Qualified to Lead by Faithfulness to God!

Nehemiah 7

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 14.

There are many qualifications for church leaders that are hotly debated in today’s world, but there is one qualification that is not being debated within any church that I know of – maturity in Christ. Paul taught in 1 Timothy 3:6, regarding the qualifications of the elders in the church, “not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.” We know Paul was not talking about age as a disqualifier because in 1 Timothy 4:16, he exhorted his protégé, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

People are qualified for leadership when their lives consistently demonstrate their faith in God. As Jesus taught, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). Nehemiah expressed this same focus on the qualifications of leaders when he chose Hananiah to oversee Jerusalem in Nehemiah 7:2, “for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.” Qualified leaders stand out because of their faithfulness to God!

As God transplanted His people back to Jerusalem, into the good soil of the Promised Land, He used godly people like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Hananiah to lead them. Their primary task was to teach the people to fear the Lord and not return to their father’s former sins, which had caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in the first place. For this reason, Nehemiah appointed Hananiah – “a faithful man [who] feared God more than many.”

If your local church was looking for new leaders to serve, would the same be said about you? Are you looking for success in the world or faithfulness to God? Are you free to lead because you fear God more than the people?

Seize the moment and live for the approval of God, until you hear Jesus say to you face-to-face, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 5:21).

God bless you!

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