. These people are blessed to have you.
And then you're like, well, I am so good. Of course, I am good. And these people are blessed to have me. Or he's gonna say You know? You you you deserve more.
You deserve better. You deserve better. You need to just be done with these people and go. The people out there who will really respect you and love you and adore you, and you need to go where you are loved. And that's why sometimes he pastors move to the greener grass, thinking I deserve better.
Sometimes he will come, the enemy will come and say, Listen, you get. Stomped on. You're not happy? Mm. People in your life are not making you happy.
You deserve to be happy. and then he will give you some forbidden fruit. It may be a person of the opposite sex. It may be some financial indulgence indulgent. And Indulgence, I suppose.
Or something else, or some power trip. He's going to say, do it, you deserve it. You deserve it. Go ahead and go for it. And that's why you hear pastors or Company owners or CEOs or supervisors making some very foolish decision, you think.
Why would you do that? Right. You had everything. Everything. And why would you do that?
Because some point in time they. Heard The voice saying, You deserve this. Because of how much you do and how good you are. And you're not getting your proper due. It's the enemy's old tactic.
He said that to Eve. God is holding out on the best for you. Yeah. Don't you want to be like God? Yeah.
God doesn't want that for you. But God knows that the day that you eat out of it, your eyes will be open and you'll be like Him, knowing good and evil. What an old lie, but what an effective one. Yeah. So, God is holding out on the best for your life.
Yeah. So, if you're a leader and you're listening to this, it's really not. An encouragement to rest in God. It's mandatory. Because if you don't, Yeah, this is your future.
You're a prime target for the enemy to attack. Yeah, don't do that. Don't fall for that. We've talked about this, I know, on the show, and you told us this before too, Dr. Shaw, but an unguarded strength is a double weakness.
Yes. I mean, you may be a gifted speaker. You may be a gifted organizer. You may be gifted when it comes to music or art or sports or working with kids, but be careful with that strength. Be careful if you start to, you know what I am?
Golly, I am really talented. Do you indulge yourself? I mean, that's a big question. Do you indulge yourself in those things? Yeah.
Because I deserve it kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Your focus is off. Be mediocre at pretty much everything you do.
No, I'm joking. But in a serious way, I will say this. I'm really, I used to be very insecure that I was one of the weaker singers on a team that I led. I've grown up and matured to see that it's a blessing. It is a blessing in disguise because now every success that the worship team sees, like I know in my heart, it's not because I'm a talented singer.
I'm a very average singer, and I'm more proud of that now because I can say, God, only God could have worked in this team like this through a great leader like Dr. Shah, through people who have invested and have poured their life into it. Only God could have done it. You know what I mean? Because there are definitely organizations and worship teams that are carried by a charismatic, really, really, really talented singer.
But they can only get terrible, only get carried so far. Right. You know what I'm saying? Worship is much more than just talent. It's about leading.
That's right. You're leading people to follow not you. to admire not you, to uh to to to Hold up not you, but Christ. And so that's what you're supposed to do. That's right.
That's also what I'm supposed to do. When I'm getting up to preach, it's not that I want the admiration of people and the adulation of people. No, I want people to go, man, the word of God is amazing.
Now, of course, compliments are nice to say, Hey, Pastor Shah, that message was great. Thank you so much. I mean, I love the way you preach.
Okay, great. But Don't stay there too long because sooner or later there's going to be another comment that says, You're the worst thing that ever happened to us. And then you go, what? Wait a minute, wait a minute. What happened to all the compliments?
Yeah, a month ago, you were saying something different. Yeah. And it may not be the same person, it may be somebody else saying that.
So don't. Believe your praises, neither do you need to believe your criticisms. That's right. Believe what God says. Believe what God says.
That's right. Our life would be so much simpler if we just held on to that. Believe what God says. Well, I like what Nehemiah said because Nehemiah is leading his people because he believes what God says. It says he's going to fight for us, then dog on it, that's what he's going to do.
And we're going to keep working. And watch him fight for it. And God said, Jerusalem is important. Yeah. Jerusalem matters because it's part of my plan.
So Nehemiah says, hey, this is important to God. It's important to me. That's right. This is worth fighting for. That's right.
Well now we come to chapter five. And it seems like, okay, it's upward and onward. We're already in chapter five. Chapter five. Wow, we've been barreling through Nehemiah.
I didn't realize we were that far. Yeah. And here we think, okay. Nehemiah has seen his share of problems. He had to fight against these these three axes of evil.
And then just when he thought everything was was pretty much At bay, they came back again with a whole different tactic. Fear tactic. I guess everything is fine now. We have really taught them the lesson. The people have come together.
We are one body ready to take on the next phase. Thank goodness, the darker days are about to be. No. What? This time.
The problem comes from within. Oh, no. What did he say? What he said. You get see.
It's one thing to fight someone out on the outside. It's quite different when you have to fight someone on the inside. Yeah, that's a different feeling. That's a bad place to be. That's right.
And this time, it's if you go back to Nehemiah chapter 5, verse 1. And there was a great outcry of the people. And their wives against their Jewish brethren, against their own people. Yep. For there were those who said, We, our sons, and our daughters are many.
Therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live. There were also some who said, We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses that we might buy grain because of the famine. There were also those who said We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our lands and vineyards, yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren. our children as their children, and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves. And some of our daughters have been brought into slavery.
Hold on, man. Y'all were all about this wall stuff a little bit ago, but now all of a sudden. We were united. We had a common goal. Work was getting done.
Where was all this energy early on? It seems like I always loved the Prince of Egypt. It ends with the big victorious parting. And everyone's like, yes, Moses. And then it doesn't show like cut to the next 40 years.
I'm hungry. We skip over that part. Our entire queen. It doesn't feel as good in the movie. I know.
I know. It's like, didn't y'all just see the ocean split apart? Yeah. It's like, y'all were all about building this wall.
Now all of a sudden, y'all want to complain. That's right. Conflict begins in the camp. It begins because people feel neglected. And there are four things.
or four different groups that complain to Nehemiah. The first group says We, our sons, and our daughters are many, therefore, let us get grain that we may eat and live. In other words, We have no food to eat. We're hungry. We're hungry.
We are at the end of the day. People are very basic. Yeah. Yes. Can you say one time that most church fights happen over food?
Oh, yeah.
Something as simple as food. Who brought what to the church? Two people brought the same casserole, and you know that Mima was going to bring her green casserole. That's why I know why she does that because she knows I bring green bean casserole every year. The only time no, she brings green beans every year, and you bring the hash browns.
That's the way that it works. But this year, all of a sudden, you want to bring the green beans because you knew I was. What are we doing? We missed the plot. Or look at them lining up and they don't bring a thing to the fellowship dinner and they're going to eat everything up.
Well, you know, they don't even take it to go plate with them. They don't even have seen them in church, what, three times this year? But they'll show up for a meal. Oh, yeah, for a meal. I know that's true.
Yeah, they'll do that. You know, or. You know what? I'm not bringing anything anymore because I brought all that food and nobody ate it. Oh, no.
And I know I can cook. The biggest southern insult ever. Nobody ate your food at the church potluck. Yeah. If you look, we're in the devastating.
We're in the Bible Belt. We're in the South right now. If you listen to this in Ohio or New York or somewhere that's not in Southern culture, you bring something to the potluck and someone don't eat it. Oh, that's bad. That's bad.
Mom, I can tell you this. I will, and I like all joking aside, if that happened to my mom, she would never forget it. She would take that grudge to her grave. Against people who didn't even know what they were doing. Had no idea.
Yeah. Had no idea whose food was what. No clue. They would see her later on at the barbershop. Hey, Lisa.
Hey girl. Can't stand her. You didn't eat my casserole. Yeah, yeah, you don't do that.
So, this really is the source of contention for the first group. It's just, we're hungry. Let us eat. No food. Wow.
Now, is it like a hey, there is a legitimate famine? We are starving. Or is it like, hey, we're used to living this way? No, no, no. There is genuinely a famine happening.
Okay. Because it says that right here in verse 3, there were also some who said, We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses that we might buy grain because of the famine.
So, this is the second group: those who had land but had to mortgage their property for food.
So first group had no food. That's it. We're hungry. There's no food. The second group had put their land up.
We got food, but no, we ain't got no money.
So they had to mortgage their land.
So they could buy f grain because of the famine.
So, the first group is hungry, second group is homeless. They pose.
Well, they're about to be very homeless. Yeah, they mortgaged it, but they got very little time. Here comes the third group: those who could not pay their taxes and were forced to borrow money.
Now, Persian kings were notorious for collecting super high taxes every year. I mean Persia was a massive empire. Persians gave people freedom, like you can do whatever you want. We want to worship our gods. Go for it.
We want to build our cities. Sure. We want to start this business.
Okay. That's it? Fail. This is the price you have to pay. As long as the tribute is paid, you can do it.
The tribute comes in, the taxes come in, no problem. You can do whatever. You can live your life. Wow.
We wanna speak our language. Sure. No problem. Once the taxes were collected, the c custom was to melt down the gold and silver and pour it into jars. which were then broken and the bullion stored.
At Susa, okay, this is where Nehemiah was as the cupbearer to the king of Persia. Shushan, Susa, same place. Same thing. Same place. Alexander the Great found 270 tons of gold.
And 1,200 tons of silver. Wow.
Did he take it with him? Oh, I'm sure he did. Yeah, I don't think he was like, oh, and then we went off into the sun. He's put this in a museum. No.
That's mine. Sadly, the Persians never put money and food back into their provinces.
So they took the taxes, kept the taxes. That's just what's this? Are we going to improve things? Nope. Nope.
And Persia was like, nope, all that money comes to us. And That's it. And the end. Is that why they melted it down? Yeah.
That makes sense.
So it couldn't be then spent again on something else. It was just their precious metal. That's it. Wow.
And it stayed in their treasury. For a rainy day. That never came. Yeah. I I just I'm imagining this just stockpile these big jar-shaped bullion Blocks of gold and silver just sitting there.
And then, meanwhile, you have Jewish people back in Jerusalem trying to build these walls. They can't eat, they can't mortgage, they got to mortgage their home. Persia's like, But aren't you happy that you're in your homeland? Yeah, right. Don't you love that?
Hey man, building the walls on y'all. Right. It's your wall, you're building the water, pay us.
Now, here comes the fourth group. Because it says in verse 5, Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children, and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves. and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.
So the fourth group. Are those who were forced to sell their children into slavery just to survive?
Okay, so this is not, that's what I was going to ask you. This is not like verbose language, like now Nehemiah is making us build this wall, we're acting like slaves. They're talking about this is legitimate. This is going on. This is happening apart from the wall building.
So you have no food to eat, people. You have. Food to eat, but they had to mortgage their land, people. You had the cannot pay their taxes and force to borrow money, People, and then you have those who are forced to sell their children just to survive. These are the various people.
In the church. But instead of levying all this against the Persian people, why are they bringing it to their own brothers and sisters? Why are they complaining against the Jewish people anyway? Because their own people were also taking advantage of each other. Oh, gotcha, gotcha.
Yeah, the Persians were Persians. Pay the taxes or else face the consequences. But their own people were doing things to hurt. Their own flesh and blood. I can see that.
You would expect a person to act like a Persian, but your own people, I mean, that feels like a stab in the back. Are they complaining to Nehemiah or against Nehemiah? No, to Nehemiah. To him. Yep.
Okay. Yep. They're feeling neglected. Means, look at what's happening to us. You want us to build the wall?
Of course, we'll build the wall. Do we think the wall needs to be built? Absolutely. Why? I'm not sure if every single Jewish person realized that, but I think many would have, that this is going to be in Jerusalem.
That the Son of God would come. And so. Getting Jerusalem secure. Getting Jerusalem in good hands is very important. For the future of God's people, for the plan of salvation.
But. Look at what we're going through. Are we going to improve our situation? Or are we just going to suffer through this?
So, this feels like a conversation more toward Nehemiah: not look at what you're doing for our people, but what have you done for us? Right. What are you doing for our family? What are you doing for our people group who has no money or who has no food or has had to sell our kids into slavery just to make it? Where's your concern for us, Nehemiah?
So, this, so speak to the pastor who is saying, you know what, this kind of sounds familiar. I've got people under me right now who, even though I'm working hard, I'm serving them, I'm laying out this plan to make our church thrive, they still feel neglected. They still complain. Right. I mean, you got to ask yourself.
Are their complaints really legitimate? Is there really a reason for them to be upset and hurt? Are their children struggling? Because that's a big deal. Because these people were forced to sell their children into slavery.
Is that what's happening? Mm-hmm. Are there things for the children's ministry? Like tonight, we had our young kids' ministry meeting. We call it Blaze here.
And this was an important meeting. People came. People who have children, people who don't have children. But my job was to get up there and tell them that taking care of our children is important. Whether they are your children or not, taking care of children in general is important.
I appreciate that you use that kind of language because it's not just we're taking care of the children or we're taking care of, you know, another person's children, we're taking care of our children. It's our church family, they're our kids, whether they're your kids biologically or they live in your household or part of your family, whatever, they are part of our church family, which means makes their means they're our responsibility.
So, is this a lesson for pastors? Like, would you say that these people, these were not like the children of Israel, like in the wilderness complaining just for complaining? Like, these are people who are like, we need help. We legitimately. There needs to be a reform.
Gotcha. We cannot function like this and keep building the wall and claiming that we have a bright future ahead and hope is on the way. And we are now back in line with God's promised one when, look at what's happening to us. It's not right. And so they complain.
And then in verse 6 it says, And I, Nehemiah says, I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and rulers and said to them, Each of you. is exacting usury from his brother. The Jewish people had been told not to charge interest from their own people. God had expressly told them, specifically told them not to do so, for example, in Leviticus chapter 25.
And verse 35, if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, Denisha help him. Like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury. or interest from him but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. Don't charge usury. And guess what? They were doing it.
There was a problem. There was a problem in the camp.
So Nehemiah had to deal with it. Absolutely. That's right. We're going to talk about how he dealt with it coming up on tomorrow's episode. Guys, make sure that you're following along for these episodes.
They're so important for us as we understand leadership, how it applies in your context, how it applies in ministry, and how it applies in day-to-day life. The lessons you can learn from Nehemiah can change the way that you lead others. That's right. Make sure you join us tomorrow. You can follow along with all of our social media and all of our podcasting platforms.
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