MAKING USE OF AUTHORITY
Please read Nehemiah 4:15-23 in support of this essay.
Waiting on God’s response is the Golden Key, not just in our culture today, but also back through the ages, when people asked for something, they expected you to respond immediately and fulfill their every desire. There’s a special place in God’s heart for those who wait upon the Lord.
Our passage reveals a God-sized doctrine. God had frustrated the enemy’s plan—“then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.” It was not the efforts of the Jewish workers who intimated the enemy; it was God alone who supernaturally frustrated the minds of the enemy, causing them to retreat, much like the story of God hardening the heart of Pharoah.
A simple doctrine: God controls the minds of men; He drops their guard one day and fortifies it the next. This leadership method ultimately frustrates those who come against God’s plan. When the enemy believes they have the upper hand, they tend to relax their defenses. Letting the enemy think they have the upper hand is the moment to advance.
UPGRADING THE PLAN
Our story with Nehemiah shifts. When he started the rebuilding, he divided the men of Jerusalem into two groups: one group held a sword, and the other had a brick in each hand. Nehemiah upgraded his plan, stating, “As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.” Quality leaders are always ready to adjust their plans to advance the work. Since Nehemiah’s workers were far from one another, the trumpet was used to unite the workers to one single location, meaning that war was upon them. Not only was this a solid plan, but it is also the same method God uses in Revelation’s book, which is the eternal symbol that God will fight for us. Nehemiah had confidence because God promised to fight for them by using all the tools, skills, and leadership reinforcements that Nehemiah had put in place.
EXISTING AUTHORITY
One of Solomon’s proverbs reveals God’s method of controlling existing authorities: "The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).
The Hebrew word for “channels” is pathway or ditches. The English expression of the original text is like irrigation canals carrying water is the heart of the king in Jehovah’s hand, meaning every authority that exists—past, present, and future, are irrigation ditches to direct God’s plan toward His conclusive results, which applies to a Pharoah or a Nehemiah. Both were used to accomplish God’s eschatological plans. We should find great comfort in this immovable doctrine. The bottom line is that God is not intimidated by ruthless leaders, nor does He change His plan for Godly leaders. Because all authority is in the hand of God, He causes it to be bent wherever He determines most beneficial for His eternal timeline.
ANNOYED BY IMMOVABLE AUTHORITY
The story of Nehemiah perfectly illustrates the Truth revealed in Proverbs 21:1. Nehemiah worked directly under a man who just happened to be the king of Persia. I have studied Monarchy systems most of my adult life, and one common factor stands out in my research—kings are not easily moved—few change their plans. Even though Nehemiah was influential, he dared not appeal to his heart’s desire until the king asked it of him. In this, Nehemiah watched God channel the heart of his king to flow in the direction of the mission God put within Nehemiah. God, without question, placed the king in the palm of Nehemiah’s hand with unwavering respect and honor toward this ungodly king. Proverbs 21:1 was actively demonstrated for Nehemiah and us in this short dialogue between Nehemiah and his king. It’s amazing!
Do you have difficulty respecting your pastor, boss, and political leaders, or worse, submitting to them? Well, don’t get your feathers in a fluff. If, and I mean if, you believe the scriptures I teach today, you should believe that God can and will use these leaders to channel the flow of His will into your hands, even if they are ruthless leaders. I have seen this many times throughout history.
I became friends with a king. In the end, we called each other “best friends.” It all started with a professional relationship I had with the president of his country. To enact the faith-based plan for his people, I encouraged the president to introduce me to the supervising king of the thirteen kingdoms within his country. While seeing how the plan would benefit his reputation and leadership, he honored my request. Over the next several years, I learned to appeal to this king using monarchy protocol. Within a short period, the king requested I join his royal chamber as a personal advisor, which I did. Within a month, he commissioned me as a member of the royal family’s household. Shortly after this commissioning, I was assigned as the ambassador between the United States and the thirteen kingdoms. I maintained this status until the King passed during COVID. Due to mastering the protocol of his Monarchy, the Lord’s faith-based plan is now actively developing and growing in this country. I share this to provide an example of how God makes use of the same methods given to Nehemiah work for modern applications.
WAITING | THE GOLDEN KEY
We already know what happened after Nehemiah prayed to the Lord—not much, at least not right away. If you understand the Hebrew calendar, God did not deliver the king’s heart into Nehemiah’s hands for four long months. That’s a lot of waiting! Most of us have that waiting experience every day of our lives. We must remember that when we request things before God, we pray into an eternal timeline—a Sovereign plan. As God sees fit to release His answer into humanity’s timeline, He does, not one second short or beyond His eternal timeline. So, we wait—sometimes, as in my case, for years. The key, however, is remaining active and progressive in the plans given to us by God unless He tells you to do nothing. A prayer warrior quickly learns the patience of waiting while working.
I’ve been involved in international affairs long enough to tell you this: Nehemiah is my number one Old Testament hero and example for providing a method of honoring kings, queens, presidents, and dignitaries. I’ve been blessed with many stories that once sustained Nehemiah continues to sustain modern governing affairs. I internally appreciate Nehemiah’s honesty, integrity, and strategic methods; I use them daily. Anyone who knows me knows my relentless focus on the importance of honoring all governing authorities. I have God to thank for that, mainly through the story He gave us through Nehemiah.
At times, I am put in the position of respectfully disregarding the attitudes and reactions of governing authorities. A simple fact to remember, God doesn’t need our plans to advance His. If our plans don’t match His, they will become dead in the water. Not one of them will advance God’s eternal plan.
God honors a plan, but we must be willing to let Him direct our steps. God loves order and organization; most people don’t. Why? It feels like the Law. Before Nehemiah entered the king’s chamber, he already had the plan in his mind. He also had organized a plan in the “how” to carry it out. I function the same way. Most authentic leaders do their thinking, homework, and planning before putting themselves in front of an authority figure; this way, if the authority figure wants to hear the plan, it is on the tip of their tongue.
Watch the video for the full message.
Stephen Phinney
#8 NEHEMIAH: Motivating the Workers