Is it not a blessing to have someone readily available to help you in life? When you are overwhelmed by work pressures, academic pursuits, or the complexities of interpersonal relationships, or when you are bogged down by the mundane details of daily life, seeing no hope for the future, would you like to receive help, to have everything go smoothly and regain your freedom? Through the character traits of Nehemiah, the protagonist in this story, we can discern the kind of people God looks after and helps.

Questions for Reflection:

• Nehemiah's countenance was sorrowful in the king's presence. After the king inquired about the reason and understood, he granted Nehemiah's request. What was the key factor in this? Did you notice it?

• When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of this, they mocked and despised Nehemiah. How did Nehemiah respond?

• In verse 18, Nehemiah mentions building. As a leader, how do you build a team, motivate it, and drive it to work?

When I lead you in reading the Bible, I like to find something relatable, something we can apply to our lives after reading it. After hearing God's word, one might feel good, having heard many stories and jokes, but without knowing what to do, it's as if one hasn't heard anything at all. Therefore, today I must tell you all that one must act upon hearing God's word. This is the most crucial key I have grasped, and everyone must seize it. If, after hearing, one still doesn't know how to act, the simplest solution is to emulate. Today, as we read the Book of Nehemiah, let us begin to emulate the remarkable Nehemiah. The question then becomes: what kind of person does God help?

God Helps Those Who Pray

The previous chapter mentioned Nehemiah fasting and praying, seeking God. It is such individuals that God helps. Without the preceding prayer, there would be no subsequent events.

God Helps Those Skilled at Seizing Opportunities

We must learn to seize opportunities. Those who cannot seize opportunities are to be pitied. To seize opportunities, one must first discern when something is an opportunity and when it is a trap. To be unaware when an opportunity arises, while readily falling into a trap, indicates the need for learning and improvement. A person of prayer is highly sensitive in spirit. To the degree of sensitivity, when an opportunity comes, they will seize it.

What opportunity did God grant Nehemiah? It was when the king noticed his sorrowful countenance. With the king's inquiry, the opportunity arose! If it pleases the king, I said, and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it. (Nehemiah 2:3). Nehemiah was a very intelligent man. We must not be foolish, for fools gain nothing. In interviews, we must be clever and observant, approaching with a humble heart rather than a haughty demeanor. We want the interviewer to offer us the job, so we must present ourselves humbly.

Thus, upon seizing the opportunity, Nehemiah said, If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it. (Nehemiah 2:3). This was well-spoken! Anyone would be distressed if the land where their ancestors were buried was burned with fire; this immediately conveyed the emotion. Everyone must learn to invest emotion in what they do, as touching people with emotion is a wise approach. Do not be a person without feeling; be a person of flesh and blood, with emotions.

The people our God wants to help are, first and foremost, emotionally rich individuals. If you have a hard, unyielding heart, God cannot work. The people God often helps are those filled with emotion, with flesh and blood. When I stand on the podium and speak with emotion, I tear up, I choke up – I believe our God particularly likes to help those filled with emotion. Everyone must understand that emotion is wisdom, and God will help such individuals. Then the king asked Nehemiah, What is it you want to ask? Do you see? The king immediately asked him directly, What is it you want to ask?

God Helps Those Who Know Clearly and Specifically What They Want

We must be clear about what we want. It is tragic if a person does not know what they want. Nehemiah's strength lies here: he knew very clearly what he wanted. He would never say, Just give me whatever; whatever you give me is fine!

All bosses detest those who are unclear about what they want. If you want to work for someone, you must learn to be very clear and specific, what do you want? At that moment, you must say: I want this first, this second, this third, this fourth – these are what I want. And the boss will say: Good, I'll give you the resources; go do it. If you don't know what you want, your boss will immediately recognize you as a muddlehead.

Whether emperor or minister, whoever sits above managing those below detests muddleheads the most. If they are ignorant and unknowledgeable, they might as well be kicked out like trash. If Nehemiah lacked wisdom, even if he seized the opportunity, he would only cut his hand bleeding, because he wouldn't know what he wanted.

Today, everyone must remember this word: very specific. Non-specific things cannot be messed with; they must be specific. The more specific, the more wisdom there is. We Chinese have a habit of not liking to do specific things. For example, if asked, What do you want? the answer might be, Just give me whatever you see fit! Give you what? If you say to the emperor, Just give me whatever you see fit! (Give you whatever I see fit? Might as well give you the empire; in the end, you'll lose your head.) Therefore, brothers and sisters, remember that you must be clear about what you want.

For instance, today a sister came into my office and asked me a question: she went for an interview yesterday, and the interviewer asked her what her dream was. She replied, My dream is to be a good teacher. Then the interviewer said, The next time I ask you again, clarify what your dream is. So she came to ask me, What's wrong with my answer? The problem is that it's not specific! What exactly is a good teacher? Can you clearly describe what kind of teacher you want to be?

Today, I want to share with you an important concept: transforming something unclear and vague into something very specific – this is a form of management skill. Nehemiah definitely possesses this ability. Nehemiah understood very clearly that if matters cannot be translated into specific actions, it would lead to serious consequences.

Yesterday, I was revising a sister's resume. She said that she had received several different awards. Resumes are often written like this: I received such-and-such award three times, first in 2012, second in 2013, third in 2014. Do you see? With names and dates. When we write compositions, we always state the time, place, person, and event – aren't these specific? If it's not specific, you won't know what you're writing about after you've finished; it's all muddled.

I sincerely hope that everyone can be trained in our church, starting to learn how to think. You must use the brain that God has given you to think. For example, if PL becomes a teacher, she needs to figure out exactly what this class leader is all about, right? Turn it into concrete actions that can be carried out, turning the unachievable into the achievable. When we read the Bible, we must also read it with specificity, reading it until it becomes something that can be implemented.

When I was working in the company, some employees would come in and tell me that they had an idea, then launch into a lengthy, animated discourse. After listening, I felt that the matter wasn't very specific; it wasn't even close to being on the right track. I said, Wait a minute. The employee said, Boss, don't you like my concept? I said, Your concept is good, but can you make it more specific? Go back and write an article, write out the whole plan and show it to me. What does that mean? It's because his mind was in chaos when he was speaking. I could tell right away that his head was in a mess. Therefore, you must be cautious about anything that cannot be made specific.

God Helps Those Who Follow Proper Procedures

You will discover that the people God helps are those who follow proper procedures. Earlier, I didn't mention what Nehemiah specifically wanted. He wanted timber, letters of passage, and wood for beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall, as well as for the house he would be living in – he was very clear about all these things.

Then you'll find that he followed proper procedures, and he didn't jump ranks. When Nehemiah arrived at the governors of Trans-Euphrates, he handed them the king's letters. Even if he didn't like them, even if he knew these people were going to oppose him, and knew that they didn't like him, he still followed proper procedures, delivering the king's letters to them. If you don't follow proper procedures, you're messing around, and that's dangerous. Do not fail to follow proper procedures.

Do not think that you can mess around and not follow proper procedures, and God’s hand of grace will help you. God’s hand of grace will not help such people! For example, some people forget to go to the exam today, and then say: God’s hand of grace will help me! How will He help you? You answered three pages of a five-page exam. You didn’t see the other two and then you believe God’s hand of grace can help you with that? If God helps such a person, our God will not have justice. You can write whatever you want on the page and then fill up all the five pages. Then I will wish and pray that God’s hand of grace will help you. You must remember to follow proper procedures!

The worst fear is people who are like, “Oh, I forgot!” and they don’t go for the exam when they are supposed to. Then how to help? They have no idea how to help. Therefore, you must follow proper procedures. God is not an unreasonable God.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. (Matthew 3:13-16)

This is to follow proper procedures. Some always hop on the train before buying a ticket. That's not called following proper procedures. Many cohabit before getting married. Cohabitating first and then getting married is not called following proper procedures; it's not called righteousness; it's called sin.

God Helps Those Who Pray and Reflect

Take time to ponder what kind of person Nehemiah was. He was one who prayed and reflected. Do not assume that he did nothing during those three days. I surmise that he did two things: half the time in prayer, and half the time writing a plan, detailing the steps – what to do first, second, and third, and how to implement it. This is the responsibility of a leader or a manager.

Do not think that just because the gracious hand of God is upon me, I can act haphazardly. One must be dependable when doing things; being unreliable is dangerous. When Sister YQ came to Singapore this time, Brother SF said, Mum, you must learn more from Pastor Liu; he has so many methods. Of course, in the years I’ve been working, managing such a large undertaking, if you act haphazardly, wouldn’t that create chaos? Doing things properly is already challenging! Doing them improperly would only lead to more disorder.

So, thanks be to God, I am particularly grateful for His grace, because I am someone who takes action. I believe that compared to many, I am more like Nehemiah; I am not so much like Elijah, who only did a few things, like praying to God for fire to descend from heaven. I do many things, buying a power drill, installing this and that; our remote-controlled car formations are all my handiwork.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must learn to pray and reflect on what you are going to do. If you pray and reflect on what to do but do not plan or strategize, everything will be a mess. Praise the Lord! The pastor's wife also has her gifts in this area of planning, and she does very well.

God Helps Those Who Investigate the Situation

After praying and reflecting, what to do next? He then begins to implement. Why did he investigate? To rebuild the wall. He went to inspect the wall. I have met some Chinese who say, What do you want to do? He says, I want to be a boss! It’s easy to be a boss, just hire some people to work for me and make money while I sit back and collect it. I think, then your money will surely be lost, because you do not understand the situation. Brothers and sisters, do not think that you can just sit there, be lazy, not understand the situation, and money will flow into your pockets. On the contrary, that money will fly out of your pockets, and a wealthy person will become a pauper.

So, what is the problem? The problem is that you must learn to investigate the situation. Do not think that Nehemiah was an imperial envoy. If he were, he could say, JW, go and take a look at the wall. WC, go and investigate and write me a report. You go and do this. Others would then say, Boss, what are you going to do? I am going to play chess! That is bound to be a complete mess. I do not like working with such people.

If I see a boss who does not understand the situation and acts rashly, I feel that this place is really not worth staying, because he does not understand what is going on. In everything you do, you must investigate the situation. Then, Nehemiah went around the wall to look. I tell you, what makes this person remarkable is that after looking around, he knew how much material was needed, understood how many lakes there were, how to do it, and how to allocate tasks. The later chapters talk about each family repairing a section, which shows that Nehemiah's management was excellent.

God Helps People Through Team Building

God helps people through team building. To learn how to build a team, the first thing is to motivate. So how do you motivate a team? This is what Nehemiah said:

“You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” (Nehemiah 2:17)

His motivation is simple: put the problem before them. Then, he puts the solution before everyone. Is that motivating? Yes, it is.

The Team is Built

You will see the team begin to be built. Then these people said, Let us start building. I tell you, pastors must not try to do everything themselves. Do not try to do everything yourself, because God will not help such people. God wants to help those who are cell group leaders or home group leaders, and you must learn to build your team.

If you are not a cell group leader or a home group leader, but just a worker, you need to observe how others build teams, how they motivate their brothers and sisters, how they distribute tasks, and then coordinate to work together, solving problems when they arise. If you motivate them, you will see a response from your team.

Then, once the team responds, it will surely rise up, because it is God's hand helping you. I met a pastor who said to me, Pastor Liu, in the future, when I make a lot of money, I will buy a place for our church. I think, God's hand will not help such people. What kind of people does God's hand help? Those who build teams. When the team rises up, things will be accomplished, because the team rising up is itself the result of God's hand at work.

If the pastor lacks faith and does not say, God will surely raise us up, whether near or far, we will unite and build the church together! God will surely accomplish such a thing. As long as something is in God's heart, God will accomplish it, because it is His will. When this team rises up, what happens? Everyone will boldly do this work.

The key role of a leader is definitely not to do the specific work. Although I really like to take a power screwdriver, drill a few nails, take it down, and design. But I tell you, what God wants most is for a leader to stand up, and then have a group of people willing to follow him and boldly do this good work. If it is not a leader leading a group of brothers and sisters willing to follow him to build this glorious church, God has no way to work.

You will find that some church pastors run around, and in the end, many things cannot be accomplished. This is because he is not a very specific person, he does not have a good plan, and he just fights alone, running around, doing this and that, but nothing gets done. If you want to be above, you must be a leader, just as each of us must be a servant. People are willing to follow you because you are a leader, and you can build a team.

Facing Challenges, Faith Does Not Weaken

The last point is that facing challenges, faith does not weaken. Why do I say this? Because these people despised and mocked them.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19)

This is a heavy accusation. I tell you, this could cost them their heads. If they were labeled with the crime of betrayal, that would be the end. Then, Nehemiah said this:

“The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” (Nehemiah 2:20)

Nehemiah was still relying on God when facing challenges, and his faith did not weaken. He continued to rely on God, and such people will accomplish God's exceeding and eternal glory. Because of Nehemiah, the wall was built, and the city of Jerusalem was restored. So, you see the role played by a leader is very important, because God helps such people.

So today, after listening to my sharing, compare these nine points with yourself and think about them. I think the biggest problem we have is that we are not specific, and we do things vaguely. These things need to be changed.

Turning something unclear and vague into something very specific is a type of management ability. Nehemiah definitely has this ability.